Lesson 7.1

घर के कमरे

ghar ke kamre

Rooms of the House

Welcome to Unit 7 — My Home and Neighborhood! In this first lesson, you'll learn to name the rooms and parts of a house in Hindi. Whether it's a PG room in Kamla Nagar or a family flat in South Delhi, every home has a कमरा [kamrā], a रसोई [rasoī], and hopefully a बालकनी [bālkanī]! You'll also learn to point directions using इधर [idhar] and उधर [udhar]. Let's explore!

Learning tips

Many housing words in Hindi come from Persian/Urdu: दरवाज़ा [darvāzā] (door), खिड़की [khiṛkī] (window). The nuqta (dot) under ज़ and ड़ shows these special sounds.
इधर [idhar] (this way) and उधर [udhar] (that way) are incredibly useful for giving directions inside a house. Use them with pointing gestures!
In Delhi, छत [chat] (rooftop/terrace) is almost a room in itself — people dry clothes, sleep in summer, and socialize there.
PG (Paying Guest) accommodation is very common for students and young professionals in Delhi. It usually comes semi-furnished.

Warm-up & Active Recall

Recap: In Lesson 6.6, you learned food vocabulary and the वाला [vālā] construction (e.g., चाट वाला [cāṭ vālā] = the chaat seller). Now let's move from street food to your home!

Word	Romanization	Meaning
गोलगप्पे [golgappe]		golgappa (puffed snack)
छोले [chole]		chole (chickpea curry)
समोसा [samosā]		samosa
चाट [cāṭ]		chaat (savory snack)
जलेबी [jalebī]		jalebi (sweet)
खाना [khānā]		food / to eat
चखना [cakhnā]		to taste
स्वाद [svād]		flavor / taste
वाला [vālā]		one who / -wala
पसंद [pasand]		to like / preference

Dialog

Sita has just moved into a new PG (Paying Guest) accommodation in Kamla Nagar, near Delhi University. She's excitedly showing Ravi around her new place. They explore the rooms, go up to the balcony, and climb the stairs to the rooftop terrace — a beloved feature of Delhi homes. Notice how Sita uses इधर [idhar] (this way) and उधर [udhar] (that way) to point out rooms, and how है [hai] and हैं [haĩ] are used to say where things are.

🏠 दोपहर — सीता का नया PG, कमला नगर

dopahar — sītā kā nayā PG, kamlā nagar

Sita

रवि भैया, देखिए! यह मेरा नया कमरा है!

ravī bhaiyā, dekhie! yah merā nayā kamrā hai!

(Ravi brother, look! This my new room is!)

Ravi bhaiya, look! This is my new room!

Ravi

वाह! बहुत अच्छा है। और रसोई कहाँ है?

vāh! bahut acchā hai. aur rasoī kahā̃ hai?

(Wow! Very good is. And kitchen where is?)

Wow! Very nice. And where is the kitchen?

Sita

रसोई इधर है, बाथरूम उधर है।

rasoī idhar hai, bāthrūm udhar hai.

(Kitchen here is, bathroom there is.)

The kitchen is this way, the bathroom is that way.

Ravi

बैठक भी है क्या? PG में तो बैठक कम होती है।

baiṭhak bhī hai kyā? PG mẽ to baiṭhak kam hotī hai.

(Living-room also is what? PG in then living-room less is.)

Is there a living room too? PGs usually don't have living rooms.

Sita

हाँ, छोटी सी बैठक है। और एक बालकनी भी!

hā̃, choṭī sī baiṭhak hai. aur ek bālkanī bhī!

(Yes, small a living-room is. And one balcony also!)

Yes, there's a small living room. And a balcony too!

🌇 बालकनी पर — दोनों चाय पी रहे हैं

bālkanī par — donõ cāy pī rahe haĩ

Ravi

बालकनी से छत दिख रही है। छत पर जा सकते हैं?

bālkanī se chat dikh rahī hai. chat par jā sakte haĩ?

(Balcony from roof visible is. Roof on go can?)

The rooftop is visible from the balcony. Can we go up?

Sita

हाँ! सीढ़ी से ऊपर जाइए। लिफ़्ट नहीं है, सीढ़ी है।

hā̃! sīṛhī se ūpar jāie. lifṭ nahī̃ hai, sīṛhī hai.

(Yes! Stairs from up go. Lift not is, stairs is.)

Yes! Go up via the stairs. There's no lift, just stairs.

