Hindustani vocabulary
Hindustani, also known as Hindi-Urdu, like all Indo-Aryan languages, has a core base of Sanskrit-derived vocabulary, which it gained through Prakrit. As such the standardized registers of the Hindustani language share a common vocabulary, especially on the colloquial level. However, in formal contexts, Modern Standard Hindi tends to draw on Sanskrit, while Standard Urdu turns to Persian and sometimes Arabic. This difference lies in the history of Hindustani, in which the lingua franca started to gain more Persian words in urban areas, under the Delhi Sultanate; this dialect came to be termed Urdu.
The original Hindi dialects continued to develop alongside Urdu and according to Professor Afroz Taj, "the distinction between Hindi and Urdu was chiefly a question of style. A poet could draw upon Urdu's lexical richness to create an aura of elegant sophistication, or could use the simple rustic vocabulary of dialect Hindi to evoke the folk life of the village. Somewhere in the middle lay the day to day language spoken by the great majority of people. This day to day language was often referred to by the all-encompassing term Hindustani." In Colonial India, Hindi-Urdu acquired vocabulary introduced by Christian missionaries from the Germanic and Romanic languages, e.g. pādrī from padre, meaning pastor.
When describing the state of Hindi-Urdu under the British Raj, Professor Śekhara Bandyopādhyāẏa stated that "Truly speaking, Hindi and Urdu, spoken by a great majority of people in north India, were the same language written in two scripts; Hindi was written in Devanagari script and therefore had a greater sprinkling of Sanskrit words, while Urdu was written in Persian script and thus had more Persian and Arabic words in it. At the more colloquial level, however, the two languages were mutually intelligible." After the partition of India, political forces within India tried to further Sanskritize Hindi, while political forces in Pakistan campaigned to remove Prakit/Sanskrit derived words from Urdu and supplant them with Persian and Arabic words. Despite these government efforts, the film industry, Bollywood continues to release its films in the original Hindustani language, easily understood and enjoyed by speakers of both registers; in addition, many of the same television channels are viewed across the border. In modern times, a third variety of Hindustani with significant English influences has also appeared, which is sometimes called Hinglish or Urdish.
Linguistic classification
is one of the Indo-Aryan languages of the Indo-European language family. The core of Hindi vocabulary is thus etymologically Indo-European. However, centuries of borrowing has led to the adoption of a wide range of words with foreign origins.Examples of borrowed words
Due to centuries of contact with Europeans, Turkic peoples, Arabs, Persians, and East Asians, Hindi-Urdu has absorbed countless words from foreign languages, often totally integrating these borrowings into the core vocabulary. The most common borrowings from foreign languages come from three different kinds of contact. Close contact with neighboring peoples facilitated the borrowing of words from other Indian languages, Chinese, Burmese, and several indigenous Austroasiatic languages of North India. After centuries of invasions from Persia and the Middle East, particularly under the Mughal Empire, numerous Turkish, Arabic, and Persian words were absorbed and fully integrated into the lexicon. Later, European colonialism brought words from Portuguese, French, Dutch, and most significantly English. Some very common borrowings are shown below.Borrowings from neighboring languages
Other Indo-Aryan languages
Dravidian languages (द्राविड़ी دراوڑی ''Drāviṛī'')
