Human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, endowed with logic and conscience, and should work towards each other in an atmosphere of brotherhood.
Learn the Hindi alphabet. Unlike English consonants, Hindi consonants fall into two broad categories: unaspirated and aspirated. When aspirating occurs during pronunciation, air is released through the mouth and throat as the person exhales forcefully during articulation.
1. Aap aap
Hindi is a complex language with numerous dialects and uses of pronouns. For instance, informal “tu” pronouns may be reserved for close family and close friends, while formal “aap” ones are reserved for elders and strangers, but non-native speakers might find it confusing when to employ these pronouns.
Pratibha Sharma, an employee from Delhi working in Mumbai, tweeted recently about how surprised she was to hear Bombay residents addressing strangers with “tu.” Her tweet quickly went viral, sparking discussion on the variations between Hindi speakers from various regions.
Some responses echoed her surprise at Mumbai residents’ casual attitude with people they barely know, while others defended “tu” as not necessarily being rude and should not be judged as such by outsiders. Additionally, this dialogue revealed the complex cultural environment surrounding Hindi: many working-class people in northern India prefer using informal pronouns, while in particular dialects like Bambaiya Hindi spoken by Mumbai’s residents, “tu” does not indicate disrespect or lack of consideration.
2. Tum tum
Tum tum is an informal pronoun used among your peers and those younger than yourself in casual settings, while elders or people who clearly command more status would use “aap.”
Namaste is the traditional greeting to use when greeting people with folded hands; both can serve as all-purpose greetings, such as hello, good morning, or farewell.
Contrary to English, Hindi does not use the definite article ‘the’; adjectives instead agree with the noun they qualify; for instance, masculine nouns typically end in aa, while feminine ones end with either an ii or an iya ending, with certain adjectives like saaf being invariant and therefore never changing (such as its meaning being ‘clean’). Furthermore, Hindi contains 33 consonants and 11 vowels; its tone-dependent pronunciation also alters meaning.
Practice pronouncing “tum” with our record or microphone button below. After recording, a signal in the window will indicate how your recording should sound; once complete, playback your word recording to compare its pronunciation with that of sample audio files.
Try our Fancy Text Styles for Tum Tum for extra fun! With over 30 styles to choose from, experiment to see which combinations best suit you!
3. Tuu tuu
Tuu tuu is a Hindi word. With our interactive pronunciation dictionary, you can learn its correct pronunciation with regional accents and variations for you to practice saying the word correctly. Furthermore, our microphone allows you to record yourself saying it so you can compare yourself against our recorded audio version.
Meaning: Tu is used before prepositions to indicate “how” or “when,” such as Sa Tuutaav NainmshnotyamhatiH (sa Tuu Nainamasnotyam HatiH), Rgveda 1.94.2. It can also serve as a dative; Tu Mi Karanem is translated from Pr. Hum Tar Bhandim Ghamsa Tu (Tu Mi Var Ayenem).
Note: Tuu is a homophone of English words two, twain, and twee; Dutch twee, German zwei, and Danish tree are also homophones of this term. Additionally, it shares cognates with Scots twa (two), West Frisian tour, and Icelandic tub (tube).
Its definition, history, and etymology can be found here, along with a translation into Hindi and other Indian languages. Recording and comparison features can also help practice pronunciation across regional accents.
4. Aap aap tum tum
Beginning Hindi can be daunting for beginners. Not only are there grammar challenges to contend with, but regional dialects vary significantly depending on where you come from and the relationships that form around you.
Pratibha from Delhi kicked off this debate over Hindi address this week when she tweeted that calling someone “tu” in Mumbai is impolite, especially among working-class people and those from marginalized castes. This term can often be associated with disrespect.
Pratibha has since clarified that her tweet was written tongue in cheek. She explained that she generally refers to people as either parents, elder brothers, or acquaintances while using “tum” with only close friends or those of similar ages.
To put it another way, ‘tu’ refers to informal and intimate speech, while ‘aap’ is formal and respectful in Hindi. A native speaker might use either one or both based on context; typically, they avoid using ‘tumhe/tujhe,’ which could be taken as being disrespectful, although in certain regions, this usage remains commonplace. Although the difference may seem subtle when learning Hindi, understanding regional dialect differences is essential for successful language acquisition.
5. Tuu tuu tum tum
Tuu is the informal and intimate form of you in Hindi, typically used when talking to close friends, family members, and people of the same age or younger. Additionally, it may be used politely and respectfully when addressing elders or strangers. Tuu may be substituted for aap when wanting to show respect or avoid offending someone.
Hindi’s use of multiple forms for “you”–aap, tu, and tum–depends on both intimacy and formality in relationships; one wonders if this stems from regional influences like Gujarati or Marathi or forms part of its vocabulary.