🌙 छत पर — शाम की हवा

chat par — śām kī havā

Ravi

यह दरवाज़ा छत का है? बहुत मज़बूत है।

yah darvāzā chat kā hai? bahut mazbūt hai.

(This door roof's is? Very strong is.)

Is this the rooftop door? It's very sturdy.

Sita

हाँ, और देखिए — वह खिड़की मेरे कमरे की है!

hā̃, aur dekhie — vah khiṛkī mere kamre kī hai!

(Yes, and look — that window my room's is!)

Yes, and look — that window is my room's!

Ravi

छत से दिल्ली बहुत सुंदर दिखती है!

chat se dillī bahut sundar dikhtī hai!

(Roof from Delhi very beautiful looks!)

Delhi looks so beautiful from the rooftop!

Vocabulary

Active words

Word	Romanization	IPA	Translation	Note
कमरा	kamrā	/kəm.raː/	room	Masculine noun. Oblique form: कमरे [kamre]. Very common word — used for any room.
रसोई	rasoī	/rə.soː.iː/	kitchen	Feminine noun. Also called किचन [kican] in casual Delhi Hindi.
बाथरूम	bāthrūm	/baːtʰ.ruːm/	bathroom	English loanword widely used in Hindi. Also: शौचालय [śaucālay] (formal/signs).
बैठक	baiṭhak	/bɛː.ʈʰək/	living room, sitting room	Literally 'sitting place'. Also means 'meeting' in another context (e.g., RWA बैठक).
बालकनी	bālkanī	/baːl.kə.niː/	balcony	English loanword. In Delhi, balconies are used for drying clothes, plants, and evening chai.
छत	chat	/t͡ʃʰət̪/	rooftop, terrace, ceiling	Can mean both 'roof/terrace' and 'ceiling' depending on context. The rooftop is central to Delhi life.
दरवाज़ा	darvāzā	/d̪ər.vaː.zaː/	door	Persian/Urdu origin. The nuqta (ज़ [za]) marks the 'z' sound. Without nuqta: दरवाजा [darvājā] (also acceptable).
खिड़की	khiṛkī	/kʰɪɽ.kiː/	window	Feminine noun. The ड़ [ṛa] is a retroflex flap — tongue taps the roof of the mouth.
सीढ़ी	sīṛhī	/siː.ɽʰiː/	stairs, staircase	Feminine noun. The ढ़ [ṛha] sound is aspirated retroflex flap — unique to Hindi.
लिफ़्ट	lifṭ	/lɪf.ʈ/	lift, elevator	English loanword. Many older Delhi buildings don't have lifts — सीढ़ी [sīṛhī] is the way!

Passive words

Word	Romanization	IPA	Translation	Note
गैराज	gairāj	/gɛː.raːd͡ʒ/	garage	English loanword. Less common in dense Delhi neighborhoods.
स्टोर	sṭor	/sʈoːr/	storeroom	English loanword. A small storage room, common in Indian homes.
गेट	geṭ	/geːʈ/	gate	English loanword. The main entrance gate of a house or colony.
लॉबी	lŏbī	/lɔː.biː/	lobby	English loanword. Common in apartment buildings.
फ़र्श	farś	/fər.ʃ/	floor (surface)	Persian origin. Refers to the floor surface, not the storey (that's मंज़िल [manzil]).
दीवार	dīvār	/d̪iː.vaːr/	wall	Persian origin. Feminine noun.

Useful chunks

Word	Romanization	Translation
कमरा कहाँ है?	kamrā kahā̃ hai?	Where is the room?
इधर आइए	idhar āie	Come this way
ऊपर जाइए	ūpar jāie	Go upstairs

Pronunciation: This lesson introduces two tricky sounds: ड़ [ṛa] in खिड़की [khiṛkī] and ढ़ [ṛha] in सीढ़ी [sīṛhī]. These are 'retroflex flaps' — your tongue quickly taps the roof of your mouth and bounces back. English 'r' in 'butter' (American pronunciation) is close. The dot under ड and ढ (called a nukta here too, but different from the Urdu nukta) signals this flap. Also practice दरवाज़ा [darvāzā] — the ज़ [za] is a 'z' sound, not 'j'.

