anyone here know Hindi?
 

I've collected a lot of useful phrases for my trip, but there's one in particular I'm looking for and haven't been able to find: "I am a vegetarian." (or else, "Is this food vegetarian?" or something along those lines)

TIA

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i think this would work-
'i'm a vegetarian' in hindi: main shakahari hoon.
phonetic pronunciation in hindi: mai (to rhyme with eye) shaak-er-haree(emphasis on first syllable) hoo (to rhyme with do).

My veggie daughter found that you can say "pure veg" anywhere and they'll understand. Many restaurants will have pur veg as a heading on their menu, on their sign (if they are only vegetarian) and party buffets often have a table marked pur veg. she said it worked everywhere, not just Hindi speaking areas.

Thanks all.

I'm glad I'm not a vegan, though. From what I've heard, although vegetarian food is plentiful throughout India, they have a pretty limited understanding of vegan, and use a lot of dairy. That's just fine by me!

Here are a few I've learned from my Indian friends:
E dare ow. Means "come here" ala a command
Mira hookum hay. Means "it is my order"
Hot da bow. Means "rub my feet"
Day mag carab mut ka row. Means "your words make me dizzy"
Oh course be careful when using these. :D :D :D

I think that clove1's suggestion of "main shakahari hoon" is a good one although coloquially it is not very common and you might even get a few raised eyebrows.

Saying "pure veg" as somebody else suggested should prolly be your first try. If that does not work, you could try "no non-veg". These will work in most cities. In remote places, you might have to resort to "main shakahari hoon" or just "shakahari". I'm afraid that the difficult pronounciation might throw them off and you might be better off just saying "shakahari" and pointing at yourself. Good luck!

Also, jacketwatch, I'd be careful with "Hot da bow" as it actually means rub my hands!

Also, "Day mag carab mut ka row" means "Don't drive me crazy" or more colloquially "Don't drive me nuts/waste my time!" :D

Manisha: :D :D I do have to be careful. I was born and raised in Chicago and my wife is from Ajmer, Raj. During our first trip there I tried to repeat what my B-I-L said was a term of high respect for my wifes oldest sister. She was standing with some friends when I said this and to my embarressment (and hers) it came out like I was calling her my oldest goat. :D :D They forgave me. :-)

Oh no Jacketwatch! I thought that only happened in the movies (The movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding has a similar situation). Sorry to tell you this, but it is pretty funny :)

I wish you could have seen the look on their faces. :D First it was like, "huh", then it was like "oh my God he really said THAT!" and then they laughed when they figured out what was lost in translation so to speak. :D And I think that movie was hilarious too. The (in)famous line "echo tre ardedia" :D :D Namaste, Larry. :-)