How to Say Common Words in Bengali

X

wikiHow is a “wiki” site, which means that many of the articles here are written by multiple authors. To create this article, 38 people, some of whom are anonymous, have edited and improved the article over time.

This post has been viewed 10,227 times.

Bengali means people/Bengali ( Ben-gp /Ben-gpi ). Learning a new language is challenging, especially when you have to learn a whole new alphabet. However, you can still start learning common phrases. Whether you’re traveling in Bangladesh and need to speak Bengali or you just want to learn for fun, with a little effort you can learn basic phrases in the language.

Table of Contents

Get acquainted with Bengali

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/e/e8/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-1-Version-3.jpg/v4-728px-Say- Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-1-Version-3.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/e/e8/Say-Common-Words-in- Bengali-Step-1-Version-3.jpg/v4-728px-Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-1-Version-3.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Make a list of common words or phrases that you want to learn. Common phrases are often helpful and are a good place to start if you want to become fluent in just one day. Let’s start by going through common Bengali words and their phonetic pronunciations in English, ^{[1] X Research Sources}

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/3/35/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-2-Version-3.jpg/v4-728px-Say- Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-2-Version-3.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/3/35/Say-Common-Words-in- Bengali-Step-2-Version-3.jpg/v4-728px-Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-2-Version-3.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,” bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:”<div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Learn how to greet, say polite sentences and count. Learning these words is essential because you can speak the language politely. Learning to count is equally helpful so you don’t have to use your fingers to represent numbers.

Hello: Salaam (Muslim only) or “NawMoShkar” (Hindu only)
Goodbye: “aabar dekha hobe” (a way of saying goodbye but meaning we’ll see you later)
Please…: “doya kore or onugroho”
Thanks: “dhon-no-baad”
Yes/Yes: “jee” – used only in Bangladesh, “hañ” – used everywhere
No: “naa”
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8, 9, 10: “ek, dui, teen, chaar, pañch, choy, saat, aat, noy, dos”

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/b/bb/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-3.jpg/v4-728px-Say-Common-Words- in-Bengali-Step-3.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/b/bb/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-3.jpg/ v4-728px-Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-3.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:” <div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Learn vocabulary about food. Food is a basic human need and of course you will have to talk about this topic at some point. Therefore, you need to know the right words when you want to talk about food, even just the basics.

Food: “khaabaar”
Country: “paani” – used in Bangladesh or “jp” – used in India
Eat: “khao” (casual context) “khaan” (formal context)
Delicious: “moja” – used in Bangladesh or “Shu-shadu” – used in India
Good: “bhaalo”

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/e/e9/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-4.jpg/v4-728px-Say-Common-Words- in-Bengali-Step-4.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/e/e9/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-4.jpg/ v4-728px-Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-4.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:” <div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Learn some basic questions. If you want to ask for a restroom or check with someone, you can learn some basic words to help you in a situation of need.

Where?: “kothay?”
What?: “ki?”
How should I do it?: “ki bhabey korbo”, “ami ki bhabhey korbo”
I want to go to the bathroom: “Ami Toilet e Jabo”
What are you doing?: “Tumi ki korcho?”, “tui ki korchis”, “apni ki korchen”
Where are you going?: “Apne kun jagay jajchen?”
I don’t know: “Ami jani na”
Did you know?: “Apne ki janen?”
How are you?: “kemon acho”, “kemon achis” (casual context), “kemon achen” (formal context)

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/a/a2/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-5.jpg/v4-728px-Say-Common-Words- in-Bengali-Step-5.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/a/a2/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-5.jpg/ v4-728px-Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-5.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:” <div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Learn to talk about yourself and others.

