Essential Hindi phrases

The National Capital Region — Delhi plus Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad. People live in one and work in another constantly, across three state boundaries.

Let's go, or come on. The most useful single word in daily Hindi, used in every register.

A planned residential neighbourhood — Defence Colony, Greater Kailash, Hauz Khas. Delhi addresses are given by colony and block rather than by street name.

A rooftop flat, originally a monsoon shelter on the terrace. Cheap, characterful, freezing in January and unbearable in June — a Delhi institution among young renters.

An improvised, resourceful workaround. A national trait, a compliment, and something you will rely on weekly.

Governmental. In a capital city, an enormously useful adjective — 'sarkari job', 'sarkari process' — carrying its own weight of implication.

The Air Quality Index, checked here the way other cities check the weather. Above 300 is 'very poor', above 400 'severe', and Delhi sees both every winter.

The Graded Response Action Plan — the staged restrictions on construction, diesel vehicles and schools that kick in as air quality worsens. You will hear the stage number on the news.

The hot, dry wind that blows across north India in May and June, pushing temperatures past 45°C. Not a joke, and genuinely dangerous in the afternoons.

112 is the national emergency number. 100 for police and 101 for fire still work and are more widely known.

The family of savoury snacks — golgappe, aloo tikki, papdi chaat. Delhi's chaat is regarded as the best in India and defending that claim is a local sport.

The Delhi Metro — vast, clean, air-conditioned and genuinely one of the best systems in the world. It changed the city completely.