Resources: A Spoken Thesaurus

Rupert Snell and Neha Ladha in the studio
  • Which word is the best fit for a particular meaning and context?
  • How do I express everyday ideas in colloquial language, avoiding the bookish style found in dictionaries?
  • What’s the actual difference in meaning between the ‘synonyms’ that dictionaries offer?
  • How do I build up phrases and sentences around a particular word?

The Hindi Thesaurus addresses such questions in a series of lively, unscripted Hindi-medium conversations about groups of words of related meaning. Concentrating on selected mainstream words and phrases, we help you to broaden your active vocabulary by encountering styles of language appropriate for everyday speech. The conversations are between Rupert Snell (Hindi teacher and perpetual Hindi learner) and Neha Ladha (mother-tongue speaker of Hindi). Glossaries for each podcast can be read online or downloaded in PDF format.

Visit the EPISODES tab above to start listening or subscribe to the Thesaurus via iTunes, RSS or email.

  • Belief | शब्द

    विश्वास, भरोसा, आस्था, अंधविश्वास, भक्ति, निष्ठा

  • 12:28
  • Courage | शब्द

    साहस, हिम्मत, हौसला, बहादुर, बहादुरी, वीर, निडर, निर्भीक

  • 9:12
  • Friendship | शब्द

    दोस्त, मित्र, यार, दोस्ती, मित्रता, यारी, सहेली

  • 4:49
  • Happiness | शब्द

    सुख, ख़ुशी, सुखी, ख़ुश, आनंद, मज़ा, मस्ती

  • 8:05
  • Health I | शब्द

    तबियत, स्वास्थ्य, सेहत, मरीज़, रोगी, बीमार, बीमारी, गोली, दवा, दवाई

  • 10:50
  • Health II | शब्द

    दर्द, दुःख, तकलीफ़, चोट, घाव, इलाज, थकना, मोच, खून, होश

  • 12:47
  • Health III | शब्द

    ज़ुकाम, बुख़ार, सर्दी, परहेज़, कमज़ोर, दुबला, पतला

  • 5:02
  • Invitations | शब्द

    निमंत्रण, आमंत्रण, न्यौता, दावत, भोज, बुलाना

  • 7:21
  • Love & Hate | शब्द

    प्यार, प्रेम, मुहब्बत, इश्क़, स्नेह, प्रीति, ममता, वात्सल्य, अनुराग, नफ़रत, घृणा, द्वेष

  • 19:00
  • Numbers I | शब्द

    गणित, अंक, आँकड़ा, संख्या, तादाद

  • 5:22
  • Numbers II | शब्द

    लाख, करोड़, अरब, पहला, दूसरा, प्रथम, द्वितीय, जोड़, मिलाना, घटाना, अंतर, फ़र्क़, गुणा, गुना, भाग

  • 11:58
  • Numbers III | शब्द

    साढ़े, डेढ़, ढाई, सवा, आधा, पौना, प्रतिशत, फ़ीसदी, दशम-लव, गिनना, हिसाब, रक़म, राशि

  • 8:44
  • Regret & Apology | शब्द

    अफ़सोस, खेद, माफ़ी, क्षमा

  • 3:58
  • Respect | शब्द

    आदर, सम्मान, इज़्ज़त, श्रद्धा, लिहाज़

  • 11:14
  • Shopping I | शब्द

    ख़रीदना, बेचना, दुकान, दाम, मोल-भाव, छूट, छुट्टा, मुफ़्त, चुकाना

  • 18:25
  • Shopping II | शब्द

    ग्राहक, विक्रेता, भाव, महंगाई, दाम, ख़र्च, कर, किराया, नीलामी

  • 15:00
  • Sleep | शब्द

    नींद, सोना, सुस्त, आराम, विश्राम

  • 5:48
  • Sorrow | शब्द

    दुःख, दर्द, पीड़ा, कष्ट, उदास

  • 7:49
  • Stupidity | शब्द

    अज्ञान, ज्ञान, नासमझ, समझ, मूर्ख, बेवकूफ, बुद्धू, भोला, नादान

  • 5:49
  • Substances | शब्द

    पदार्थ, ठोस, तरल, द्रव्य, धातु, हवा

  • 35:40
  • Wisdom | शब्द

    होशियार, समझदार, बुद्धिमान, तेज़, चतुर, विद्वान, ज्ञानी, प्रतिभाशाली, विवेकी, चालाक, चालू

  • 11:19
  • Worry | शब्द

    व्याकुल, बेचैन, बेचैनी, चिंता, फ़िक़्र, परेशानी, कष्ट, दुःख

  • 7:51

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Photo of Rupert Snell

Rupert Snell

Project Director, Podcast Host, Audio and Glossaries Editor

Rupert Snell is HUF's Associate Director for Hindi and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Asian Studies. Before moving to Texas he taught at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, for three decades.

Click here to read a full bio...
Photo of Neha Ladha

Neha Ladha

Podcast co-host, Glossary Producer

I am an undergraduate student at UT, Austin pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering. I hail from the Pink City: Jaipur, Rajasthan. I am at home with both Hindi and English. Working on this thesaurus has been a wonderful opportunity for me.

Click here to read a full bio...
Photo of Michael C Heidenreich

Michael C Heidenreich

Audio Producer

Michael Heidenreich has been recording audio since his days in middle school when he found a four-track tape recorder at a garage sale for $20. He used this four track for many purposes, but the biggest one was annoying his family members.

Click here to read a full bio...
Photo of Jonathan Seefeldt

Jonathan Seefeldt

Web Design

Jonathan Seefeldt is the Media Coordinator for the Hindi Urdu Flagship. His work focuses on the development of language media projects that merge the Flagship's linguistic and pedagogical expertise with accessible web-based media technologies.

Click here to read a full bio...
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Texas Language Technology Center

Project Consultants

The Spoken Thesaurus project has also received regular pedagogical and technical support from the Texas Language Technology Center, College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin.