r/IGCSE Resources

Guide to Cambridge IGCSE™

Hindi as a Second Language (0549)

ह द
िं ी
by cookie.pie.com and Rishika

1st edition, for examination until 2025

Version 1 .1 - last revised 29 June 2022

© r/IGCSE Resources 2022 Page 1

Note to reader

Hello fellow student!

It seems that you have stumbled upon this document hoping for guidance on your
IGCSE Hindi journey. Fret not! You have come to the right place.
We are a bunch of students who met on the r/IGCSE Discord server. We were
clueless and lost navigating the internet for resources to help us out during our
studies, and we are here to make sure you don't face the same difficulty.
As alumni and students, we have faced similar problems to the ones you may be
facing now. Dealing with online classes, online exams and just academically
struggling with the subject, our journey was not easy — in fact, no one's
academic journey is ever easy.
If you're reading this, you will be familiar with the demands of the course, and
more information should be available on the syllabus overview page here. All
main headings have been linked to their respective pages in the table of
contents. The guide contains advice for all three components in the 0549
syllabus, which are Reading & Writing, Listening, and Speaking (which is an
optional component).
With that out of the way, we encourage you to remember the following quote:

सीह़ियों की जरुरत उन् ें ै , जजन् ें छत तक जाना ै । मेरी मिंजील तो

आसमान ै , रास्ता भी खुद ी बनाना ै !

Best of luck!

~ the r/IGCSE Hindi Resources Team

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Table of Contents
Page

 Guide to Paper 1 4

 Guide to Paper 2 9

 Guide to Component 3 (optional component) 12

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Guide to Paper 1
Reading and Writing

Paper 1 will be testing you on the reading and writing components. It may seem
daunting at first, but it is possible to score well in this paper if you know how to
go about these exercises. It should be easy to score or at least aim for 80% and
above.

General tips for this paper:

• Read examiner reports and make notes. This lets you know what is expected
from you and also allows you to improve in areas you struggle in.
• Read the Example Candidate Responses booklet and analyse the given
responses.
• Master basic Hindi grammar. Vyakaran Latika - 10 (Course B) of Madhuban
Publication is a really good book encompassing all relevant grammar topics.
• Read a ton of texts (advertisement, brochure, leaflet, guide, report, manual,
instructions, newspaper/magazine article).
• Maintain a Hindi words and phrases book. Jot down all the new words/
phrases you encounter in this book.
• Practice writing consistently and get used to the various formats.
• Solve Patvar Grade 9 and 10 books before solving past papers. If at all you
need more practice then you can purchase Kavan Education’s Grade 9 and 10
IGCSE Hindi books for more practice.

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Tips for Paper 1 by exercise:

Exercise 1 — Short Answer Questions

अभ्यास १ - अपहित गदयािंश
• The text given for this exercise can be of the following types: advertisement,
brochure, leaflet, guide, report, manual, instructions, newspaper/magazine
article.
• Read the questions first and then the entire text. This helps you have a rough
overview of what information you need from the passage.
• Read the entire text, because sometimes questions asked refer to the text as
a whole.
• As soon as you find the answer, write it and write as concisely as possible.
• Don’t repeat the question whilst answering.

Exercise 2 — Multiple-choice matching

अभ्यास २ - ब ु विकल्पी गदयािंश

• Read paragraph A and then read the questions to find all the questions
matching paragraph A. Repeat for paragraphs B, C and D.
• Sometimes a question can have more than one paragraph as the answer.
Although, to be safe you should select the first paragraph where the answer
is.
• Find main keywords in the question that can be exclusively found in the
article provided. Make sure it is not repeated anywhere else and has a simi-
lar or equivalent meaning to the question statement.
• Questions in this exercise often state synonyms of the words written in the
paragraph. Hence, it is important to understand that words in the question
won’t always be available in the text explicitly.

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Exercise 3 — Note-making

अभ्यास ३ - हिप्पण/नोि लेखन

• Read the questions first and then the entire text.
• Read the text twice if needed because your 19 marks are dependent on this
text.
• Write as concisely as possible.
• Do not waste time paraphrasing.
• Write n number of distinct points for n marks (e.g. 2 distinct points for 2
marks).
• Write in full sentences.

Exercise 4 — Summary

अभ्यास ४ - सार/सारािंश लेखन

• Keep in mind that 60% of your marks in this task are allocated to quality of
writing. Hence, you should always use synonyms of the words in the text and
an array of sentence structures and punctuation.
• Read the question mindfully and always follow it, for example the text is
about a plethora of disadvantages of deforestation, but the question asks you
to summarise the advantages of deforestation. You have to only write about
the advantages and not the disadvantages. Never include your own opinion
while writing summaries.
• Do note that if you don’t get marks for content you won’t get marks for
language.
• Adhere to the word count. As a rule of thumb, make sure you leave the last
2-3 printed lines on the paper. This helps you to subconsciously follow the
word count.

