What is the Difference Between Punjabi and Hindi?

Punjabi and Hindi are two distinct languages that belong to the same language family, both being Indo-European languages. They have some similarities and differences in terms of vocabulary, grammar, and script. Here are the main differences between the two languages:

1. Writing Systems: Hindi is written using the Devanagari script, which is also used for Sanskrit, while Punjabi is written in the Gurmukhi script.
2. Vocabulary: Although both languages share a common higher percentage of vocabulary due to their historical relationship, they have unique words and phrases as well. Lexical similarity between Hindi and Punjabi is 57.63%, meaning that almost 60% of the words in both languages have the same origin.
3. Grammar: Both languages have different grammatical structures and rules.
4. Mutual Intelligibility: The two languages are not mutually intelligible, but they share some common words and phrases due to their historical relationship. Punjabi speakers are more likely to understand Hindi than vice versa, as Punjabis are often exposed to Hindi through media and other means, while Hindi speakers living outside of Punjab do not encounter Punjabi as frequently.

In summary, Punjabi and Hindi are related Indo-European languages with some shared vocabulary and historical connections, but they have distinct writing systems, vocabularies, grammars, and mutual intelligibility levels.

Comparative Table: Punjabi vs Hindi

The main difference between Punjabi and Hindi is that Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India, while Hindi is the most widely spoken language in India and is one of the official languages of the country. Here is a table highlighting some differences between Punjabi and Hindi:

Both Punjabi and Hindi share some similarities, as they are both Indo-Aryan languages and have some influence from Sanskrit. However, they have distinct scripts and dialects. Punjabi primarily uses the Gurmukhi script, while Hindi uses the Devanagari script.