Hindustani, also known as Hindi-Urdu, like all Indo-Aryan languages, has a core base of Sanskrit-derived vocabulary, which it gained through Prakrit. As such the standardized registers of the Hindustani language (Hindi-Urdu) share a common vocabulary, especially on the colloquial level. However, in formal contexts, Modern Standard Hindi tends to draw on Sanskrit, while Standard Urdu turns to Persian and sometimes Arabic. This difference lies in the history of Hindustani, in which the lingua franca started to gain more Persian words in urban areas (such as Delhi, Lucknow and Hyderabad), under the Delhi Sultanate; this dialect came to be termed Urdu.
The original Hindi dialects continued to develop alongside Urdu and according to Professor Afroz Taj, "the distinction between Hindi and Urdu was chiefly a question of style. A poet could draw upon Urdu's lexical richness to create an aura of elegant sophistication, or could use the simple rustic vocabulary of dialect Hindi to evoke the folk life of the village. Somewhere in the middle lay the day to day language spoken by the great majority of people. This day to day language was often referred to by the all-encompassing term Hindustani." In Colonial India, Hindi-Urdu acquired vocabulary introduced by Christian missionaries from the Germanic and Romanic languages, e.g. pādrī (Devanagari: पादरी, Nastaleeq: پادری) from padre, meaning pastor.
When describing the state of Hindi-Urdu under the British Raj, Professor Śekhara Bandyopādhyāẏa stated that "Truly speaking, Hindi and Urdu, spoken by a great majority of people in north India, were the same language written in two scripts; Hindi was written in Devanagari script and therefore had a greater sprinkling of Sanskrit words, while Urdu was written in Persian script and thus had more Persian and Arabic words in it. At the more colloquial level, however, the two languages were mutually intelligible." After the partition of India, political forces within India tried to further Sanskritize Hindi, while political forces in Pakistan campaigned to remove Prakit/Sanskrit derived words from Urdu and supplant them with Persian and Arabic words. Despite these government efforts, the film industry, Bollywood continues to release its films in the original Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu) language, easily understood and enjoyed by speakers of both registers; in addition, many of the same television channels are viewed across the border. In modern times, a third variety of Hindustani with significant English influences has also appeared, which is sometimes called Hinglish or Urdish.Salwathura, A. N. "Evolutionary development of ‘hinglish’language within the indian sub-continent." International Journal of Research-GRANTHAALAYAH. Vol. 8. No. 11. Granthaalayah Publications and Printers, 2020. 41-48.
Linguistic classification Hindi (हिन्दी Hindi) is one of the Indo-Aryan languages of the Indo-European language family. The core of Hindi vocabulary is thus etymologically Indo-European. However, centuries of borrowing has led to the adoption of a wide range of words with foreign origins.
Examples of borrowed words
Due to centuries of contact with Europeans, Turkic peoples, Arabs, Persians, and East Asians, Hindi-Urdu has absorbed countless words from foreign languages, often totally integrating these borrowings into the core vocabulary. The most common borrowings from foreign languages come from three different kinds of contact. Close contact with neighboring peoples facilitated the borrowing of words from other Indian languages, Chinese, Burmese, and several indigenous Austroasiatic languages of North India. After centuries of invasions from Persia and the Middle East, particularly under the Mughal Empire, numerous Turkish, Arabic, and Persian words were absorbed and fully integrated into the lexicon. Later, European colonialism brought words from Portuguese, French, Dutch, and most significantly English. Some very common borrowings are shown below.