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Exercise 5 — Writing exercise

अभ्यास ५ - सिंक्षिप्त लेखन

• Till 2025, this exercise is most likely going to be an email writing task.
• Start your write-up with a maximum of 4 lines worth of introduction.
• The 3 bullet points given should be the structure of your paragraphs.
• Show off your language skills by using an array of punctuation, sentence
structures, idioms/proverbs (Hindi idioms with meaning) and words.
• Unpack the question using PAFTV (Purpose, Audience, Format, Tone and
Voice). Identify each of these from the question.
• Do not write more than 140 words.

Exercise 6 — Extended writing exercise

अभ्यास ६ - विस्तत
ृ लेखन
• Till 2025, this exercise is most likely going to be an article writing task.
• Do learn the conventions for other text types, just in case something apart
from an article comes up.
• Address both the views given in the question.
• It is recommended that you take a stance at the end of the write-up after
thoroughly evaluating both sides.
• You can conclude your write- up by either taking a stance or offering a
balanced view, although we recommend taking a stance.
• Make paragraphs whenever you are introducing a new idea. There is no set
number of paragraphs.
• Don’t forget to use transitional words/phrases (Hindi Conjunctions) and
rhetorical questions.
• Show off your language skills by using an array of punctuation, sentence
structures, idioms/proverbs (Hindi idioms with meaning) and words.
• Unpack the question using PAFTV — (Purpose, Audience, Format, Tone and
Voice). Identify each of these from the question.
• Do not write more than 220 words.

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 Helpful links
• HindiKiDuniya: Contains essays, speeches etc. Has a section where they give
10 lines on a certain topic [१० िाक्य] which is useful for knowing content
expected).
• HindiWebdunia: This is mainly a news website in Hindi but has articles on
relevant topics and can even be read to improve vocabulary.
• Hindi as a Second Language (0549) - Past papers: A collection of past year
papers.
• Hindi Nibandh: An essay website for native and non-native speakers who
want to check format and/or content in certain topics.
• Resources for Hindi: A collection of Hindi resources for students compiled by
r/IGCSE Resources.
• Anki Vocabulary Cards: Anki Vocabulary flashcards compiled by Ansh.

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Guide to Paper 2
Listening

Paper 2 will be testing you on the listening component. Students often struggle
with this paper due to multiple reasons. They often lose marks because they are
unable to understand what the question is asking for. However, with practice, this
can be one of the most easy-scoring papers of this course.

Exercise 1 — Short Answer Questions

अभ्यास १ - सिंक्षिप्त सिंिाद

• You will be made to listen to a series of short dialogues. Each dialogue has a
1 mark question associated with it.
• Identify the keywords in the question and keep an ear out for those specific
word(s). This will direct you towards the answer.
• Keep your answers as crisp as possible and do not bother giving
supplementary information (they won’t fetch you any extra marks).
• Examiners look only for a word or short phrase in your answers and mark you
based on that.
• One suggested answer structure would be to replace the ‘question word with
your answer word. Question words are ‘क्या’, ‘क ााँ’, ‘क्याँ’य , ‘ककतने', etc.

○ Good example: “अ मदाबाद का तापमान क्या ै ?” // अ मदाबाद का तापमान

२० डिग्री ै।

○ Bad example: “अ मदाबाद का तापमान क्या ै ?” // सदी के कारण श र का

तापमान २० डिग्री ै । (this is a waste of space and time because they don’t
want to know the reason behind the temperature)

• Questions often contain the synonyms of the actual words in the audio, so
make sure to develop your vocabulary. Use the Paper 1 resources as well.

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Exercise 2 — Fill in the blanks

अभ्यास २ - ररक्त स्थान भररए

• This exercise gives you incomplete dialogues from the audio and requires you
to fill the blank with either a word or a small phrase.
• Skim read the questions to know what to expect since this is a continuous
audio and not distinct dialogues.
• The exercise is usually divided into distinct sections. The headers of these
sections are generally written in order of the audio. The headers will also
help you know if your answer lies in this section of the audio or not.
• Words that might sound ‘exclusive’ to the ear may not necessarily guide you
to the answer in the exercise so it is important that you understand the
question first before answering it.
• This exercise requires a lot of practice so remember to do past papers
diligently. If you get an answer wrong, then play the audio again to know
why. If you still can’t understand, then ask your teacher.
• When you attempt this exercise, it may feel daunting but, practice this how
much ever you can so that you have a confident mind when you sit for your
final exams.
• Make sure that the word/phrase you have written makes sense grammatically
when reading along with the sentence.

