Subordinate Clauses: weil, dass, wenn
आश्रित उपवाक्य: weil, dass, wenn
One of the biggest word-order differences between German and English: a subordinating conjunction pushes the verb to the very end of its clause — but this is already natural for Hindi speakers, since Hindi keeps the verb at the end in every sentence.
Grammar Comparison
व्याकरण तुलना
Subordinators push the verb to the end — the same order as Hindi
Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich krank bin. (I'm staying home because I am sick — bin moves to the very end)
मैं घर पर रहता हूँ, क्योंकि मैं बीमार हूँ।
In Hindi's "क्योंकि मैं बीमार हूँ" the verb is already at the end — exactly like German weil ich krank bin. In German, a subordinating conjunction (weil, dass, wenn, ob, obwohl...) pushes the conjugated verb all the way to the end of the clause: ich bin krank becomes weil ich krank bin. English speakers naturally want to say weil ich bin krank (keeping the main-clause order) — but you're not at risk of that mistake, since every ordinary Hindi sentence already runs verb-final.
dass introduces stated facts and opinions
Ich glaube, dass er recht hat. (I believe that he is right.)
मुझे विश्वास है कि वह सही है।
Like Hindi's "कि", German dass is mandatory — where English can optionally drop 'that' (I believe he is right / I believe that he is right — both fine), German never drops dass. Hindi's "कि" is also generally required, so this rule should feel natural.
wenn: if / whenever
Wenn es regnet, bleibe ich zu Hause. (If/whenever it rains, I stay home.)
अगर बारिश होती है, तो मैं घर पर रहता हूँ। / जब भी बारिश होती है...
wenn covers both a conditional 'if' and a repeated 'whenever' — context tells you which. Notice: when the subordinate clause comes first, as here, the main clause's verb (bleibe) comes right after the comma, creating a 'verb, verb' stack (regnet, bleibe) — this feels just as natural in Hindi ("अगर बारिश होती है, रहता हूँ") as it does in standard German word order.
Vocabulary
शब्दावली
| German | Pronunciation | Hindi | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| weil | vyl | क्योंकिkyoñki | because |
| dass | dahs | किki | that |
| wenn | ven | अगर / जब (भी)agar / jab (bhī) | if / when(ever) |
| obwohl | op-VOHL | हालाँकिhālāñki | although |
| ob | op | क्या (अनिश्चितता में)kyā | whether |
| während | VAY-rent | जब तक / जबकिjab tak / jabki | while |
| bevor | beh-FOR | इससे पहले किisse pahle ki | before |
| nachdem | nahkh-DAYM | इसके बाद किiske bād ki | after |
| damit | dah-MIT | ताकिtāki | so that |