Borrowings from neighboring languages
Other Indo-Aryan languages Word Meaning Originचड्डी چڈی caḍḍīunderwearPunjabi ਚੱਡੀ caḍḍīखट्टा کھٹا khaṭṭāsourPunjabi ਖੱਟਾ khaṭṭāकुंजी کنجی kuñjīkeyPunjabi ਕੁੰਜੀ kuñjīलफड़ा لفڑا laphṛāfight, love affair (originally Bombay Hindi)Marathi लफडे laphḍe or Gujarati લફડો laphḍo
Dravidian languages (द्राविड़ी دراوڑی Drāviṛī) Word Meaning Originकबड्डी کبڈی kabaḍḍīkabaddiTamil கை பிடி kai piṭi ("to hold hands")वड़ा وڑا vaṛāvadaTamil வடை vaṭaiअगर اگر agaragarwoodTamil அகில் akilचप्पल چپل cappalsandalsTelugu చెప్పులు ceppulu ("shoes, footwear")
Austroasiatic languages Word Meaningआलू آلو ālūpotatoखोज کھوج khojdiscoveryचावल چاول cāwal rice grainsचूल्हा چولہا cūlhāoven, stoveझोल جھول jholgravyटांग ٹانگ ṭaṅglegढोल ڈھول ḍholdhol, drumपेट پیٹ peṭbelly
Chinese (चीनी چینی Cīnī) Word Meaning Original formचाय چائے cāytea茶 cháचीनी چینی cīnīsugar/Chinese秦 qínलीची لیچی līcīlychee茘枝 lìzhī
Borrowings from the Persianate era
====Arabic (अरबी عربی Arbī)==== Many (though not all) Arabic loanwords in Hindi-Urdu are through Classical Persian. Word Meaning Original formअक़्ल عقل aqlwisdom عقل ‘aqlइलाक़ा علاقہ ilāqāarea علاقة ‘alāqa "relationship, connection"वज़न وزن vazanweightوزن wazn "scale"क़बर قبر qabrgraveقبر qubrख़बर خبر k͟habarnewsخبر ḫabarख़ाली خالی k͟hālīemptyخالي ḫāliyyख़्याल خیال k͟hayālconsiderationخيال ḫayāl " imagination"ग़रीब غریب ġarībpoorغريب ġarīb "strange"जवाब جواب javāb answerجواب jawābसवाल سوال savāl questionسؤال su‘ālजमा جمع jamācollectجمع jam‘तारीख़ تاریخ tārīk͟hdateتاريخ tārīḫ "history, date"दुनिया دنیا duniyāworldدنيا dunyāनक़ल نقل naqalfakeنقل naqlफ़क़ीर فقیر faqīrpoor personفقير faqīrबदल بدل badalexchangeبدل badlबाक़ी باقی bāqīremainingبقي baqīyसाहब صاحب sāhabsirصاحب ṣāḥib "friend"हिसाब حساب hisāb calculationحساب ḥisābमालिक مالک mālik ownerمالك mālik "owner, proprietor, holder"लज़ीज़ لذیذ lazīz deliciousلذيذ laḏīḏ "tasty"किताब کتاب kitābbookكتاب kitāb "book"एहतियात احتیاط ehtiyātprecautionاحتياط iḥtiyyāt "precaution, reserve"शख़्स شخص śak͟hspersonشخص šaḫs "person"शहीद شہید śahīdmartyrشهيد šahīd "martyr"हद حد hadlimitحد ḥadd "limit"सेहत صحت sehathealth صحة ṣiḥa "health"
Persian (फ़ारसी فارسی) Word Meaning Original Form ख़ुश خوش k͟huś happy خوش xwaš दर्द درد dard pain درد dard बदन بدن badan body بدن badan शायद شاید śāyad maybe شاید šāyad हमेशा ہمیشہ hameśā always همیشه hamēša साल سال sāl year سال sāl गर्म گرم garm warm گرم garm आसमान آسمان āsmān sky آسمان āsmān ज़मीन زمین zamīn land زمین zamīn, "the earth" रोज़ा روزہ rozā fasting روزه rōza, "a fast"
Turkic languages (तुर्की ترکی Turkī) Almost all Turkic loans in Hindi-Urdu have been borrowed via Classical Persian. Word Meaning Original formउर्दू اردو UrdūUrduUltimately from Proto-Turkic *ordu ("army") (via Persian اردو urdū; language sense is shortened from Persian زبان اردوی معلی zubān-i urdū-yi mu‘allā, "language of the exalted camp"; see more at Urdu § Etymology)क़ैंची قینچی qaiñcīscissors kaïcï in Chagatai/Proto-Mongolic (via Persian قینچی qaynčī)क़ोरमा قورمہ qormākormaOttoman Turkish قاورمه kaverma ("roasted meat") (via Persian قورمه qōrma)बावरची باورچی bāvarcīcook, chef, bawarchiOttoman Turkish via Persian باورچی bāwarčīबेगम بیگم begamlady, begumChagatai بیگم begim (via Persian بیگم bēgum)क़ुली قلی qulīlaborer, porter, coolieChagatai قلی quli ("slave of")यूरिश یورش yūriśassaultChagatai یورش yöriş (via Persian یورش yūriš)
Borrowings from the Colonial Era
Portuguese (पुर्तुगाली پرتگالی Purtugālī) Portuguese borrowings mostly describe household items, fruits, and religious concepts dealing with Catholicism:HouseholdWord Meaning Original formअलमारी الماری almāricloset, cupboardarmárioआलपीन آلپین ālpīnsafety pinalfineteइस्त्री استری istrīto ironestirar (means to lengthen a cable)इस्पात ایسپات ispātsteelespada "sword"गमला گملا gamlābasketgamela "wooden trough"चाबी چابی cābīkeychaveजंगला جنگلا jaṅglāwindow-railingjanelaतम्बाकू تمباکو tambākūtobaccotabacoतौलिया تولیہ tauliyātoweltoalhaफ़ीता فیتا fītālace, ribbonfitaबराम्दा برامدہ baramdāverandahvarandaबाल्टी بالٹی bālṭīpailbaldeFoodWord Meaning Original formअनानास انناس anānāspineappleananásकाजू کاجو kājucashewcajuगोभी گوبھی gobhīcabbage, cauliflowercouveपाउ रोटी پاؤ روٹی pāu roṭīsliced breadpão "bread" (generic name for bread)पपीता پپیتا papītāpapayapapaiaसाबूदाना سابودانا sābūdānāsagosaguसलाद سلاد salādsaladsaladaReligionWord Meaning Original formक्रूस کروس krūscrosscruzगिरजा گرجا girjāchurchigrejaपादरी پادری padrīChristian priest/minister padreOther'''Word Meaning Original formअंग्रेज़ انگریز aṅgrezEnglishinglêsओलंदेज़ اولبدیز olandezDutchholandês ("Hollander")अस्पताल اسپتال aspatālhospitalespitalपिस्तौल پستول pistaulpistolpistolaफ़ालतू فالتو fāltūuselessfalto
French (फ़रासीसी فراسیسی Farāsīsī) Only a handful of French borrowings are still used in Hindi-Urdu today.
