Hindi vs Spanish grammar: what's surprisingly similar

When people ask me whether Spanish is hard, I often ask them a question back: do you speak Hindi? Because if you do, a surprising amount of Spanish grammar will feel like something you've seen before. Not the words, but the way sentences are put together.

English speakers are often thrown by things like masculine and feminine nouns, two ways of saying "you", or me gustaI likeLiterally, it pleases me. working "backwards". Hindi speakers tend to nod and say, "Oh, like in Hindi." That moment of recognition is one of my favourite things about teaching.

In this post I'll go through the Hindi Spanish grammar similarities that genuinely help, with examples side by side. I'll also be honest about where the two languages go different ways, because knowing the differences saves you from the most common mistakes. If you've finished A1 and you're getting into A2, this is the perfect time to see the patterns. ¡Vamos!Let's go!Used to cheer someone on or get moving.

Why are Hindi and Spanish grammar similar at all?

Hindi and Spanish both belong to the Indo-European language family. Hindi descends from Sanskrit, and Spanish from Latin, and Sanskrit and Latin were distant cousins. Over thousands of years both families changed a lot, but some deep patterns survived in both.

Not every similarity comes from this family link. Some are simply common ways human languages work. But whatever the reason, the result for you is the same: less to learn from scratch.

1. Every noun is masculine or feminine

In Hindi, every noun has a gender, even objects. किताब is feminine, कमरा is masculine. Spanish works the same way: el librothe bookMasculine. is masculine and la mesathe tableFeminine. is feminine. Both languages have just two genders, with no neuter.

And in both, the adjective follows the noun's gender. In Hindi: अच्छा लड़का, अच्छी लड़की. In Spanish: un chico altoa tall boyMasculine noun, masculine adjective., una chica altaa tall girlFeminine noun, feminine adjective..

Even the exceptions match. In Hindi, only some adjectives change: अच्छा becomes अच्छी, but लाल and सुंदर stay the same for everyone. In Spanish, adjectives ending in -o change, but ones ending in -e or a consonant don't: inteligenteintelligentSame for masculine and feminine. and felizhappySame for masculine and feminine. work for everyone.

One warning: the gender of a word doesn't carry over. किताब is feminine in Hindi, but librobookA masculine noun in Spanish. is masculine in Spanish. So learn each Spanish noun with its article. I go deeper into this in gender in Spanish and Hindi.

2. You can drop "I", "you" and "we"

In English you can't just say "am going". You need the "I". In Hindi you can: "जा रहा हूँ" is a full sentence, because हूँ already tells us it's "I".

Spanish does the same, even more often. The verb ending shows who's doing the action, so the pronoun is usually left out:

• Hablo español.I speak Spanish.The -o ending already means "I". No need for yoIThe pronoun "I"..
• ¿Vienes?Are you coming?The -s ending means "you". No need for túyou (informal)For friends, family and people your age..
• Vamos mañana.We're going tomorrow.The -mos ending means "we".

In Spanish you add the pronoun only for emphasis or contrast, just like you'd add मैं in Hindi when you want to stress it: "मैं जा रहा हूँ, तुम नहीं." In Spanish: Yo voy, tú no.I'm going, you're not.Pronouns added for contrast.

3. Two ways to say "you"

Hindi has तुम for friends and आप for respect (and तू for the very close or very casual). Spanish has túyou (informal)For friends, family and people your age. for friends and family, and ustedyou (formal)For older people, strangers and formal situations. for respect.

You choose between them in a very similar way. Your teacher, your boss, an older stranger: आप in Hindi, ustedyou (formal)For older people, strangers and formal situations. in Spanish. Your friends and cousins: तुम, túyou (informal)For friends, family and people your age..

Here's a lovely detail. Both languages "borrow" another verb form to show respect. Hindi आप takes the plural verb: आप कैसे हैं? Spanish ustedyou (formal)For older people, strangers and formal situations. takes the "he/she" form of the verb: ¿Cómo está usted?How are you? (formal)Usted uses the he/she form of the verb. Different trick, same idea: you speak to the person a little indirectly, as a sign of respect.

In Spain, you'll hear túyou (informal)For friends, family and people your age. much more than you might expect, even with people you've just met. For the full story, see tú vs usted.

4. Me gustaI likeLiterally, it pleases me. works exactly like मुझे पसंद है

This is my favourite one, and it's where Hindi speakers have a real advantage over English speakers.

In English, you do the liking: "I like tea." In Hindi, the person who likes is in the "to me" form, and the thing liked is the subject: मुझे चाय पसंद है. Literally, "to me, tea is pleasing."

Spanish does exactly the same: Me gusta el té.I like tea.Literally, tea is pleasing to me. Meto meThe person who likes. is "to me", and the tea is the subject. English speakers find this backwards. You've been saying it this way all your life.

It gets even better. In Hindi, the verb agrees with the thing you like: मुझे आम पसंद हैं, plural, because there are many mangoes. Spanish does the same: Me gustan los mangos.I like mangoes.Plural, because mangoes is plural., with the plural gustanare pleasingPlural form of gusta..

Other Spanish verbs work the same way: me dueleit hurts meDuele agrees with the part that hurts. for pain and me encantaI love itA stronger me gusta. for things you love.

5. The personal a is like को

Here's one that surprises even advanced learners. In Spanish, when the object of a verb is a specific person, you put a little atoThe personal a, before people. in front of it:

• Veo a María.I see María.The personal a, because María is a person.
• Llamo a mi madre.I'm calling my mother.Personal a before a person.

But not for things: Veo la casa.I see the house.No a, because a house isn't a person.

