Directions & Getting Around
दिशा-निर्देश और आना-जाना
Asking for and giving directions is a natural place to meet the imperative mood for the first time — commands like 'turn' and 'continue' — and both French and Hindi default to their formal-register imperative when speaking to a stranger.
Grammar Comparison
व्याकरण तुलना
A first taste of the imperative, formal register in both languages
Tournez à gauche. (Turn left.) — Continuez tout droit. (Keep going straight.)
बाएँ मुड़िए। — सीधे चलते रहिए।
These direction-giving commands are examples of the imperative mood, formed here from the vous-conjugation with the pronoun simply dropped: (vous) tournez → Tournez !. Hindi builds its own polite imperative the same way, from the आप-conjugation: मुड़िए, चलिए, दीजिए all carry the आप-level ending, used by default with a stranger on the street exactly as vous is in French. Both languages reach for their formal-register command form here rather than the casual one — so the underlying instinct, 'use the polite form with strangers', transfers directly. Full imperative rules for all persons come in a later lesson — for now, just recognize and use these as fixed direction phrases.
Vocabulary
शब्दावली
- Hindi
- बाएँ मुड़िएbāeñ muṛie
- English
- turn left
- Hindi
- दाएँ मुड़िएdāeñ muṛie
- English
- turn right
- Hindi
- सीधेsīdhe
- English
- straight ahead
- Hindi
- ...कहाँ है?...kahāñ hai?
- English
- where is...?
- Hindi
- यह दूर हैyah dūr hai
- English
- it's far
- Hindi
- यह पास हैyah pās hai
- English
- it's near
- Hindi
- सड़कsaṛak
- English
- the street
- Hindi
- चौराहाcauṛāhā
- English
- the intersection
- Hindi
- लाल बत्तीlāl battī
- English
- the traffic light
- Hindi
- के सामनेke sāmne
- English
- across from, opposite
- Hindi
- के बगल मेंke bagal meñ
- English
- next to