What are good Hindi dictation words for classes 1 to 4?

Hindi dictation words should get harder one step at a time. In class 1, use words built only from consonants with their inherent vowel, with no matra signs and no halant, such as घर and कमल. In class 2, add one matra per word, such as काम and दिन. In class 3, allow two matras and simple conjuncts, such as किताब and बिल्ली. In class 4, add longer conjuncts such as स्कूल and sentences that end with the danda. The examples here are our own selection. We did not check them against an official textbook, so match each list to the book the class is using.

Class 1: words with no matra and no halant

A matra is a vowel sign written on a consonant. Unicode describes the dependent vowels as the common way to show vowels other than the inherent one, and it notes that they are called matras in Sanskrit ¹. A class 1 child has not yet learned those signs, so a class 1 list should leave them out. The words घर, कमल, जल, सच and नमक all qualify, because every letter is a consonant with its inherent vowel, or an independent vowel letter.

The sibling question covers this list in full: Hindi dictation words without matra. The halant is the sign that removes the inherent vowel. In this list it first appears in class 3 words, as part of a conjunct. Unicode explains that in Hindi the word hal names the character that suppresses the inherent vowel, and halant names the consonant whose vowel is suppressed ². Keep halant words out of class 1.

Class 2: one matra per word

Once a child knows the common matras, a class 2 list can use words with a single matra, such as काम (work), दिन (day), फूल (flower) and नाम (name). Each word has one vowel sign, so a child can check a single sign at a time. If the child confuses two signs, such as ि and ी, make a short list of only those words, and dictate them again a few days later.

Class 3: two matras and simple conjuncts

Class 3 words can have more than one matra, such as पानी (water) and किताब (book). They can also use a conjunct, where two consonants are joined with a halant, such as बिल्ली (cat). The conjunct is a step that can cause errors, because the child must write the joined form rather than two separate letters. Dictate a few conjunct words in a row, and then put one into a short sentence to test it in use.

Class 4: longer conjuncts and the danda

In class 4, add longer conjuncts such as स्कूल (school), पत्ता (leaf) and words of two or more syllables. Sentences should end with the danda, the vertical stroke that marks the end of a sentence in Hindi. The code point page for DEVANAGARI DANDA (U+0964) says it can end sentences at appropriate places ³. Microsoft's Hindi table for Dictate in Word maps the spoken phrase पूर्ण विराम (full stop) to the danda (।) ⁴, so dictation in Word uses the same mark. Teach the child to write the danda at the end of each sentence, and mark a missing one as an error.

Check the spoken form, because the final vowel may not be heard

In Hindi, a final inherent vowel can be deleted in speech. Wikipedia's article on schwa deletion in Indo-Aryan languages says the final schwa in its example word, a Sanskrit word, is deleted in both Hindi and Bengali ⁵. This means a child may say a word one way and need to write it another way. A child who writes the spoken form may lose marks. Agree the rule with the teacher, and show the written form next to the spoken word on the list.

Voice tools can check Hindi, but they are not a spelling test

Hindi is supported in some voice typing tools. Google's Docs help page lists Hindi among the languages and accents that voice typing works in ⁶, and Apple's iOS and iPadOS feature page lists Hindi (India) in its general Dictation section ⁷. A teacher can use a voice tool to see what a recognizer heard after a child has written a word. A recognizer can also be wrong, so treat its output as a question to check, not as the answer. The child's own writing should be the basis of the score.

What to do

1. Choose the class level, then pick words from the textbook the child is using.
2. Use only the matra and halant patterns taught so far, and add one new pattern at a time.
3. Dictate the list once, and check each word against the written form.
4. Ask the child to write the danda at the end of each sentence.
5. Repeat the words the child missed a few days later.

For the wider picture of Hindi and other languages, read the guide to dictation for language learning and the overview of dictation languages and accents. For the Hindi word for dictation itself, see what dictation is called in Hindi. For a different lens on the same subject, see English dictation words for kids.