Time to learn about age and numbers in Hindi! In this lesson, you'll discover how Indians express age — hint: it's structured differently from English. You'll also learn numbers from 21 to 50 and useful birthday vocabulary. Hindi numbers are unique and don't follow a simple pattern like English, so we'll focus on the most common ones first. Let's celebrate with Sita as she plans a birthday party!
Learning tips
- Hindi uses 'My age X years is' (मेरी उम्र ... साल है [merī umr ... sāl hai]) instead of 'I am X years old.' The structure is totally different from English!
- Hindi numbers from 1-100 are each unique words — there's no simple 'twenty-one, twenty-two' pattern. Focus on the round numbers (20, 30, 40, 50) and 25, 35 first.
- जन्मदिन [janmadin] is a compound: जन्म [janma] (birth) + दिन [din] (day). Many Hindi words are compounds like this — recognizing the parts helps you remember them.
- मुबारक [mubārak] (congratulations) is an Urdu/Arabic-origin word used across all communities in India — just like शुक्रिया [śukriyā] (thanks). Hindi freely borrows from multiple languages.
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| कितने [kitne] | how many | |
| भाई-बहन [bhāī-bahan] | siblings | |
| चाचा [cācā] | paternal uncle | |
| चाची [cācī] | paternal aunt | |
| मामा [māmā] | maternal uncle | |
| मामी [māmī] | maternal aunt | |
| बच्चा [baccā] | child | |
| शादीशुदा [śādīśudā] | married | |
| इकलौता [iklautā] | only (child) | |
| सब [sab] | all/everyone |
Dialog
Sita is planning a birthday party for her roommate Neha at their PG (Paying Guest) accommodation in Kamla Nagar, a popular student neighborhood near Delhi University. Notice the construction मेरी उम्र ... साल है [merī umr ... sāl hai] (my age is ... years) — this is the standard way to state age in Hindi. The word उम्र [umr] is feminine, which is why the possessive is मेरी [merī] (not मेरा [merā]). Birthday celebrations in India often include cake-cutting (a Western influence) alongside traditional customs like touching elders' feet for blessings.
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | Romanization | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| उम्र | umr | /ʊmr/ | age | Feminine noun. Always मेरी उम्र [merī umr], never मेरा उम्र. |
| साल | sāl | /saːl/ | year | Used for age: ... साल का/की [... sāl kā/kī]. Also means 'year' in general. |
| जन्मदिन | janmadin | /d͡ʒən.mə.d̪ɪn/ | birthday | Compound: जन्म [janma] (birth) + दिन [din] (day). Masculine noun. |
| पार्टी | pārṭī | /paːr.ʈiː/ | party | Borrowed from English. Feminine noun in Hindi (पार्टी अच्छी है [pārṭī acchī hai]). |
| केक | kek | /kek/ | cake | Borrowed from English. Masculine in Hindi. |
| तोहफ़ा | tohfā | /t̪oh.faː/ | gift, present | Urdu/Persian origin. Also written तोहफा without the nuqta. Masculine noun. |
| मुबारक | mubārak | /mʊ.baː.rək/ | congratulations, happy (in wishes) | Used in all celebrations: जन्मदिन मुबारक [janmadin mubārak], दिवाली मुबारक [divālī mubārak]. |
| बीस | bīs | /biːs/ | twenty (20) | Hindi numbers are unique — बीस [bīs] doesn't have an obvious connection to दो [do] (two) or दस [das] (ten). |
| तीस | tīs | /t̪iːs/ | thirty (30) | Like बीस [bīs], each decade has its own unique word in Hindi. |
| चालीस | cālīs | /t͡ʃaː.liːs/ | forty (40) | Notice the pattern: तीस [tīs] (30), चालीस [cālīs] (40), पचास [pacās] (50). |
Passive words
| Word | Romanization | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| पच्चीस | paccīs | /pət͡ʃ.t͡ʃiːs/ | twenty-five (25) | Each number 1-100 has a unique Hindi word. पच्चीस [paccīs] comes from पाँच [pā̃c] (5) + बीस [bīs] (20). |
| पैंतीस | paiṃtīs | /pɛ̃ː.t̪iːs/ | thirty-five (35) | From पाँच [pā̃c] (5) + तीस [tīs] (30). The combination creates a new unique word. |
| पैंतालीस | paiṃtālīs | /pɛ̃ː.t̪aː.liːs/ | forty-five (45) | From पाँच [pā̃c] (5) + चालीस [cālīs] (40). |
| पचास | pacās | /pə.t͡ʃaːs/ | fifty (50) | From पाँच [pā̃c] (5) + दस [das] (10) — but heavily modified over time. |
