no
/noʊ/
noh
Tier 1 · First words · Ages 1.5–4
First Words
The 15 first words a Bengali- or Hindi-speaking learner meets first — hi, more, up, down, mine and the rest — each with a picture, the IPA spelling, an easy respelling, and audio in all three languages.
20 words4 topics60 audio clips
Why these words come first
Some words are not names for things at all — they are the tools a learner reaches for before nouns even arrive: hi and bye to greet, yes and no to answer, more to ask again, up and down and in and out to move through the day, mine and here to claim and point, again to repeat a game, big and small to compare. All three First Words topics sit in tier 1 because these are the highest-frequency words in a toddler's day, ahead of any single theme like family or clothing.
Each card below carries the picture, the English word, its IPA transcription, a plain-English respelling you can read aloud without training, and the meaning in Bengali or Hindi. Tap the round button to hear it in the language you picked above.
Pick one topic per sitting — five words is a full session, so three sittings cover all fifteen. Say the respelling, not the IPA, when reading aloud. Play the English clip first and the home-language clip second.
First Words 1
more
/mɔːr/
mor
yes
/jɛs/
yes
hi
/haɪ/
hy
bye
/baɪ/
by
First Words 2
up
/ʌp/
up
down
/daʊn/
down
in
/ɪn/
in
out
/aʊt/
owt
under
/ˈʌndər/
un-der
First Words 3
mine
/maɪn/
myn
big
/bɪɡ/
big
small
/smɔːl/
smawl
here
/hɪr/
hear
again
/əˈɡɛn/
uh-gen
First Words 4
please
/pliːz/
pleez
thanks
/θæŋks/
thankz
sorry
/ˈsɒri/
sah-ree
stop
/stɒp/
stahp
okay
/ˌoʊˈkeɪ/
oh-kay
More word topics
Keep going with another set of everyday English words.
Actions8 topics · 40 wordsAdverbs1 topics · 5 wordsAnimals4 topics · 20 wordsAuxiliary Verbs2 topics · 10 wordsBathroom2 topics · 10 wordsBedroom2 topics · 10 wordsBirds1 topics · 5 wordsBody Parts6 topics · 30 wordsClothing3 topics · 15 wordsColors2 topics · 10 wordsConjunctions1 topics · 5 wordsDeterminers1 topics · 5 wordsEveryday1 topics · 5 wordsFamily3 topics · 15 wordsFarm Animals2 topics · 10 wordsFeelings3 topics · 15 wordsFood3 topics · 15 wordsFruits3 topics · 15 wordsHome1 topics · 5 wordsHome Objects3 topics · 15 wordsInsects1 topics · 5 wordsJobs1 topics · 5 wordsKitchen2 topics · 10 wordsMeals2 topics · 10 wordsNumbers3 topics · 15 wordsOpposites5 topics · 25 wordsOutdoors3 topics · 15 wordsPeople2 topics · 10 wordsPlaces2 topics · 10 wordsPosition2 topics · 10 wordsPrepositions1 topics · 5 wordsPronouns3 topics · 15 wordsQuantifiers1 topics · 5 wordsQuestion Words1 topics · 5 wordsSchool2 topics · 10 wordsSea Animals1 topics · 5 wordsShapes2 topics · 10 wordsTime2 topics · 10 wordsToys2 topics · 10 wordsVegetables2 topics · 10 wordsVehicles3 topics · 15 wordsWeather1 topics · 5 words
Questions people ask
- Why are “First Words 1”, “2” and “3” all tier 1 instead of spreading across tiers?
- All fifteen words in this theme fall inside the first hundred words a toddler needs, so all three topics land in tier 1. Other themes split across tiers instead — body parts, for instance, starts in tier 1 and continues in tier 3 — because their words are used less often day to day.
- Do I have to finish “First Words 1” before opening “First Words 2”?
- No. Tiers order the topic list by how common the words are; they never lock anything. A learner can open First Words 2 or 3 first if that is what interests them that day.
- Why do “up”, “down”, “in” and “out” sit in the same topic?
- First Words 2 groups the opposite-pair words a toddler uses to talk about movement and position. The home language marks the same opposites with its own separate words too, so pairing the English cards side by side makes the contrast easy to hear.
Ready to practise?
Turn every word on this page into a quick picture quiz.