Here's why:
* Shared Roots: Both Hindi and Urdu are Indo-Aryan languages, meaning they descended from the same ancient language, Sanskrit.
* Similar Grammar and Vocabulary: They share a lot of grammatical structure and a significant portion of their vocabulary.
* Mutual Intelligibility: While not fully mutually intelligible, speakers of Hindi and Urdu can often understand each other to a considerable degree, especially in written form.
* Historical Connection: They have a close historical relationship, evolving from the same language (Hindustani) over centuries.
However, there are some key differences:
* Script: Hindi uses the Devanagari script, while Urdu uses the Perso-Arabic script.
* Vocabulary: Urdu has borrowed heavily from Persian and Arabic, while Hindi has borrowed more from Sanskrit and other Indian languages.
* Pronunciation: There are some subtle pronunciation differences between the two languages.
So while Hindi and Urdu are closely related, they are distinct languages with their own unique features.