Karnataka II PUC Hindi (KSEAB) key terms

Prose: writing arranged in ordinary sentences and paragraphs rather than measured lines. In this exam it means the prescribed prose lessons, whose themes, characters, tone and author's purpose must be explained clearly and accurately.

A short prose sketch that draws a verbal portrait of a real person, picking out appearance, habits, speech and typical behaviour so that the reader feels personally acquainted with the subject.

A memory-based prose form in which the writer recalls people, places or events from personal experience. It mixes factual recollection with feeling and usually reveals character through a telling anecdote.

A factual account of a person's life written by someone else, usually in chronological order, stressing achievements, struggles and historical setting rather than the author's private emotions.

Autobiography: the writer narrates his or her own life in the first person. The account is selective, and past events are usually interpreted with hindsight, self-criticism or quiet humour.

Satire: indirect criticism in which the writer appears to say one thing but means another, exposing folly or injustice through irony, exaggeration, mock praise or an unexpected twist at the end.

The elements that make up a narrative: plot, character, setting, conflict, climax and resolution. Naming these helps when a question asks you to analyse the structure of a prose lesson.

Poetry written in measured, rhythmic lines. For this exam it means the prescribed poems, which must be explained in terms of literal meaning, emotional content, imagery and poetic technique.

The metrical pattern of a verse, fixed by syllable count, pause position and rhyme. Common types in the syllabus are doha, chaupai, sortha and kundaliya; correctly naming the metre earns marks.

The aesthetic pleasure or emotional flavour a poem produces in a receptive reader. The nine ras include shringar, karuna, veer, hasya and shanta, each named after the emotion that dominates the verse.

The feeling expressed in a poem, such as longing, devotion, grief or patriotic ardour. Distinguishing bhav, the emotion conveyed, from ras, the delight it arouses, is a frequent exam requirement.

The context in which a quoted line occurs. A 'prasang sahit vyakhya' answer must first name the speaker, the situation and what precedes the line, and only then explain its meaning.

A prose explanation of a verse: first a plain paraphrase of the literal sense, then an unpacking of images, allusions and emotional force in your own simple, connected sentences.

The joining of two sounds or words so that the final sound of the first merges with the initial sound of the second, forming one written unit. Main types are swar, vyanjan and visarga sandhi.

A compound in which two or more words are fused into a single word without the sound changes of sandhi. It is classified by the relation between members: tatpurush, dwandwa, bahuvrihi, dwigu and others.

A deliberate stylistic device that ornaments language, such as upma (simile), rupak (metaphor), anupras (alliteration) and utpreksha. Questions usually ask you to name the figure and justify it from the line.

A fixed idiomatic expression whose figurative meaning is quite different from the literal sense of its words. It works as a single unit, so words inside it are rarely replaced or reordered.

A short, widely known saying that states a general truth or piece of practical wisdom. Unlike a muhavara, it is a complete sentence with a proverb-like moral and is quoted to support an argument.

A prefix attached to a root or word to modify its meaning, as pra-, anu-, vi- and nir- do in Hindi verbs and nouns. Recognising it helps explain how a word's sense changes.

A suffix added to a root or word to build a new word or mark a grammatical relation, such as -ta, -pan and -kar. Spotting it supports questions on word formation and word class.

Two categories of Hindi vocabulary: tatsam words are taken from Sanskrit with little or no change, while tadbhav words are Sanskrit words altered by centuries of everyday use in Hindi.

Synonyms: words sharing a core meaning but differing in nuance, formality or typical company. Answers should give two or three close equivalents rather than loosely related words from the same field.

Antonyms: words with opposite meanings, such as din and raat, or swatantrata and paradhinta. A correct pair must belong to the same part of speech and match in level of usage.

A word carrying several distinct meanings that depend on context, such as kar (hand, tax, ray). Questions ask you to place it in separate sentences where each meaning is unmistakable.

Correct spelling and standard written form. Candidates must spot or repair errors in given words and sentences according to accepted Hindi orthography, including matras, anusvara and conjunct consonants.

Voice: the grammatical arrangement showing whether the subject performs the action or receives it. Hindi recognises kartri, karm and bhav vachya, each with its own verb form and sentence pattern.

Tense: the verb form that locates an action in past, present or future, with further distinctions of aspect such as habitual, progressive and perfect, each shown by different auxiliary and participle forms.

A structured essay on a set topic, normally with an introduction, several developed paragraphs and a conclusion. Marks depend on relevance, organisation, vocabulary and correctness far more than on sheer length.

Letter writing. Formal letters such as applications, complaints and requests follow a fixed layout: sender's address, date, salutation, subject, body and closing. Personal letters keep the format but adopt a warmer, freer tone.

A short paragraph developing one central idea in continuous prose, with sentences arranged in logical order and linked smoothly. It carries no heading, no bullet points and no digressions.

Dialogue writing: a conversation between two or more speakers, set out with names and colons, kept natural and purposeful, and consistent with each speaker's age, role and relationship.

An unseen prose passage set for comprehension. You must read it closely and answer only from what the passage states or clearly implies, without importing outside facts or personal opinion.

Summary: a condensed restatement of a passage's main ideas in your own words, dropping examples, repetition and decoration while keeping the original order of thought and the writer's standpoint.

The title you give an unseen passage or a paragraph. A good title is brief, points to the central idea, and avoids simply copying the opening sentence word for word.

The skill of extracting meaning from unfamiliar writing: using context, word roots, prefixes and sentence structure to infer the sense of difficult words instead of guessing from a single resemblance.