A mother messaged me last month: "My daughter is 3, and we live in Singapore. I want to teach her Hindi but I don't know where to start. Just give me a list."
This is that list.
Not 1000 words. Not "the most beautiful 50 Hindi words". One hundred specific, concrete, useful words — the ones a Hindi-speaking toddler genuinely needs to function in her everyday world. The ones I would want every 3-year-old in my class to know before they walk in.
Why 100? Why these 100?
A typical 3-year-old comprehends around 500–3000 words across all the languages they hear. Of those, only a small number are high-frequency — the words that show up in every meal, every bath, every bedtime routine.
The 100 words below are the ones that show up most often in a Hindi-speaking household. If your child knows these, the rest of Hindi unfolds easily.
I built this list using two principles every educator learns early:
Now the list. I've organized it the way I'd actually introduce it.
Category 1 — परिवार (Parivaar) · Family — 10 words
Start here. Always. The names of the people in a child's home are the first words to anchor.
Hindi has dramatically more precise relationship words than English. Don't translate "uncle" and "aunt" — teach the actual word. मामा (mother's brother) and चाचा (father's younger brother) are different humans. Your toddler can absolutely keep them straight.
Category 2 — शरीर के अंग (Sharir Ke Ang) · Body parts — 10 words
Children love their own bodies. This is the easiest category to teach because the "object" is always present.
The Touch Game. Say "अपनी नाक छुओ" ("touch your nose"). They touch it. Say "मेरी नाक छुओ" ("touch my nose"). They touch yours. Cycle through all 10 body parts. 4 minutes. They will love it.
Category 3 — जानवर (Janwar) · Animals — 10 words
Animals are universally fascinating to toddlers. Use real photos, not cartoons.
Parents often skip गाय (cow) and मुर्गी (hen) because the child doesn't see them daily in urban India. Don't. These appear in every Indian story, rhyme, and food conversation. Teach them with photos and the sounds they make.
Category 4 — खाना (Khana) · Food — 10 words
A 3-year-old encounters food 5 times a day. This category should be easy to anchor.
Narrate every meal in Hindi. Not full sentences — just the words. "दाल… चावल… रोटी… सब्ज़ी।" Point to each as you say it. Repeat tomorrow. By Day 7, your toddler will start saying them as you serve.
Category 5 — रंग और आकार (Rang Aur Aakar) · Colors & shapes — 10 words
Half colors, half shapes. Teach in pairs (color + object, shape + object).
The "Find Me Something Red" game. Walk around the house. "मुझे कुछ लाल लाओ" (Bring me something red). They run around, find a red sock, a red book. By the third day, they're naming objects unprompted.
The journey from step 1 to step 3 takes weeks, not days. Don't rush.
Category 6 — क्रिया (Kriya) · Action words — 10 words
Verbs are the bridge from "naming" to "telling". This is where speech actually starts to flow.
Verbs need action. Don't just say दौड़ना — run with them. Don't just say बैठना — sit down dramatically. The body remembers what it does.
Category 7 — गिनती 1–10 (Ginti) · Numbers 1–10
Pre-counting before "math". The names of the numbers come long before any actual counting concept.
Parents teach the song "एक दो तीन..." like a chant and assume the child knows numbers. They don't. They know a tune. Teach by counting real objects — three biscuits, five fingers, two slippers. The number connects to the quantity only when there's an object.
Category 8 — घर के सामान (Ghar Ke Saaman) · Household items — 10 words
These are the ones I'm always surprised parents skip. They are the highest-frequency words a toddler will hear all day.
Category 9 — भावनाएँ और ज़रूरतें (Bhavnaaye Aur Zaruratein) · Feelings & needs — 10 words
This is the category that helps a child communicate distress in Hindi. Critically important and shamefully often skipped.
A child who can say "मुझे डर लग रहा है" ("I'm scared") instead of just screaming has been given an enormous gift. Emotion vocabulary isn't soft. It's the most practical category on this list.
Category 10 — प्रकृति (Prakriti) · Nature — 10 words
The last category. Now your child can talk about the world outside the house.
That's all 100. Now let me tell you what to actually do with the list.
The order I'd teach them in
Don't tackle all 10 categories at once. The order matters.
This is what I do with families I coach. Two weeks per category. The first three categories (family, body, food) are the hardest because everything is new. By category 5 or 6, you'll see your child predicting the next category.
The 4 rules to actually make this stick
Rule 1 — Use the word in real life within 60 seconds of teaching it. Saying "this is a सेब" while pointing to a flashcard is half a lesson. Handing your child an actual सेब while saying it is the full lesson.
Rule 2 — Repeat for 7 days before adding new words. Toddlers need spaced repetition, not novelty. New words should arrive at the rate of about 3–5 per week. Adding 30 new words in a weekend means none stick.
Rule 3 — Don't translate, point. If you keep saying "सेब means apple", your child will only ever access सेब through English. If you point to a सेब while saying सेब, the child links the word directly to the object. Direct linking = real bilingualism.
Rule 4 — Sing the words back at random times. The most underrated technique. Suddenly say "दूध?" during a walk. Your child laughs and shouts "दूध!" This is the playful repetition that builds permanent memory.
- Day 1–3: Family — say the names while pointing to family members or photos.
- Day 4–6: Body parts — play the touch game daily.
- Day 7–9: Food — narrate every meal in Hindi.
- Day 10–12: Animals — use real photos or zoo visit if possible.
- Day 13–14: Review all 4 categories. Don't add new ones.
What "knowing" 100 words actually means
Two important clarifications I owe you:
1. "Knowing" usually means understanding, not speaking. At age 3, your child may comprehend all 100 of these words but only say 30–40 of them out loud. This is normal and healthy. Receptive vocabulary precedes expressive vocabulary by months.
2. Pronunciation will be approximate. "मछली" might come out as "मछ्ली" or just "ली". Don't correct. Repeat the correct version naturally in your reply. ("हाँ! मछली पानी में रहती है।") Children self-correct over time when modeled, not when corrected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Get the printable list
I made a free printable PDF of all 100 words — Devanagari + Romanized + English meaning, organized by category, designed to stick on your fridge.
Download the free First 100 Hindi Words flashcard pack
Printable, fridge-ready, color-coded by category. Designed for ages 2–4.
→ Get the free printableYou may also like: - Hindi Rhymes for Toddlers — 7 Classics Every Indian Kid Should Grow Up With - How to Handle Screen Time Honestly — A Hindi-Speaking Teacher's Real Take - Is Your Toddler "Behind" on Writing? Why 4-Year-Olds Shouldn't Be Tracing Letters Yet