自学印地语介绍

हाँ   han yes
कहाँ kahan where?
यहाँ yahan here
If there's a vowel sign above the top line, there won't be room for the moon (candra) , so the dot (bindu) is used alone:
नहीं nahin no
कहीं kain somewhere
यहीं yahin right here

Nasalizing a vowel can change.the meaning, as with
है  hai 'is'
and है hain 'are'.
Similarly, while
यहीं  yahin means
'right here',
यही  yahi means
'this one, this very one' - a completely different word!

Our little dot has a second function also (here with a new name -'anusviir');it can be used to indicate an 'n' or 'm' when such a letter is the first element of a conjunct:
अंडा=अणडा anda egg
हिंदी =हिन्दी hindi Hindi
लंबा=लम्बा lamba long, tall

Other signs
The word दु :ज्ख  duhkh
sorrow' includes the colon-like sign called 'visarga'; this rare sign indicates a lightly pronounced 'h' sound.In situations where it's not possible or convenient to write or print a conjunct, an inherent vowel can be cancelled by hanging a little line called 'viram' below it:  
  चड्डी caddi underpants'.

The 'full stop' is a standing line, as seen from Unit I  onwards. Most other punctuation follows English usage.
Here are the numerals from 0 to 9:
० १ २ ३ ४ ५ ६ ७ ८ ९

Loanwords from English
When writing non-Indian words, transcribe the sounds, not the spelling; thus 'cycle' (bicycle) is written साईकिल  saikil. English 't' and 'd' usually become retroflex: 'doctor' is डाक्टर daktar.

Sometimes a little 'moon' sign is used to designate the Hindi pronunciation of an English '0' like the first vowel in 'chocolate' - चॉकलेट.It doesn't have a standard transliteration in the roman script,and the sound isn't really affected: most people say चाकलेट caklet,with the standard long 'a' vowel.
Silent 'Inherent vowels'

Silent 'Inherent vowels'
The inherent vowel 'a' is silent at the end of a word in Hindi -though not in Sanskrit, Hindi's classical ancestor. Thus the name राम is pronounced 'Ram' in Hindi, 'Rama' in Sanskrit.

At the end of a word whose last syllable is a conjunct character, the inherent vowel is pronounced lightly in order to make the conjunct easier to say:अवशय avashya 'certainly',जन्म  janma 'birth'.
Sometimes an inherent vowel is silent in the middle of a word, even though the spelling involves no conjunct. Here is a general (if imperfect) pair ofmles:

In a word of three or more syllables that ends with a vowel other than
the inherent vowel, the penultimate inherent vowel is not pronounced. Thus समझ samajh, but समझ samjha (because it ends in long aa); रहना rahan (likewise).