देवनागरी (devnaagrii)

noun The name of the script used to write Hindi (and Sanskrit, Marathi, and others). This is a single-sense noun -- you will meet it constantly in discussions about reading and writing Hindi.
Sense 1 : the Devanagari script
noun, feminine
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: The name literally breaks down as देव (dev, 'divine/god') plus नागरी (naagrii, 'of the city' or 'urban'), so it is often glossed as "script of the city of the gods" or "divine urban script" -- a nice bit of etymology to share with learners who ask why it has such a grand name. In everyday classroom talk you will usually hear it paired with लिपि (lipi, 'script'), as in देवनागरी लिपि (devnaagrii lipi, 'the Devanagari script'), though देवनागरी (devnaagrii) alone is perfectly common too.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes treat देवनागरी (devnaagrii) as meaning "the Hindi language" -- it names the writing system, not the language. Hindi is हिंदी (hindii); Devanagari is also used to write Sanskrit, Marathi, and Nepali. 2) The word is grammatically feminine (referring to लिपि (lipi, 'script'), which is feminine), so adjectives and verbs agreeing with it take feminine forms, e.g. देवनागरी लिपि आसान है (devnaagrii lipi aasaan hai, 'the Devanagari script is easy').
Sample Sentences:
हिंदी देवनागरी लिपि में लिखी जाती है। Hindi is written in the Devanagari script.
(hindii devnaagrii lipi men likhii jaatii hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
क्या तुम देवनागरी पढ़ सकते हो? Can you read Devanagari?
(kyaa tum devnaagrii padh sakte ho?)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
मैंने पिछले साल देवनागरी लिपि सीखी थी। I had learned the Devanagari script last year.
(mainne pichhle saal devnaagrii lipi siikhii thii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
अगर तुम रोज़ अभ्यास करते तो अब तक देवनागरी अच्छी तरह लिख लेते। If you had practiced daily, you would have been writing Devanagari well by now.
(agar tum roz abhyaas karte to ab tak devnaagrii achchhii tarah likh lete।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
इस किताब में संस्कृत के मंत्र देवनागरी में छापे गए हैं। In this book, the Sanskrit mantras have been printed in Devanagari.
(is kitaab men sanskrit ke mantr devnaagrii men chhaape gae hain।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
देवनागरी सीखो, तो हिंदी और संस्कृत दोनों पढ़ना आसान हो जाएगा। Learn Devanagari, and reading both Hindi and Sanskrit will become easy.
(devnaagrii siikho, to hindii aur sanskrit donon padhnaa aasaan ho jaaegaa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
बच्चे स्कूल में देवनागरी के अक्षर लिखना सीख रहे हैं। The children are learning to write the letters of Devanagari at school.
(bachche skool men devnaagrii ke akshar likhnaa siikh rahe hain।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
देवनागरी नाम का अर्थ है 'देवताओं के नगर की लिपि'। The name Devanagari means 'the script of the city of the gods'.
(devnaagrii naam kaa arth hai 'devtaaon ke nagar kii lipi'।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
शायद यह पांडुलिपि देवनागरी में लिखी गई हो। Perhaps this manuscript was written in Devanagari.
(shaayad yah paandulipi devnaagrii men likhii gaii ho।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Aspect: Perfective -- Voice: Passive
विदेशी छात्र अक्सर देवनागरी को जटिल लिपि मानते हैं। Foreign students often consider Devanagari a complex script.
(videshii chhaatr aksar devnaagrii ko jatil lipi maante hain।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct): देवनागरी (devnaagrii)
(sg.f.oblique): देवनागरी (devnaagrii)
(pl.f.direct): देवनागरियाँ (devnaagriyaan)
(pl.f.oblique): देवनागरियों (devnaagriyon)