Playing ThoughtMatch in Hinglish
If your group thinks in a mix of Hindi and English, ThoughtMatch can keep up. This guide explains the host's Words setting, how Hinglish mode matches words that people spell differently, and how to write Hinglish clues that land with your friends and not the Dener.
The Words setting
Every word in ThoughtMatch is checked by the game: the Dener's secret word, the private word behind each clue, and the word each player types when they press Contact!. The host decides which words count with the Words setting in the lobby, and can change it for the next round from the host controls. There are three choices.
- Dictionary. Real English words, plus common places, days, months, festivals and languages. No people's names. This is the default, and it already allows words like "diwali", "holi", "hindi" and "india".
- Any word. Any word made of letters, real or not. Rude words are still blocked.
- Hinglish. Any word, and Hindi typed in English letters matches loosely, so "pyaar" and "pyar" count as the same word. Rude words are blocked here too.
The other rules don't change. The secret word is still 4 to 15 letters, everyone still sees its first letter and length, and a contact still holds only when every contacter matches the clue giver. If you need a refresher, the how to play page has the full rules.
How loose matching works
Hindi has no single agreed way to be written in English letters. One friend texts "accha", another "acha", a third "achha". In Any word mode those are three different words, so a contact between two of them would fail. In Hinglish mode they all count as one.
Before comparing two words, Hinglish mode smooths over the most common spelling differences:
- Long and short vowels: "ee" and "i", "oo" and "u", and doubled letters like "aa", so "paani" matches "pani" and "kheer" matches "khir".
- Doubled consonants: "chutti" matches "chhutti", and "accha" matches "acha".
- An "h" after a consonant: "bh" and "b", "kh" and "k", "chh" and "ch", so "chhutti" and "chutti" match, and so do "dhaba" and "daba".
- Swappable letters: "w" and "v" ("pawan", "pavan"), "z" and "j" ("zindagi", "jindagi"), "ph" and "f", and "q" and "k" ("ishq", "ishk").
- A final "y" or "i": "chaay" matches "chai".
This loose matching applies everywhere a word is compared, not just in contacts. A Dener's guess breaks a clue if it matches loosely, a shared guess at the secret word counts if it matches loosely, and a word that's been used up this round stays used up in all its spellings. It also checks the revealed letters loosely, so if the board shows CHH, a clue word you spell with a single "h" still fits.
The check that stops a clue giving away its own word is loose too. You can't post the word CHAI with the clue "cutting chaay, please", because "chaay" counts as your word.
A worked example: CHAI
Setup. The host picks Hinglish. Dev is the Dener and secretly chooses CHAI. Everyone sees a C and three blank tiles.
Three clues. Riya thinks of CHAAND and writes "Karwa Chauth ki raat sab isi ka intezaar karte hain". Kabir thinks of CHAPPAL and writes "Mummy ka sabse khatarnaak hathiyaar". Meera thinks of CHHUTTI and writes "Baarish mein school band, matlab...".
A loose contact. Arjun reads Riya's clue, presses Contact! and types CHAND, with one "a". Dev types CHANDNI, then CHANDRAMA, but neither is Riya's word. When the ten seconds end, CHAND and CHAAND count as the same word, so the contact holds. Dev reveals H, and the board shows CH. Kabir's and Meera's clues are cleared, and their words stay secret.
A loose break. Kabir tries again with CHAABI: "Jo hamesha tab gum hoti hai jab late ho rahe ho". Dev has lost his own keys often enough to see it. He types CHABI, which matches loosely, and the clue is broken. CHAABI is now revealed and can't be used again this round.
The win. Riya goes for the secret itself with "Shaam 4 baje wala break, cutting wali". Arjun contacts with CHAI and Meera with CHAAY. Both match Riya's word, the contact lands on the secret word, and the players win the round.
In Any word mode, that first contact would have failed: Arjun's CHAND and Riya's CHAAND would be different words, and both would be used up for the rest of the round. Loose matching is what lets a table play in Hinglish without arguing over vowels.
Spelling tips
Loose matching covers the common differences, not every one. A few habits keep your contacts safe.
- Spell the way your group texts. If your friends always write "kya", write "kya". You don't need to worry about "kyaa", but "kia" is a different word to the game.
- Watch endings and nasal sounds. "nahi" and "nahin" don't match, and nor do "mein" and "main". Short, common words like these are risky clue words anyway.
- Choose words with one obvious spelling. CHAPPAL is fairly safe: "chappal", "chapal" and "chhappal" all count as the same word. A word people split into syllables differently is a gamble.
- Remember English words collide too. Because "ee" matches "i" and "oo" matches "u", SHEEP and SHIP count as the same word in Hinglish mode, and so do POOL and PULL, or PHOOL and FOOL. That cuts both ways: a contact can hold on a near miss, and a Dener's guess can break a clue it wasn't aiming at.
Tip: If a contact fails over spelling, everyone sees both words. Take a second to agree how your group spells that kind of word, and the next round goes smoother.
Writing Hinglish clues
The clue text was never checked against a dictionary, in any mode. You could always write clues in Hindi, English or both, and mention films, songs, names and family jokes. What Hinglish mode changes is the private word: now CHAPPAL, CHHUTTI or JUGAAD can sit behind a clue, not just English words.
That opens up a lot. Words for food, family, festivals and everyday life often have no neat English equivalent, and the shared culture behind them makes for clues that are quick for your friends and slow for a Dener. "Mummy ka sabse khatarnaak hathiyaar" points at CHAPPAL in a second for anyone who grew up with it.
The usual clue-writing advice still holds. Aim at what your group knows and the Dener doesn't, and avoid plain definitions the Dener can guess straight away. Our guide to writing great clues goes into this in depth. Two Hinglish-specific points:
- A Hindi-speaking Dener reads Hindi clues too. Switching language isn't a disguise if the Dener speaks it. The reference has to do the work.
- Mind the synonyms. "Chaand" or "chanda"? "Chhutti" or "holiday"? If your clue could point at a Hindi word and its English twin, a teammate might type the wrong one and the contact fails. Make it clear which language you mean.
Fairness in mixed groups
Plenty of game nights mix people who speak Hindi with people who don't. Hinglish mode can still work, as long as everyone knows what they're signing up for.
- Agree before the first round. Ask the table whether Hindi words are welcome as secret words, as clue words, or both.
- English still works. Hinglish mode accepts any word, so players who don't speak Hindi can keep giving and contacting English clues as normal.
- Be kind with secret words. A Hindi secret word against a team that mostly doesn't speak Hindi is very hard to crack. Some groups keep secret words in English and allow Hindi only behind clues.
- Use the flag fairly. If a clue only one other person at the table could possibly get, the Dener can flag it as an inside reference, and the players with no stake in it vote on whether it's fair.
Our house rules guide has more ideas for agreeing small rules like these up front.
Which mode to pick
| Mode | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | First games, classrooms, groups that don't share a language beyond English. Festivals like Diwali and Holi still work. | Most Hindi words, such as "chappal", won't be accepted. |
| Any word | Slang, made-up words and your group's own nicknames for things. | Spellings must match exactly, so "pyaar" and "pyar" are different words. |
| Hinglish | Groups who chat in Hinglish and want Hindi words to count, however they're spelt. | Some English pairs, like SHEEP and SHIP, count as one word. |
You don't have to pick once for the whole night. The host can switch the Words setting between rounds, so you can warm up in Dictionary mode and move to Hinglish once everyone has the hang of it. For more on close calls like what counts as the same word, see the FAQ.
Got a table full of Hinglish speakers? Set the Words option and play.
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