Hindi shortcuts

The alphabet, the matras, and why you already know the order.

• You already know the alphabet orderDevanagari and your own script share the same 5×5 grid, in the same order.
• Matras are just the vowel's shadowEvery vowel has a full form and a small sign — learn them as pairs.
• The four conjuncts worth learning firstक्ष, त्र, ज्ञ, श्र appear constantly and look like nothing else.

Gender, agreement and the postpositions nobody explains properly.

• Guessing gender from the endingEnds in आ, usually masculine. Ends in ई, usually feminine.
• का, की, के — agreeing with what comes afterIt matches the thing being owned, never the owner.
• ता, ती, ते — the verb copies the subjectOne ending for masculine, one for feminine, one for plural or respect.
• Hindi puts the preposition afterEnglish says 'in the house'. Hindi says 'house in'.
• The mysterious नेPast tense, and the verb agrees with the object instead of the subject.

Numbers, time, and sentences you can use tomorrow.

• Hindi numbers — learn the tens, guess the restEvery number is 'one-less-than-the-next-ten' in disguise.
• तू, तुम, आप — getting respect rightThree words for 'you', and choosing wrong is worse than a grammar mistake.