Saying the same thing at five different levels
I can say the same thing at any register the situation calls for
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
चलो, चलते हैं।
Come on, let's go.
अब हमें प्रस्थान करना चाहिए।
We ought to depart now.
अब प्रस्थान किया जाए।
Departure should now take place.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
| Intimate | चल, निकल। |
| Casual | चलो, चलते हैं। |
| Neutral | अब हमें चलना चाहिए। |
| Formal | अब हमें प्रस्थान करना चाहिए। |
| Official | अब प्रस्थान किया जाए। |
Vocabulary, verb form and the presence of a subject all shift together. Moving one without the others produces a sentence that sounds mismatched rather than polite.
Age, setting, written or spoken, and whether the relationship is transactional or personal. A shopkeeper you see daily gets a different register from one you do not.
Not the highest register but the right one. Over-formality is as conspicuous as under-formality, and to an Indian ear it usually reads as distance rather than as respect.
Apply this grammar in C2 course exercises
Practice ExercisesReaching for the highest register as though it were the safest.
Highest register used as the safe default
Over-formality reads as distance, not respect.
Vocabulary and verb form from different rungs
The whole sentence moves together.
चलो, चलते हैं।
Come on, let's go.
Casual, the everyday default among peers.
अब हमें प्रस्थान करना चाहिए।
We ought to depart now.
Formal: Sanskritic verb plus chahiye.
अब प्रस्थान किया जाए।
Departure should now take place.
Officialese; comic if said to a friend.
The check for this topic is still being prepared
Ready-made hints are free
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in C2 course exercises
Kamta Prasad Guru's grammar, the standard prescriptive reference for Hindi morphology and syntax.
The Government of India standard for Devanagari spelling, followed for all written forms here.