A Door Into Hindi: Lesson 14

Culture Notes

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14.4

Fractions

पूरा	whole	आधा	half
पाव	one quarter	पौन	three quarters
डेढ़	one and a half	ढाई	two and a half
साढ़े X	X plus a half	साढ़े तीन	three and a half
सवा X	X plus one quarter	सवा तीन	three and a quarter
पौने X	X less one quarter	पौने चार	four less one quarter = three and three quarters

· With the exception of the special forms for “one and a half” (डेढ़) and “two and a half” (ढाई), all “X and a half” fractions take the form:

3 1/2	साढ़े तीन	4 1/2	साढ़े चार
10 1/2	साढ़े दस	15 1/2	साढ़े पंद्रह

Remember, you CANNOT use साढ़े with एक or दो

· सवा by itself means "one and a quarter"; otherwise, it is always followed by a number, and it means "plus one quarter":

1 1/4

सवा (or सवा एक)

2 1/4

सवा दो

3 1/4

सवा तीन

Note: “1 1/4” can be either सवा एक or just plain सवा (एक is understood).

· पौने is always followed by a number, and it means “less one quarter”:

1 3/4

पौने दो

2 3/4

पौने तीन

3 3/4

पौने चार

Note: In time expressions, “12:45” can be either पौन बजा है or पौने एक बजे हैं

See Snell's Teach Yourself Hindi (2000)
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