Hindi And Spanish Similarities!

Though I am a science professional, languages excite me. I have the privilege of knowing many international languages, including Hindi, English, Latin, and Spanish.

As far as I know, Spain never colonized India. According to the Treaty of Tordesillas with Portugal, they did not trade with India. Instead, they focused on the colonization of the Americas, which encompasses modern-day Mexico, Central America, South America, and parts of the Caribbean.

However, as I read Spanish, I saw some similarities between Hindi and Spanish. Both are Indo-European languages, of course.

Despite the many generations that have passed and the various influences that have impacted India, some similarities between the national language Hindi and Spanish are still intact.

It’s amazing to me. I hope by the end of this article, you will be amazed too.

Let’s look at some words in Spanish and Hindi:

| English | Spanish | Hindi |

| king | rey |(raja) |

| queen | reina | (rani) |

| death | muerte |mrityu |

| man | marido |mard |

| flag | bandera | bande |

| sweet/ripe| madura | madhur|

| poem | poema | payam |

| junk | cacharro | kachra |

| good | bueno | bane |

| small animal | bicho | bichchu |

, let me share some more.

| English | Spanish | Hindi |

| — — — — — -| — — — — — -| — — — — |

| room | sala | shala |

| shoes | zapatos | juta |

| darkness | oscuridad | oscura|

| star | estrella | tara |

| robber | chorizo | chor |

| soul | alma | atma |

| god | dios | devta |

| pretty | bonita | banita |

Some words are colloquial. I have heard oscura for dirty in my dialect which resembles Hindi.

Let me share another interesting example as well.

In my dialect (from eastern India), tick is called “gaira.” Recently, I came across a place called Garrapata State Park here in California. It’s famous for its calla lily blooms in spring. Out of curiosity, I looked up the meaning of “garrapata” in Spanish — and it means tick. Isn’t that fascinating? Anyone can notice the similarity between “gaira” and “garrapata.”

Words evolve and get distorted over time, but their roots often remain surprisingly similar.

Here’s another example:

In Spanish, home is called “hogar.” In Sanskrit and Hindi, house is called “griha” or “ghar”, respectively. Don’t they all sound related?

Similarly, sugar is called sakkar in Hindi, while in Spanish, it’s azúcar.

What I find funny is that some words sound surprisingly similar but have different meanings.

Languages, as they come under different influences, get distorted and contaminated, I guess.

For example:

- ‘Brisa’ is a breeze in Spanish. It sounds like ‘Barsha’ (rain) in Hindi.

- ‘Pájaro’ is the bird in Spanish. It sounds like ‘pahar’ (hill) in Hindi.

Amistad (friendship), verdad (truth), and bondad (kindness) are some Spanish words which sahre realtion with Hindi. Let's see.

Amistad is friendship, which is understandable as amigo, amiable, amicable is friendly. But in my own language, Odia, in India, misatbhasi means someone who speaks well. Mistanna or misti means sweet, as in a sweet person.

Verdad is truth. In Hindi news, we often hear this word when the anchor means that news has come from some frontier of the country. It got to be true news. In fact, radio is called dooravarta.

Finally, bondad means kindness. In Oriya, bandhu means friend, and in North India, banda means man (as in a kind man).

As I learn from Spanish dictionaries, I see more and more similarities. Hindi and Spanish are linguistic cousins, as they share same parent of Indo-European language.

Let people fight over Hinduism and Christianity, Rama and Jesus. Here, language tells another common connection, a common history.

Do you find this article interesting?