| जवान | javān | /d͡ʒə.vaːn/ | young | Can be used for both genders. जवान आदमी [javān ādmī] (young man), जवान औरत [javān aurat] (young woman). |
| बूढ़ा | būṛhā | /buː.ɽʰaː/ | old (elderly) | Masculine form. Feminine: बूढ़ी [būṛhī]. Can be considered slightly rude — बुज़ुर्ग [buzurg] is more polite. |
Useful chunks
| Word | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| आपकी उम्र क्या है? | āpkī umr kyā hai? | How old are you? (formal) |
| मेरी उम्र ... साल है | merī umr ... sāl hai | My age is ... years / I am ... years old |
| जन्मदिन मुबारक | janmadin mubārak | Happy birthday |
Grammar: Expressing age (मेरी उम्र ... साल है [merī umr ... sāl hai]) and numbers 21-50
| Number — संख्या [saṃkhyā] | Hindi | IAST | Number | Hindi | IAST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | इक्कीस | ikkīs | 31 | इकतीस | ikatīs |
| 22 | बाईस | bāīs | 32 | बत्तीस | battīs |
| 23 | तेईस | teīs | 33 | तैंतीस | taiṃtīs |
| 24 | चौबीस | caubīs | 34 | चौंतीस | cauṃtīs |
| 25 | पच्चीस | paccīs | 35 | पैंतीस | paiṃtīs |
| 26 | छब्बीस | chabbīs | 40 | चालीस | cālīs |
| 27 | सत्ताईस | sattāīs | 45 | पैंतालीस | paiṃtālīs |
| 28 | अट्ठाईस | aṭṭhāīs | 50 | पचास | pacās |
| 29 | उनतीस | untīs | — | — | — |
| 30 | तीस | tīs | — | — | — |
Expressing age in Hindi uses a different structure than English:
- English: 'I am twenty years old'
- Hindi: मेरी उम्र बीस साल है [merī umr bīs sāl hai] — literally: 'My age twenty years is'
Alternatively: मैं बीस साल का हूँ [maĩ bīs sāl kā hū̃] (masculine) / मैं बीस साल की हूँ [maĩ bīs sāl kī hū̃] (feminine) — literally: 'I twenty years of am'
Note that उम्र [umr] is a feminine noun, so the possessive is always मेरी उम्र [merī umr], not मेरा उम्र.
Hindi numbers 21-50 are each unique words. Unlike English's predictable 'twenty-one, twenty-two,' Hindi numbers evolved from Sanskrit and have been worn down over centuries. The good news: once you learn them, they become second nature. Focus on multiples of 5 and 10 first.
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the missing Hindi word.
- आपकी क्या है?(age — feminine noun)
- मेरी उम्र साल है।(a number — decades)
- मुबारक, नेहा!(birthday — compound word)
- ये मेरी तरफ़ से है।(gift — Urdu-origin)
- चलो का मज़ा लेते हैं!(party — English loanword)
Grammar Application
Write the Hindi number in words.
- 25 साल → हिंदी में? [25 sāl → hindī mẽ?](पाँच + बीस)
- 30 साल → हिंदी में? [30 sāl → hindī mẽ?](three decades)
- 40 साल → हिंदी में? [40 sāl → hindī mẽ?](four decades)
- मेरी उम्र 35 साल है → पूरा वाक्य? [merī umr 35 sāl hai → pūrā vākya?](full sentence with age)
- 50 साल → हिंदी में? [50 sāl → hindī mẽ?](five decades)
Translation (English → Hindi)
Translate each sentence into Hindi.
- How old are you? (formal)
- I am twenty years old.
- Happy birthday! This is a gift.
- Neha is twenty-five years old.
- There is cake at the party.
Creative Construction
Write 2-3 sentences about birthdays or ages using this lesson's vocabulary.
Writing: Sibilants and aspirate (ऊष्म व्यंजन [ūṣma vyañjan])
Practice words
| Word | Romanization |
|---|---|
| शादी | śādī |
| साल | sāl |
| है | hai |
Today we learn the sibilants and aspirate (ऊष्म व्यंजन [ūṣma vyañjan]) — four consonants involving friction:
- श [śa] — like 'sh' in 'ship'. The most common 's' sound in Hindi words.
- ष [ṣa] — a retroflex 's' (tongue curled back). Rare in everyday speech, mostly in Sanskrit-origin words.
- स [sa] — like 's' in 'sun'. The dental 's' sound.
- ह [ha] — like 'h' in 'hat'. A breathy sound.
The difference between श [śa] and स [sa]: श [śa] sounds like English 'sh' (tongue is flat), while स [sa] sounds like English 's' (tongue tip near upper teeth). In casual Delhi Hindi, many people merge these, but the distinction matters for clear speech.
Practice: शादी [śādī] (wedding), साल [sāl] (year), है [hai] (is).
Takeaway
To express age in Hindi, say मेरी उम्र ... साल है [merī umr ... sāl hai] (my age is ... years). Remember that उम्र [umr] is feminine, so it's always मेरी उम्र [merī umr], never मेरा उम्र!