Customer Reviews

Say It in Hindi (Dover Language Guides Say It Series)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a must carry-on if you are traveling to India, are a beginner learning to speak Hindi or are trying to smply Brush-up on your speaking skills. Navigating thru the book is really easy -- no need to fumble at all! Key phrases and words that are a staple of the Hindi Language are all included -- even multiple words. An excellent buy & investment. Quick references will truly come in quite handy.

This book is great for beginners learning Hindi. My husband is Indian and when I received this book and starting saying the words and sentences he was impressed on how quickly and correctly I could speak! Of course, I'm not even close to fluent...but it's nice to start out on the right foot! I recommend this if you want to start learning Hindi. It's a small book so great for sticking in your purse and taking it with everywhere :)

This book includes common questions and phrases one would need to survive a trip to India. It's inexpensive price makes it a great bargain.

Expressions are written in both Devanagari and Roman transliteration. The transliteration does a decent job of conveying how to pronounce Hindi words, but keep in mind that Hindi sounds are softer than English ones.

'teen' (Hindi for 3) sounds quite different from English 'teen.'

I just received this book in the mail and I love it. I work in a hotel owned by Indians and up until now, communication has been difficult. A clerk had been teaching me how to say simple phrases regarding housekeeping, etc. I can carry this book in my pocket while I'm at work. Already, I've been able to communicate better with the other workers and to remember how to say the words because the pronounciations are all here. If you want to learn Hindi, this is a good book for it.

The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is that the Hindi script is very difficult to read to the untrained eye. If I wanted to take one of the translated sentences and write it myself for practice, I'd have to check a more legible book for exactly what the characters should look like, since the ink in the book bleeds a little and the type is so small.

This book is ideal for popping in a purse or pocket. I carry it with me and when I am waiting for someone in the car, I can learn a phrase or two. I have been experimenting by teaching my husband the odd phrase or two that he shares with the Indian men where he works, and they good naturedly send him back with a phrase to try out on me in turn. The Devanagari script is a little hard on the eyes, but it gives so many useful everyday phrases that, in conjunction with other Hindi learning tools, I have found it speeds up the practical application side of the language.

it's an excellent book for travelers since it has a ton of vital phrases and commonly used words. Presents a number of different situations and how to communicate through them. Nice cheap book. A good deal.

I was disappointed in the book. There is a lot of information in it, but the author explains some of the pronunciation in terms of how you speak French, which did not help me much. The pronunciation guide is in a modified phonetic spelling which may be understood by linguists, but which was not terribly user friendly to a layman traveler who had time to study the language only very briefly before arriving in India. This was not the "down and dirty" survival phrase book I had hoped for. Lastly, being a 1981 publication, it does not really reflect all of the English jargon now incorporated in the language.

This books is great for a tourist. Not a book you would want to learn from. I totally disagree with TRAVELER'S comment. The pronunciation is actually excellent. It even describes the way to pronounce each letter in the beginning. The system they use for pronunciation is by far one of the easiest I have seen in all the time I have studied Hindi. So pay attention to what everyone else thinks and ignore the one person who for some reason thinks it is not good pronunciation. But I will agree with what someone else said, the binding is not as great as they would like to think it is. I have barely used the book myself since I am learning grammar and the actual language, and the binding is already coming off and pages starting to almost fall out. But seriously it is a great book to learn some basic vocabulary and to pick up useful phrases for purposes of touring :)

I went on a trip to India and spent time with family. Luckily, I had this book.

Each section is organized into various scenarios with phrases. Numbers, travel, food items, and general daily living conversations are outlined in the text.

I had gone to my father in law's house to meet with his cousin. I spent 5 hours there conversing in English and Hindi...facilitated by this book. Without the book, I would have been staring at a blue wall and would have left 4.9 hours early!

When my wife and father in law came to the cousin's house, I was still talking. It was quite hillarious in the scheme of things. The compact size of the book, allowed me to carry this in my pocket and helped with converse to a decent degree - considering that I am not a native speaker.

However, the next time I return, I will be more versed in the Hindi language given my learning facilitated with the Rosetta Stone Hindi Program and Tej Bhatia's Colloquial Hindi:

Hindi Level 1 Win/Mac Personal Edition [Old Version]

Colloquial Hindi, 2e: The Complete Course for Beginners (Colloquial Series)

This book is excellent. 2 thumbs up!