Me: “aami”
You: “tumi” (casual context), “aapni” (formal context), “tui”তুই” (usually used in casual context when close friends talk to each other)
He/She: “shey/o”
To: “esho,ay” (casual context) “aashun” (formal context)
Don’t go: “tumi jeo naa”, “tui jabi na” (casual context) “aapni jaben naa” (formal context)
Who is that?: “ke?”
Beautiful: “Shundor”
I Love You: “Ami Tomake Bhalobashi”
Girl: “Meye”
Boy: “Chele”

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/d/de/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-6.jpg/v4-728px-Say-Common-Words- in-Bengali-Step-6.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/d/de/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-6.jpg/ v4-728px-Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-6.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:” <div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Review how to read the alphabet if you have difficulty. Do you remember how your teachers taught you to pronounce when you were little? In Bengali this is much more important. Since the alphabet is syllabic, it makes it easy to pronounce whole words.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/d/df/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-7.jpg/v4-728px-Say-Common-Words- in-Bengali-Step-7.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/d/df/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-7.jpg/ v4-728px-Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-7.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:” <div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you don’t know how to pronounce a word or read it incorrectly, find the correct pronunciation online. There are many short videos that can help you test your pronunciation.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/b/bd/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-8.jpg/v4-728px-Say-Common-Words- in-Bengali-Step-8.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/b/bd/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-8.jpg/ v4-728px-Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-8.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:” <div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Continue! Learning any language is difficult, but starting to learn common phrases is a good start to getting to that language. In addition, this will also assist you in finding your way around where Bengali is spoken. Let’s start with the fundamentals of that language. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Learn fundamentals in Bengali

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/b/b0/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-9.jpg/v4-728px-Say-Common-Words- in-Bengali-Step-9.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/b/b0/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-9.jpg/ v4-728px-Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-9.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:” <div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Learn the alphabet. The Bengali alphabet has a syllabic form and the consonants all have the same vowel with two different pronunciations. If you want to recognize and say common words correctly, learning the alphabet is very important. ^{[3] X Research Resources} Learn how to write the alphabet in addition to learning how to pronounce each letter. This will make character recognition easier. Try learning the alphabet the way you learned the English alphabet as a child. Write each character and try to pronounce it as you write. You will gradually remember the characters of the alphabet.

Practice using Bengali

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/0/0d/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-13.jpg/v4-728px-Say-Common-Words- in-Bengali-Step-13.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/0/0d/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-13.jpg/ v4-728px-Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-13.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:” <div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Self-practice. ^{[5] X Research Source} Write down the words and read them aloud to yourself. You can buy the book if you want more instruction or find the lesson online. In addition, you will also find many videos online to help you pronounce words correctly. Try to pronounce exactly what you want to say. However, if you understand the meaning of a word but other people don’t understand what you mean, that’s okay too.

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/9/9b/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-14.jpg/v4-728px-Say-Common-Words- in-Bengali-Step-14.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/9/9b/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-14.jpg/ v4-728px-Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-14.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:” <div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Practice Bengali online. If you don’t have a friend to practice speaking Bengali with, you can always find others online! Type in “Talk to Bengali” online and you will find lots of websites that allow you to chat with someone who speaks Bengali. Even if it’s just a casual polite exchange, it’s a good place to start. ^{[6] X Research Source}

{“smallUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images_en/thumb/2/2e/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-15.jpg/v4-728px-Say-Common-Words- in-Bengali-Step-15.jpg”,”bigUrl”:”https://www.wikihow.com/images/thumb/2/2e/Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-15.jpg/ v4-728px-Say-Common-Words-in-Bengali-Step-15.jpg”,”smallWidth”:460,”smallHeight”:345,”bigWidth”:728,”bigHeight”:546,”licensing”:” <div class=”mw-parser-output”></div>”}

Watch a movie. Find a movie that only speaks Bengali. Even if you don’t understand what’s going on in the movie, this will help you learn the intonation in that language and how the words are pronounced. You will be surprised at the benefits that come from watching movies.

Advice

Question Do you speak Bengali/English? by saying “Apni ki Bangla/Ingreji janen?”
It is better if you have Bengali friends. If you have Bengali friends, you should try chatting with them.
In order not to upset others, you should use formal language when talking to older people or strangers or people you have just met for the first time. If you don’t know the other person well, it’s best to use formal language.
You should be able to distinguish between the heavy/light pronunciations of the ‘d’ and ‘t’ sounds.
The wind sound (or the consonant with an ‘h’ in the back, in Latin spelling) makes a lot of difference. Don’t skip that pronunciation.
When written in Latin characters, the ‘aw’ in ‘awesome’ and a ‘a’ in ‘smart’ are both spelled as ‘a’. You need to know which sound it is before you pronounce it.

Steps

Get acquainted with Bengali

Learn fundamentals in Bengali

Practice using Bengali

Advice

Related Posts