2.6 Grammar: Gender and Number

Dr AVINASH K

15 2.6 Grammar: Gender and Number

Gender

Instructor Video: Gender

In Hindi, nouns can be divided into two types of gender, namely पुलिंग “Masculine,” and स्त्रीलिंग “Feminine.” Like English, Hindi has natural gender such as boy and gild, man and woman. Unlike English though, Hindi has grammatical gender. For example: Book, table, etc, are female. Whereas, room, house, door, etc. are male.

There is no certain rules to learn about gender assignment to particular noun in Hindi. Based on common observation, masculine and feminine nouns can be further classified in two subcategories as shown in the following table (1).

Masculine

Feminine

Marked (Type 1)

Nouns that ends in –आ “-aa.”

Nouns that ends in –इ/ई “-i/ii.”

Examples

लड़का laRakaa “boy.”

कमरा kamaraa “room.”

बच्चा bachchaa“boy child.”

दरवाज़ा darawaazaa “door.”

लड़की laRakii “girl”

बच्ची bachchii “girl child.”

खिड़की khiRakii “window.”

कुर्सी kursii “chair.”

Unmarked (Type 2)

Nouns that do not end in –आ “-aa.”

Nouns that do not end in –इ/ई “-i/ii.“

Examples

घर ghar “home.”

फल phal “fruit.”

सेब seb “apple.”

पुस्तकालय pustakaalay “library.”

किताब kitaab “book.”

मेज़ mez “table.”

तस्वीर taswiir “picture.”

कमीज़ kamiiz “shirt.”

Table 1. Sub-categories of Masculine and Feminine Gender

But these rules have multiple exceptions such as:

Nouns ending in –आ “-aa” but feminine.

माता maataa “mother.”
लता lataa “leaf,”
घटा ghaTaa “cloud”
दवा dawaa “medicine,” etc.

Nouns ending in –इ/ई“-i/ii” but masculine.

साथी saathii “Friend.”
हाथी hathii “Elephant.”
आदमी aadamii “Man” etc.

Test Yourself

Number

Instructor Video: Number

Like English, Hindi has two numbers, namely, singular number, and plural number. To change singular nouns into plurals in Hindi, it is important to know the gender of the nouns and apply the following rules.

All marked masculine nouns (that end in –आ “-aa.”) change into –ए “-e.”
Unmarked masculine nouns (that do not end in –आ “-aa.”) do not change their form in plural.
All marked feminine nouns (that end in –इ/ई “i/ii.”) change into –इयाँ “-iyan.”
Unmarked feminine nouns (that do not end in –इ/ई “i/ii.”) change into –यें/एं “-yen.”

The following table (2) summarizes these rules and shows examples.

Masculine

Feminine

Marked (Type 1)

Nouns that ends in –आ “-aa.”

Nouns that ends in –इ/ई “-i/ii.”

Rule for plural

change –आ “-aa” into –ए “-e”

change –इ/ई “-i/ii” into –इयाँ “-iyan”

Examples

लड़का – लड़के laRake “boys.”

कमरा – कमरे kamare “rooms.”

बच्चा – बच्चे bachche “boy children.”

दरवाज़ा – दरवाज़े darawaaze “door.s”

लड़की – लड़कियाँ laRakyani “girls”

बच्ची – बच्चियाँ bachchiyan “girl children.”

खिड़की – खिड़कियाँ khiRakiyan “windows.”

कुर्सी – कुर्सियाँ kursiyan “chairs.”

Unmarked (Type 2)

Nouns that do not end in –आ “-aa.”

Nouns that do not end in –इ/ई “-i/ii.“

Rule for plural

No changes in form

change into –यें/एं “-yen.”

Examples

घर – घर ghar “homes.”

फल – फल phal “fruits.”

सेब – सेब seb “apples.”

पुस्तकालय – पुस्तकालय pustakaalay “libraries.”

किताब – किताबें kitaaben “books.”

मेज़ – मेज़ें mezen “tables”

तस्वीर – तस्वीरें taswiiren “pictures.”

कमीज़ – कमीज़ें kamiizen “shirts.”

Table 2. Summary for rules to change singular to plural nouns based on the sub-categories of Masculine and Feminine Gender.

Test yourself

घर-गृहस्थी (House & household)

Please learn these vocabulary and change them into plural.

Singular Nouns

gender

Meaning

Plural Nouns

दीवार

f.

wall

दूध

m.

milk

मकान

m.

house

फ़र्श

m.

floor

कुर्सी

f.

chair

दरवाज़ा

m.

door

खिड़की

f.

window

छत

f.

roof, ceiling

गुसलख़ाना

m.

bathroom

तौलिया

m.

towel

तेल

m.

oil

साबुन

m.

soap

आईना /शीशा

m.

mirror

कंघी

f.

comb

अलमारी

f.

cupboard, wardrobe, shelf

खाट

f.

cot

पलंग

m.

bed

चादर

f.

sheet

रज़ाई

f.

quilt

कंबल

m.

blanket

तकिया

m.

pillow

लैंप

m.

lamp

बल्ब

m.

bulb

घड़ी

f.

watch, clock

चाकू

m.

knife

तस्वीर

f.

picture, photograph

कैलेंडर

m.

calendar

थैला

m.

bag

मोमबत्ती

f.

candle

इस्तरी

f.

iron

रसोई

f.

kitchen

कटोरा

m.

big bowl

कटोरी

f.

small bowl

थाली

f.

metal plate

बर्तन

m.

utensil

कड़ाही

f.

a frying pan, wok

गिलास

m.

glass

चूल्हा

m.

stove

चाबी

f.

key

ताला

m.

lock

चिमटा

m.

tongs

पतीला

m.

cooking vessel

तवा

m.

skillet

चकला

m.

rolling board

चौकी

f.

kneading board/ rectangular seat/bench

प्याला

m.

cup

झाड़ू

f.

broom

परदा

m.

curtain

टोपी

f.

cap

मोज़ा

m.

socks

रूमाल

m.

handkerchief

Vocabulary 5. Names of Fruits and Vegetables

फलों के नाम “Names of Fruits”

सेब m. apple

आम m. mango

केला m. banana

संतरा m. orange

तरबूज़ m. watermelon

अनन्नास m. pineapple

पपीता m. papaya

अनार m. pomegranate

अँगूर m. grapes

सब्ज़ियों के नाम “Names of Vegetables”

आलू m. potato

प्याज़ m. onion

टमाटर m. tomato

पालक m. spinach

मटर m. peas

फूल गोभी f. cauliflower

धनिया

पत्ता गोभी f. cabbage

बैंगन m. egg plant

शिमला मिर्च f. bell pepper

नींबू m. lemon

खीरा m. cucumber

Test Yourself

True/False

Vocabulary Test

धन्यवाद!

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Gender

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Number

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Vocabulary 5. Names of Fruits and Vegetables

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True/False

Vocabulary Test

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