Grammar: है/हैं [hai/haĩ] for locations and इधर/उधर [idhar/udhar] for pointing

Hindi	IAST	English	Use
कमरा यहाँ है	kamrā yahā̃ hai	The room is here	Singular subject + है
कमरे यहाँ हैं	kamre yahā̃ haĩ	The rooms are here	Plural subject + हैं
रसोई इधर है	rasoī idhar hai	The kitchen is this way	इधर = here/this side
बाथरूम उधर है	bāthrūm udhar hai	The bathroom is that way	उधर = there/that side
सीढ़ी किधर है?	sīṛhī kidhar hai?	Where are the stairs?	किधर = which way?

Hindi uses है [hai] (is) for singular subjects and हैं [haĩ] (are) for plural subjects or with the formal आप [āp]. To describe where things are located, simply say: Thing + Location + है/हैं.

Examples:

कमरा यहाँ है [kamrā yahā̃ hai] = The room is here (singular)

कमरे यहाँ हैं [kamre yahā̃ haĩ] = The rooms are here (plural)

To point directions, use:

इधर [idhar] = this way, over here (close to speaker)

उधर [udhar] = that way, over there (away from speaker)

किधर [kidhar] = which way? (question word)

These are incredibly useful in everyday conversation. In Delhi, people constantly use इधर-उधर [idhar-udhar] when giving directions. Note: यहाँ [yahā̃] (here) and वहाँ [vahā̃] (there) refer to specific locations, while इधर/उधर refer to general directions.

Exercises

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each sentence with the missing Hindi word from this lesson.

इधर है, बाथरूम उधर है।(a room where you cook)
से ऊपर जाइए।(you climb these to go up)
यह मेरे कमरे का है।(you open and close this)
पर बहुत हवा है।(the top of the building)
खोलो, गर्मी लग रही है।(lets in light and air)

Grammar Application

Choose the correct option to complete each sentence.

कमरा बड़ा (है/हैं)(singular subject → ?)
दो कमरे (है/हैं)(plural subject → ?)
बालकनी (इधर/किधर) है?(asking 'where?' → question word)
रसोई (उधर/किधर) है।(pointing 'that way' → direction)
सीढ़ियाँ यहाँ (है/हैं)(plural → ?)

Translation (English → Hindi)

Translate each sentence into Hindi.

The room is big.
The kitchen is this way.
Please open the door.
Let's go to the rooftop.
There's no lift, there are stairs.

Creative Construction

Describe a house or apartment using at least 4 words from this lesson. Write 2-3 sentences.

Writing: Conjuncts with र [ra] — र् + consonant patterns

र्क

rka

र्म

rma

र्श

rśa

फ़

ज़

Practice words

Word	Romanization
दरवाज़ा	darvāzā
फ़र्श	farś
सीढ़ी	sīṛhī

जब र [ra] किसी व्यंजन से पहले आता है, तो वह ऊपर अर्ध-चंद्र (ˆ) के रूप में लिखा जाता है: दर्वाज़ा। नुक़्ता (.) उर्दू/फ़ारसी ध्वनियों के लिए — फ़, ज़, क़।

jab ra kisī vyañjan se pahle ātā hai, to vah ūpar ardha-candra ke rūp mẽ likhā jātā hai: darvāzā. nuqtā urdū/fārsī dhvaniyõ ke lie — fa, za, qa.

Today we look at how र [ra] behaves in conjuncts. When र [ra] comes BEFORE another consonant, it appears as a small hook (called रेफ [reph]) above the following letter: दर्वाज़ा → the र floats above. When र [ra] comes AFTER a consonant, it appears as a small diagonal stroke below: प्र [pra].

We also introduce the nuqta (नुक़्ता [nuqtā]) — a small dot placed under certain letters to represent Perso-Arabic sounds that don't exist in native Hindi:

फ़ [fa] vs. फ [pha] — 'f' vs. 'ph'

ज़ [za] vs. ज [ja] — 'z' vs. 'j'

क़ [qa] vs. क [ka] — a deep 'q' vs. 'k'

In casual writing, many people skip the nuqta — both forms are widely understood.

Takeaway

है [hai] for one thing, हैं [haĩ] for many things — and pointing directions with इधर/उधर [idhar/udhar] is super easy and natural!

Culture note: The rooftop (छत [chat]) is a special place in Delhi life. People dry clothes on the छत [chat], bask in winter sun, and in summer, many families sleep on the rooftop to escape the heat — this tradition is called 'chatting on the chat'! In PGs and colonies alike, the rooftop is shared community space. During festivals like Diwali and Independence Day, people gather on rooftops to watch fireworks and fly kites.

Explanations in: de en