Review and Cultural Notes

This final unit serves as a comprehensive review of the entire FSI Bengali Short Course. It consolidates grammar, vocabulary, and conversational skills from all 30 units and provides an introduction to the Bengali script. You will also explore cultural customs and regional differences between Bangladeshi Bengali and West Bengali.

Basic Sentences — Course Review

Bengali	English
namaskar, kemon achhen?	Hello, how are you?
ami bhalo achhi, dhonnobad	I am fine, thank you
amar naam John, ami American	My name is John, I am American
apnar poribare koy jon?	How many people in your family?
ami Dhaka-te thaki	I live in Dhaka
kota baje? — shaare tin-te baje	What time is it? — It is 3:30
aaj shonibar, ponchosh-e March	Today is Saturday, the 25th of March
doya kore ektu aaste bolun	Please speak a little slowly
station kothay? — shoja jaan, tarpor dane ghurben	Where is the station? — Go straight, then turn right
ei sharee-tar daam koto? — ponchosh taka	How much is this sari? — Five hundred taka
ami rui machh ar bhat khabo	I will eat rui fish and rice
jodi shomoy hoy, tobe amra Shantiniketan-e jabo	If there is time, we will go to Shantiniketan

Key Vocabulary — Review by Section

Section 1: Greetings & Introductions

Bengali	English
namaskar	hello (Hindu greeting)
assalamu alaikum	hello (Muslim greeting)
kemon achhen	how are you (formal)
bhalo achhi	I am fine
dhonnobad	thank you
ami	I
apni	you (formal)
tumi	you (familiar)

Section 2–3: Courtesies, Numbers & Time

Bengali	English
doya kore	please
maaf korben	excuse me / sorry
ek, dui, tin, char, panch	one, two, three, four, five
kota baje	what time is it
shombar, mongolbar	Monday, Tuesday

Section 4–5: Family, Occupations & Information

Bengali	English
baba, ma, bhai, bon	father, mother, brother, sister
chakri kori	I work / I have a job
kothay	where
kemon kore	how
dorkar	need

Section 6–8: Verb Tenses, Travel, Shopping & Food

Bengali	English
kori / korchhi / korlam / korbo	I do / I am doing / I did / I will do
rickshaw, train, bimanbodar	rickshaw, train, airport
bazar, dokan, daam	market, shop, price
bhat, dal, machh, torkari	rice, lentils, fish, curry

Grammar Notes — Comprehensive Review

The Bengali Verb System

Tense	ami	tumi	apni
Present habitual	kori	koro	koren
Present continuous	korchhi	korchho	korchhen
Simple past	korlam	korle	korlen
Future	korbo	korbe	korben

Pronoun Formality Levels

Bengali has three levels of formality in pronouns and verb conjugation:

• apni — formal, respectful (strangers, elders, officials)
• tumi — familiar (friends, peers, younger relatives)
• tui — intimate/inferior (close friends, children, informal)

Key Postpositions

Postposition	Meaning	Example
-e / -te	in, at, to	bari-te (at home)
-theke	from	Dhaka theke (from Dhaka)
-r / -er	of (possessive)	amar bhai-er (my brother’s)
jonno	for	apnar jonno (for you)

Bengali Script Introduction

The Bengali script (Bangla lipi) is an abugida where each consonant carries an inherent vowel /ɔ/. The script has 11 vowels and 39 consonants. Here are the vowel characters:

Script	Romanized	Sound
অ	a / o	inherent vowel
আ	aa	long a as in “father”
ই	i	short i
ঈ	ii	long i
উ	u	short u
ঊ	uu	long u
এ	e	as in “say”
ঐ	oi	diphthong
ও	o	as in “go”
ঔ	ou	diphthong

Drills

Drill 1: Situational Practice — Transportation

Situation	What you say
You need a rickshaw to the station	rickshaw! station-e niye jan, bhara koto hobe?
You want a train ticket to Chittagong	Chittagong-er ekta ticket chai, kokhon chharbe?
You ask how far the airport is	bimanbodar koto dur? koto khon lagbe?

Drill 2: Situational Practice — Shopping

Situation	What you say
You ask the price of mangoes	am-er daam koto? ek kilo koto?
You think the price is too high	onek beshi daam, ektu komiyen
You want to buy three items	tin-ta nebo, mota moti koto holo?

Drill 3: Situational Practice — Dining

Situation	What you say
You want to order rice and fish	ami bhat ar machh khabo
You ask for the menu	menu-ta din, doya kore
You ask for the bill	bill-ta din, koto holo?

Drill 4: Full Conversation Practice

Practice this complete exchange:

Speaker	Bengali	English
A	namaskar, kemon achhen?	Hello, how are you?
B	bhalo achhi, apni?	Fine, and you?
A	ami-o bhalo. ami aaj bazar-e jacchhi. apni ki ashben?	I’m also fine. I’m going to the market today. Will you come?
B	haan, ami-o jabo. kota baje jaben?	Yes, I’ll go too. What time?
A	shaare tin-te. thik achhe?	At 3:30. Is that okay?
B	thik achhe, tokhon dekha hobe	Okay, see you then

Cultural Notes

Regional Differences

Bengali is spoken across Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, but there are notable differences:

• Pronunciation: Bangladeshi Bengali tends to pronounce /chh/ where West Bengali uses /s/ in some words
• Vocabulary: Some everyday words differ — e.g., “water” is pani in Bangladesh and jol in West Bengal
• Greetings: Assalamu alaikum is common in Bangladesh (Muslim majority), while namaskar is more common in West Bengal (Hindu majority)
• Script: Both use the same Bengali script, but some letter forms vary slightly

Social Customs

• Always use apni with elders, strangers, and officials
• Remove shoes before entering homes and religious places
• The right hand is used for eating and passing objects
• Tea (cha) is the universal social drink — accepting an offer of tea is polite
• Head wobbling or nodding may mean agreement, acknowledgment, or understanding

Narrative

ami ei Bengali course shesh korechhi. ami ekhon ektu ektu Bangla bolte pari. ami greetings janI, shonkhya bolte pari, ar bazar-e dor-damam korte pari. amar poribar somporke bolte pari ar direction jigges korte pari. ami jaani future tense, past tense, ar present tense. ekhon amar dorkar beshi beshi practice kora. ami chai Bangla bhalo kore shikhte. jodi roj practice kori, tobe ek din fluently bolte parbo.

I have finished this Bengali course. I can now speak a little Bengali. I know greetings, I can say numbers, and I can bargain at the market. I can talk about my family and ask for directions. I know the future tense, past tense, and present tense. Now I need to practice more and more. I want to learn Bengali well. If I practice every day, then one day I will be able to speak fluently.