| Your goal | Start with |
|---|---|
| Chat with Hindi-speaking family or friends | Latin letters |
| Talk with people while you travel in India, or listen to Hindi films and songs | Latin letters |
| Read a newspaper or a book | Devanagari |
| Read religious texts or poetry | Devanagari |
| Study Hindi for a class or an exam | Devanagari |
| Use Hindi at work | Devanagari |
| About Devanagari | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Each word hangs from a line across the top | The line ties the letters of one word together, and a gap marks where the next word starts. |
| Every consonant carries a short a | क sounds like ka, and a small mark added to it changes the vowel. |
| Hindi has two t sounds and two d sounds | त and ट are both t in Latin letters, so listen to the audio to hear which one a word has. |
In one analysis of YouTube comments, 52% were Hindi typed in Latin letters, 46% were English and 1% were Hindi in Devanagari. Hindi typed in Latin letters is called Roman Hindi.
| Latin letters | Devanagari | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| aap kaise hain? | आप कैसे हैं? | How are you? |
| main theek hoon. | मैं ठीक हूँ। | I'm fine. |
| kaam | काम | Work |
| khana | खाना | Food |
| nahi | नहीं | No, not |
Bubblegum is a language app where Poppy, your AI tutor, writes your Hindi lessons. Choose Latin letters when you start or in Reader Settings, and every word shows in a texting spelling, like kyun and yeh.
| Without Devanagari you can | With Devanagari you can also |
|---|---|
| Follow a conversation in Hindi | Read shop signs and restaurant menus |
| Send texts to Hindi-speaking friends and family | Read a newspaper or a novel |
| Pick any Hindi lesson, story or news article in Bubblegum and read it in Latin letters | Follow the Hindi subtitles on a film |
| Type your questions to Poppy in Latin letters | Understand a message a friend types in Devanagari |
| App | Devanagari |
|---|---|
| Bubblegum | You read Hindi lessons in Latin letters or in Devanagari, and switch any time. |
| uTalk | Lessons begin with speaking and listening, before the script. |
| Bhol | Every lesson is written in letters you already read, so you learn Hindi without a new alphabet. |
| Hinglish Vinglish | You learn Hindi in English letters, with no Devanagari. |
| Ling | The course breaks Devanagari down into simple lessons. |
| Rosetta Stone | The lessons introduce Devanagari. |
| HindiPod101 | It teaches the letters with an alphabet chart and a free eBook. |
The Hindi Letters course waits on your home screen until you want it.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Hindi. You learn from Hindi you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
- A Hindi Letters course of 16 short chapters teaches each letter with its sound.
- Read lessons in Hindi letters, or in the Latin letters many people text Hindi in.
- Lessons fit your level, interests, and goals.
- Read and listen to Hindi lessons, stories, and news about things you care about.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, and you can export them to Anki.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- The Hindi Letters course doesn't teach you to write the letters by hand.
- You can't turn your own Hindi books or articles into lessons. However, you can paste a page in the chat, and Poppy will explain it.
- Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches Hindi Letters
Mobile
Why Is It kaam but khana?
Bubblegum writes the long vowel twice in kaam and theek, because one letter would read short to an English reader. In khana and mera the vowel ends its syllable, so one letter is enough. Texters also write theek as thik.
Is Hindi in Latin Letters the Same as Hinglish?
Not always. Hinglish mixes Hindi and English words, though in writing the name often means Hindi typed in Latin letters. Bubblegum's lessons are in Hindi, and you can read them in Latin letters or in Devanagari.
How Do I Add Devanagari Later?
Open the Hindi Letters course any time. It has 16 chapters, and the first one teaches म, ा, न and क, which already spell words like काम and नाम.
Which Hindi App Should a Beginner Choose?
Is Bubblegum Free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Hinglish (English Wikipedia): in India, Romanised Hindi is the dominant form of expression online, and one analysis of YouTube comments found 52% in Romanised Hindi, 46% in English and 1% in Devanagari Hindi
- A Door Into Hindi, the Devanagari writing system (UNC Chapel Hill): letters hang from a line, every consonant carries a short a, the two kinds of t and d
- uTalk: Learn Hindi (beginning with key speaking and listening skills)
- Bhol on the App Store (conversational Hindi without learning a new alphabet, every lesson uses transliteration)
- Hinglish Vinglish on the App Store (Hindi written in English letters, no Devanagari)
- Ling: Learn Hindi (the course breaks down Devanagari)
- Rosetta Stone: Learn Hindi (lessons introduce the Devanagari script)
- HindiPod101: the Hindi alphabet (free eBook)
- Bubblegum: Hindi Letters course, chapter 1 (read your first Hindi words with म ा न क)