Austroasiatic languages
Chinese (चीनी چینی ''Cīnī'')
Borrowings from the Persianate era
Arabic (अरबी عربی ''Arbī'')
All Arabic loanwords in Hindi-Urdu are through Classical Persian.| Word | Meaning | Original form |
| अक़्ल عقل aql | wisdom | عقل ‘aql |
| इलाक़ा علاقہ ilāqā | area | علاقة ‘alāqa "relationship, connection" |
| वज़न وزن vazan | weight | وزن wazn "scale" |
| क़बर قبر qabr | grave | قبر qubr |
| ख़बर خبر k͟habar | news | خبر ḫabar |
| ख़ाली خالی k͟hālī | empty | خالي ḫāliyy |
| ख़्याल خیال k͟hayāl | consideration | خيال ḫayāl " imagination" |
| ग़रीब غریب ġarīb | poor | غريب ġarīb "strange" |
| जवाब جواب javāb | answer | جواب jawāb |
| सवाल سوال savāl | question | سؤال su‘āl |
| जमा جمع jamā | collect | جمع jam‘ |
| तारीख़ تاریخ tārīk͟h | date | تاريخ tārīḫ "history, date" |
| दुनिया دنیا duniyā | world | دنيا dunyā |
| नक़ल نقل naqal | fake | نقل naql |
| फ़क़ीर فقیر faqīr | poor person | فقير faqīr |
| बदल بدل badal | exchange | بدل badl |
| बाक़ी باقی bāqī | remaining | بقي baqīy |
| साहब صاحب sāhab | sir | صاحب ṣāḥib "friend" |
| हिसाब حساب hisāb | calculation | حساب ḥisāb |
| मालिक مالک mālik | owner | مالك mālik "owner, proprietor, holder" |
| लज़ीज़ لذیذ lazīz | delicious | لذيذ laḏīḏ "tasty" |
| किताब کتاب kitāb | book | كتاب kitāb "book" |
| एहतियात احتیاط ehtiyāt | precaution | احتياط iḥtiyyāt "precaution, reserve" |
| शख़्स شخص śak͟hs | person | شخص šaḫs "person" |
| शहीद شہید śahīd | martyr | شهيد šahīd "martyr" |
| हद حد had | limit | حد ḥadd "limit" |
| सेहत صحت sehat | health | صحة ṣiḥa "health" |
Persian (फ़ारसी فارسی)
Turkic languages (तुर्की ترکی ''Turkī'')
Almost all Turkic loans in Hindi-Urdu have been borrowed via Classical Persian.| Word | Meaning | Original form |
| उर्दू اردو Urdū | Urdu | Ultimately from Proto-Turkic *ordu |
| क़ैंची قینچی qaiñcī | scissors | kaïcï in Chagatai/Proto-Mongolic |
| क़ोरमा قورمہ qormā | korma | Ottoman Turkish قاورمه kaverma |
| बावरची باورچی bāvarcī | cook, chef | Ottoman Turkish via Persian باورچی bāwarčī |
| बेगम بیگم begam | lady | Chagatai بیگم begim |
| क़ुली قلی qulī | laborer, porter | Chagatai قلی quli |
| यूरिश یورش yūriś | assault | Chagatai یورش yöriş |
Borrowings from the Colonial Era
Portuguese (पुर्तुगाली پرتگالی ''Purtugālī'')
Portuguese borrowings mostly describe household items, fruits, and religious concepts dealing with Catholicism:Household
| Word | Meaning | Original form |
| अलमारी الماری almāri | closet, cupboard | armário |
| आलपीन آلپین ālpīn | safety pin | alfinete |
| इस्त्री استری istrī | to iron | estirar |
| इस्पात ایسپات ispāt | steel | espada "sword" |
| गमला گملا gamlā | basket | gamela "wooden trough" |
| चाबी چابی cābī | key | chave |
| जंगला جنگلا jaṅglā | window-railing | janela |
| तम्बाकू تمباکو tambākū | tobacco | tabaco |
| तौलिया تولیہ tauliyā | towel | toalha |
| फ़ीता فیتا fītā | lace, ribbon | fita |
| बराम्दा برامدہ baramdā | verandah | varanda |
| बाल्टी بالٹی bālṭī | pail | balde |
Food
| Word | Meaning | Original form |
| अनानास انناس anānās | pineapple | ananás |
| काजू کاجو kāju | cashew | caju |
| गोभी گوبھی gobhī | cabbage, cauliflower | couve |
| पाउ रोटी پاؤ روٹی pāu roṭī | sliced bread | pão "bread" |
| पपीता پپیتا papītā | papaya | papaia |
| साबूदाना سابودانا sābūdānā | sago | sagu |
| सलाद سلاد salād | salad | salada |
Religion
| Word | Meaning | Original form |
| क्रूस کروس krūs | cross | cruz |
| गिरजा گرجا girjā | church | igreja |
| पादरी پادری padrī | Christian priest/minister | padre |
Other
| Word | Meaning | Original form |
| अंग्रेज़ انگریز aṅgrez | English | inglês |
| ओलंदेज़ اولبدیز olandez | Dutch | holandês |
| अस्पताल اسپتال aspatāl | hospital | espital |
| पिस्तौल پستول pistaul | pistol | pistola |
| फ़ालतू فالتو fāltū | useless | falto |