Priya Verma

In terms of reading comprehension, when you are beginning to read in Hindi, it is often helpful to consult children’s books and other basic texts (such as those found in Hindi grammar books or autodidactic guides). When you are reading a passage, try to make sense of it on your own, without looking up words in a dictionary or remaining stuck for too long on a particular word or phrase that you do not understand. Once you’ve completed a paragraph, let’s say, you can then try to summarize mentally what you’ve just read and make sense of it, even without knowing what certain words and phrases mean. Then, you can look up the words you didn’t know in a dictionary. You’ll find that, despite not knowing what certain words and phrases mean, you can make sense of a passage to a great extent based mostly or solely on context. This attitude and method will encourage you to keep reading rather than constantly slowing yourself down with a dictionary and thus becoming easily discouraged. After you read a particular passage and look up words you didn’t know, you can make flashcards for the words that you think will be most useful to you using a Flashcard app on your phone and/or computer software. Gradually, you’ll be able to tackle more difficult reading material, including short stories, novels and poetry that may not be in the modern or standard vernacular but will be much more rewarding to read.

Now, try to read only the Hindi portions of the following passage, paying attention to the words I’ve provided in parentheses (I’ve made this one easy for you) and making sense of each paragraph. Then, answer the reading comprehension questions at the bottom (again, without looking at the English translation). After answering the comprehension questions, you can read the English sections to see if you were correct in your assumptions.

didn’t know, you can make flashcards for the words that you think will be most useful to you using a Flashcard app on your phone and/or computer software. Gradually, you’ll be able to tackle more difficult reading material, including short stories, novels and poetry that may not be in the modern or standard v

didn’t know, you can make flashcards for the words that you think will be most useful to you using a Flashcard app on your phone and/or computer software. Gradually, you’ll be able to tackle more difficult reading material, including short stories, novels and poetry that may not be in the modern or standard v

didn’t know, you can make flashcards for the words that you think will be most useful to you using a Flashcard app on your phone and/or computer software. Gradually, you’ll be able to tackle more difficult reading material, including short stories, novels and poetry that may not be in the modern or standard v