Magahi

No. Magahi and Hindi are both Indo-Aryan and share grammatical structure (postpositions, SOV order, gender agreement, split-ergative past), but Magahi has its own pronouns, distinct verb endings, and vocabulary. The two are not mutually intelligible without exposure. The Indian census groups Magahi under Hindi for political-administrative reasons, despite linguists treating it as a separate language.

All three are Bihari languages of the Eastern Indo-Aryan branch, share grammatical structure, and have many cognates. They differ in verb conjugation, vocabulary, and literary traditions. Maithili has more elaborate verb agreement (with both subject and object), Bhojpuri has the largest diaspora reach, Magahi sits between them geographically and linguistically. Mutual intelligibility across the three is partial.

Across southern Bihar (the Magadh region — Patna, Gaya, Nalanda, Aurangabad, Jehanabad, and surrounding districts) and parts of Jharkhand and West Bengal. Magahi is the everyday spoken language for tens of millions of people but has limited official representation. Some descendants of indentured workers in Mauritius and the Caribbean may have Magahi heritage, often blended with Bhojpuri.

Not yet at the Indian federal level — campaigns for inclusion among the 22 scheduled languages have been ongoing for years but haven't succeeded. Bihar lists Magahi among its second official languages. The language has limited use in government, media, and education compared to its neighbours Hindi and Maithili.

Devanagari, the same script used for Hindi and Maithili. Historically, Kaithi was also used for Magahi (and other eastern Hindi-belt languages) but is now archaic. Most Magahi publishing today — newspapers, books, online content — uses Devanagari.