Hindi is one of the world's major languages, generally ranked among the top three most widely spoken, with hundreds of millions of native speakers and a vast second-language community across South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European family and is written in the Devanagari script, which it shares with Sanskrit, Marathi, and Nepali. Hindi serves as a primary language of administration, media, and popular culture in India, one of the world's most linguistically diverse countries.

Hindi and Urdu are closely related, so closely that in some contexts it makes sense to speak of them as one language. They share the same grammatical structure and core vocabulary, and are sometimes grouped together under the combined designation Hindi-Urdu. The two diverge in their respective scripts, the sources of loanwords in their formal and literary vocabularies, and their literatures.

The literary tradition in Hindi is remarkably rich, spanning multiple centuries and written in several related varieties of the Hindi belt. Medieval poetry flourished in regional varieties such as Braj Bhasha and Avadhi, the varieties of the bhakti poets and of works like the Ramcharitmanas. Modern Hindi literature, written in the standardized Khari Boli dialect, encompasses all major genres including poetry, fiction, drama, and essay. Modern Hindi has produced figures of world literary stature, including Munshi Premchand and Harivansh Rai Bachchan.

Today, Hindi is the South Asian language with the widest reach in Indian film, television, journalism, and digital media. Hindi's global presence extends far beyond South Asia into diaspora communities and media markets worldwide. It is also increasingly important as a language of business and diplomacy, given India's growing role in the global economy.

Hindi at Penn

Penn offers a full sequence of Hindi courses, from beginning through advanced levels, with an emphasis on communicative proficiency alongside engagement with authentic literary and cultural materials. These courses provide students with a structured path to pursue various interests in Hindi: connecting with heritage, professional preparation, research, or the pleasure of accessing one of the world's great literary and cultural traditions in its original language.

At the beginning level, Hindi and Urdu are taught together as a single two-semester sequence, reflecting their shared grammar and core vocabulary. Students choose one script (Devanagari for Hindi or Nastaliq for Urdu) and access all course materials through that script, so there is no expectation of learning both. Students then continue through a two-semester Intermediate Hindi sequence before reaching Advanced Hindi, which surveys literary, journalistic, historical, and contemporary materials and may be taken multiple times for credit as its content varies each semester. Completing two semesters of Advanced Hindi qualifies students for the Language Certificate in Hindi. 

Each Hindi course is designed to provide students with a practical ability to use the language in the real world. By the end of the beginning sequence, students can handle essential everyday tasks and interactions to live and survive in Hindi-speaking environments. After the intermediate sequence, students can hold extended conversations with native speakers and access factual written sources and Hindi entertainment media with confidence. Advanced Hindi prepares students to engage with Hindi literature, participate in the full range of social situations with native speakers, and function in professional settings where Hindi is the primary language.

Students who wish to formalize their Hindi focus often pursue the SAST minor with an emphasis on Hindi, combining four Hindi courses with two foundational SAST courses. Hindi courses can likewise be counted toward the SAST major.