Exercise 3 — Replace the incorrect word

अभ्यास ३ - गलती को स ी करें

• The exercise will give you a phrase from the audio with an incorrect word
underlined. You only have to write the word on the blank.
• Do not try explaining your answer. It doesn’t work.
• Generally, the sentences are not significantly paraphrased as is the case with
Exercise 2. So you can transcribe it verbatim. Any differences between audio
and text would only be to make it more grammatically important.
• The incorrect words are synonyms of the correct words so make sure to
develop your vocabulary.
• It is a relatively easy exercise and should be easy to score.
• Make sure that the word/phrase you have written makes sense grammatically
when read along with the sentence.

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Exercise 4 — Multiple Choice Questions

अभ्यास ४ - ब ु विकल्पी प्रश्न

• This is the exercise where most students falter simply because they are
unable to understand the question. Thus, it becomes important for you to
know how to hone your analytical skills.
• Eliminate the options which you know for sure are incorrect so that you are
left with fewer options to select from.
• Make sure that you understand all the options because chances are the op-
tions will not have the same words as the audio.

Helpful links
• Drishti IAS Audio Articles: A playlist which provides insights into important
topics in Hindi. Suitable for developing vocabulary and knowing how to
understand the language while listening to it.
• Sandeep Maheswari: An entrepreneur and motivational speaker, check out
these videos if you wish to develop vocabulary in Hindi.
• Chupke Chupke: Watch this Hindi movie from 1975 for an entertaining way
to learn new Hindi words mixed with classic Bollywood comedy. See how
many words you can understand and make a note of the ones you couldn’t.
Try watching it without subtitles so it can help you out better.
This one is subtitled in English for those who don’t understand Hindi as
well as demanded by the course.

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Guide to Component 3
Speaking — Optional component

Paper 3 will be testing you on the speaking component. This is an optional

component of the course so make sure you confirm whether your school is taking
this or not. If you are appearing for this test, make sure to clarify the test
procedures with your teacher. This is going to be marked separately using a
grading system of 1-5 (1 being the highest grade and 5 being the lowest).

Part 1 — Candidate’s Presentation

छात्र अभभव्यजक्त
• This is your speech on a topic given.
• Remember to talk freely yet formally.
• Watch Hindi IAS interviews to help with knowing how to talk confidently to
somebody in higher authority.
• Do not stutter while speaking. If you forget, then take a small pause and
then continue rather than clearing your throat or doing any other action that
shows lack of confidence.

Part 2 — Discussion about presentation

विभशष्ि िाताालाप
• You need to be able to think on the spot.
• Don’t give one-line answers. Give detailed yet crisp replies: don’t
unnecessarily elaborate.
• Ask your teacher if they can share audios of previous candidates and see how
you can improve.
• Listen to various Hindi Audios and interviews to better your conversation
skills.

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Part 3 — Discussion about general topics

सामन्य िाताालाप
• This is a discussion (similar to Part 2) on literally anything except the topic
you have spoken about.
• You cannot predict the topic about which your teacher will ask you on. For
example, you could talk about the importance of family and your teacher
may ask you about work stress.
• However, common topics include exams, student life, family and professional
problems.
• Ask your teacher to give sample questions and see how much you can think
about on the spot.
• During your mocks and revision sessions, press your teacher to give important
feedback.
• Maintain a good reputation in front of your teacher because they are the
ones who will mark your speaking assessment (just a general tip from an
alumni!).

Helpful links
• Drishti IAS: A channel that has various videos in Hindi mainly focusing on the
IAS/UPSC examinations in India. Go through their interviews to get a better
idea of how to present yourself in such an exam.
• Dhyeya IAS: Another channel that has various videos in Hindi mainly focusing
on the IAS/UPSC examinations in India. Go through their interviews and
‘India this Week’ section to get a better idea of how to present yourself in
such an exam as well as gain knowledge about India in current times to help
you out with Part 3.

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Acknowledgements and Information:

© Cambridge University Press and Assessment 2021 as the publisher of the Cambridge IGCSE™ Hindi as a
Second Language (0549) syllabus.
© r/IGCSE Resources 2022, authored by cookie.pie.com and Rishika.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The information on this booklet were generously prepared by alumni who have taken the subject, and
the author(s) have been acknowledged where possible. The website links which may be in this
document should not be understood to be an endorsement of that website or the site/folder’s owners
(or their products/services).
This booklet is meant to be for educational purposes only, and is to remain free of cost for the benefit
of all students.
The moderators of r/IGCSE will be pleased to make amendments at the earliest possible opportunity if
requested.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

© r/IGCSE Resources 2022 Page 14