Sound familiar? Hindi does something very similar with को: मैं मारिया को देखता हूँ, but मैं घर देखता हूँ. Hindi uses को mainly for people and for specific things, and Spanish uses the personal atoThe personal a, before people. for people. The details aren't identical, but the instinct is the same: people get a little marker.

And atoMarks who receives something. also does the other job of को, marking who receives something. मैं राहुल को किताब देता हूँ → Le doy el libro a Rahul.I give the book to Rahul.A marks who receives it.

6. Questions with just your voice

In Hindi, "तुम आ रहे हो" becomes a question just by raising your voice at the end: "तुम आ रहे हो?" You can add क्या at the start, but you don't have to.

Spanish works the same way. Vienes.You're coming.A statement. and ¿Vienes?Are you coming?A question, made with tone alone. are the same words; only your voice changes. No "do" or "does" like in English. Spanish even warns the reader at the start with an upside-down question mark, so you know to raise your voice before you get to the end.

The question words even sound alike

Look at the Hindi question words: क्या, कौन, कब, कैसे, कितना, कहाँ. Most begin with a k sound. Now Spanish: quéwhatSaid "keh"., quiénwhoSaid "kyen"., cuándowhenSaid "kwan-do"., cómohowSaid "ko-mo"., cuántohow muchSaid "kwan-to"., cuálwhichSaid "kwal".. Also a k sound!

That's not a coincidence. Both sets come from the same ancient Indo-European question word, which started with a kw sound. Latin kept it as qu, Sanskrit as क. Only dóndewhereThe odd one out, with a d. breaks the pattern, because over time it picked up an extra d at the front.

7. "Not" goes right before the verb

In English, negatives need a helper: "I do not speak." In Hindi, you just put नहीं before the verb: मैं नहीं बोलता. Spanish is just as simple. Put nonotGoes right before the verb. before the verb: No hablo francés.I don't speak French.No goes before the verb.

No "do", no "does", no "did". If you can say मैं नहीं जानता, you can say No sé.I don't know.From saber, to know.

8. "I am eating": रहा and estarto be (right now)For states and actions in progress.

To say what you're doing right now, Hindi uses खा रहा हूँ, and Spanish uses estoy comiendoI am eatingEstar plus the -ing form.. Both build it from two parts: a helper verb plus a form of the main verb.

Here's the fun part. Hindi रहा comes from रहना, "to stay". Spanish estarTo be (right now)For how or where something is: feelings, states, location. comes from the Latin word stare, "to stand". Both languages use a "stay where you are" kind of verb to say "in the middle of doing something". Two different paths to the same picture.

9. "I want you to come": कि and quethatJoins two parts of a sentence.

This one's a sneak peek at B1, but it's too good to leave out. In Hindi, you say मैं चाहता हूँ कि तुम आओ. Notice two things: the joining word कि, and the special verb form आओ (not आते हो).

Spanish does exactly the same: Quiero que vengas.I want you to come.Que plus the subjunctive. The joining word is quethatJoins two parts of a sentence., just like कि, and the verb takes a special form, vengasyou come (subjunctive)The subjunctive form of venir., not vienesyou comeThe normal present form.. In Spanish this form is called the subjunctive, and it has a scary reputation. But Hindi has a very similar mood, so the idea won't be new to you. When you get there, read the Spanish subjunctive for beginners.

Where Hindi and Spanish grammar are different

Now the honest part. These are the places where your Hindi instincts will lead you wrong, and they're behind many of the mistakes I correct in class.

Word order: verb in the middle, not at the end

Hindi puts the verb at the end: मैं चाय पीता हूँ. Spanish, like English, puts it in the middle: Bebo té.I drink tea.Verb before the object.

There's one exception that feels Hindi-like. Short object pronouns go before the verb in Spanish: Te quiero.I love you.Te goes before the verb. (मैं तुमसे प्यार करता हूँ), Lo veo.I see it.Lo goes before the verb.

Prepositions come before, not after

Hindi uses postpositions, little words that come after the noun: घर में, मेज़ पर, दिल्ली से. Spanish uses prepositions that come before: en casaat homeEn comes before the noun., en la mesaon the tableEn covers both in and on., de Delhifrom DelhiDe comes before the noun..

Notice that one Spanish word, enin, on, atOne word for में and पर., covers both में and पर. And possession flips around too: अना की किताब becomes el libro de AnaAna's bookLiterally, the book of Ana., literally "the book of Ana".

Articles: the little words Hindi doesn't have

Hindi has no "the" and no "a". Spanish has both, and they change for gender and number: eltheMasculine singular., latheFeminine singular., lostheMasculine plural., lastheFeminine plural., unaMasculine., unaaFeminine.. Forgetting them is one of the most common slips for Indian learners.

Verbs don't show your gender

In Hindi, a man says मैं जाता हूँ and a woman says मैं जाती हूँ. The verb shows the speaker's gender. In Spanish, it doesn't: voyI goThe same for men and women. is the same for everyone. Gender shows up in the adjectives instead: Estoy cansado.I'm tired.Said by a man. or Estoy cansada.I'm tired.Said by a woman.

Hindi vs Spanish grammar at a glance

Here's the whole picture in one table, to save and revise.

Keep going

Grammar becomes much friendlier when you can hang new rules on things you already know. That's how I like to teach: starting from Hindi and English, and showing you the bridges. At A2, these patterns start coming together, and you'll suddenly find yourself building longer sentences without thinking too hard.

If you'd like to practise all this out loud, join my A2 batch. We meet live on Google Meet in small groups of up to 5, so you'll speak in every class and I can point out the Hindi bridges as we go. For more connections, read Spanish sounds you already know from Hindi, and if you're still at the start, Spanish present tense regular verbs is a great next step. Poco a pocoLittle by littleProgress comes step by step..