Word Meaning Original formकारतूस کارتوس kārtūscartridgecartoucheअटैची اٹیچی aṭaicīsuitcaseattachéरेस्तराँ ریستوراں restarā̃restaurantrestaurant
English (अंग्रेज़ी انگریزی Aṅgrezī)
Most borrowed words of European origin in Hindi-Urdu were imported through English and involve civic and household concepts:Civic lifeWord Original formअफ़सर افسر afsarofficerजेल جیل jeljailडॉक्टर ڈاکٹر ḍôktardoctorपुलिस پولیس pulispoliceबैंक بینک baiṅkbankवोट ووٹ voṭvoteस्कूल اسکول skūl/iskūlschoolHouseholdWord Original formकप کپ kapcupगिलास گلاس gilāsglassटेबल ٹیبل ṭebaltableबॉक्स باکس bôksboxलालटेन لالٹین lālṭenlanternकनस्तर کنستر kanastarcanister
Usage Example
+ Comparison of different modern Khariboli registers using the same sentence Language Sentence (in Latin script) Remarks English The clouds of our country shower blessings on this land. Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ) Highly Sanskritised variety with tatsama vocabulary (although MSH does also employ native tadbhava vocabulary as well), generally preferred for formal purposes by followers of Dharmic religions, Sanskritists and linguistic purists and puritanists alike. Hindustani Colloquial variety with native tadbhava vocabulary, with a substantial number of loanwords from both tatsama vocabulary, as well as from Persian and Arabic (and to some extent, even Turkic), as seen (to some extent) in Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb. Hinglish/Urdish Heavy code-mixing with English words and phrases. Standard Urdu (Nastaliq: ) Highly Persianised and Arabised variety, mostly preferred for formal purposes by followers of Islam and people in a Persianate culture and setting.
Days of the week
Colloquial Hindustani uses tadbhava words, (more precisely, ardhatatsama terms), with slight variations across Delhi's Khari Boli and other regional Hindi languages. In present day, Modern Standard Hindi, which is preferred by followers of Dharmic religions, uses pure and unadulterated tatsama forms (direct Sanskrit loanwords). And Standard Urdu, which is preferred by the followers of Islam and people in a Persianate culture and setting, uses 2 loanwords from Arabic (for Thursday and Friday), 2 loanwords from Persian (for Monday and Saturday), and remaining words used from colloquial Hindustani as it is. Dakhini distinctively uses a different Persian loanword for Wednesday (chār-śanba), from Rekhta, the older register of Standard Urdu, and still used today by Muslims for religious days like Akhiri Chahar Shambah.
+ Comparison of daynames across different registers Hinglish Colloquial Hindustani Formal Hindi Formal Urdu Rekhta Sunday itvār / ādi ravivār / ādityavār itvār ēk-śanba Monday sōm sōmvār pīr dō-śanba Tuesday mangal / mangar mangalvār mangal tī/sī-śanba Wednesday budh budhvār budh chār-śanba Thursday biphē / biphai guruvār / vīrvār / br̥haspativār jumērāt panj-śanba Friday sukkar / sūk śukravār jum'ā jum'ā Saturday sanīchar / thābar śanivār hafta śanba
Numbers
Zero
In Hindustani, the word sunnā is used for zero, and in Urdu, the Arabic word sifr is used. Today in formal Hindi, the Sanskrit word śūnya is used, and in Hinglish, it is zīrō (direct loanword from English). Thousand