Basic Adjective Agreement in Hindi

In Brief

Hindi adjectives of the अच्छा type change to match the noun they describe: अच्छा for masculine singular, अच्छे for masculine plural, and अच्छी for feminine singular or plural. Many other adjectives, including सुंदर, लाल, and साफ़, do not change at all. Masculine singular forms also become -े before a postposition: अच्छे लड़के को “to the good boy.”

Overview

An adjective is a describing word such as “good,” “small,” or “beautiful.” The word it describes is usually a noun—a word naming a person, thing, place, or idea. In Hindi, some adjectives show agreement: their ending matches the noun’s gender (masculine or feminine), number (singular or plural), and, in certain sentences, case.

English adjectives do not normally show this kind of agreement. “Good” has one form in “good boy,” “good boys,” “good girl,” and “good girls.” Hindi instead has अच्छा लड़का, अच्छे लड़के, अच्छी लड़की, and अच्छी लड़कियाँ. This makes a noun’s grammatical gender important even when the object has no natural sex: कमरा “room” is masculine, while किताब “book” is feminine.

This is an A1 pattern, and its beginner version is manageable: first identify whether an adjective changes; if it does, choose -ा, -े, or -ी from the noun. Later, the same pattern helps with postpositions, possessive words, the वाला construction, and adjective-like verb forms.

How It Works

Two kinds of adjective

Hindi adjectives fall into two practical groups.

1. Variable (declinable) adjectives change their ending. Many common ones have a masculine singular form ending in -ा, such as अच्छा “good,” बड़ा “big,” छोटा “small,” नया “new,” पुराना “old,” लंबा “tall/long,” and महँगा “expensive.”
2. Invariable (indeclinable) adjectives keep one form. Common examples include सुंदर “beautiful,” लाल “red,” साफ़ “clean,” ख़ुश “happy,” गरीब “poor,” and दिलचस्प “interesting.”

“Declinable” simply means that a word changes form for grammatical reasons. The final spelling is a useful clue, but the safest habit is to learn a new adjective with at least a masculine and a feminine example. Not every adjective ending in an आ sound belongs to the अच्छा pattern: बढ़िया “excellent” is normally invariable.

The beginner pattern

Noun category	Adjective form	Hindi example	English
Masculine singular, direct	-ा	अच्छा लड़का	good boy
Masculine plural, direct	-े	अच्छे लड़के	good boys
Feminine singular, direct	-ी	अच्छी लड़की	good girl
Feminine plural, direct	-ी	अच्छी लड़कियाँ	good girls

The feminine adjective has the same form in singular and plural. The noun often marks the difference instead: अच्छी लड़की versus अच्छी लड़कियाँ. In the masculine, both adjective and noun may change: अच्छा लड़का → अच्छे लड़के.

The same pattern applies to adjectives with consonants before the ending:

• बड़ा कमरा → बड़े कमरे → बड़ी दुकान → बड़ी दुकानें
• नया जूता → नए जूते → नई किताब → नई किताबें
• ठंडा दिन → ठंडे दिन → ठंडी रात → ठंडी रातें

Notice the spelling नई, the usual feminine form of नया. It is pronounced roughly naī, as two vowel sounds, rather than being written नयी in the standard examples used here.

Agreement before and after the noun

An adjective normally comes before its noun:

• छोटा घर — a small house
• लंबी सड़क — a long road
• सुंदर तस्वीरें — beautiful pictures

It can also follow the noun with a linking verb such as है “is” or हैं “are.” This is called predicative use—plainly, the description is made after “is/are.” A variable adjective still agrees:

• घर छोटा है। — The house is small.
• सड़क लंबी है। — The road is long.
• जूते नए हैं। — The shoes are new.

Do not choose the adjective from है or हैं. Choose it from the noun being described.

Gender controls the form

Hindi grammatical gender belongs to the noun. Natural sex helps with words for people, but many everyday objects must simply be learned with their gender.

Noun	Gender	Phrase	English
कमरा	masculine	बड़ा कमरा	big room
घर	masculine	बड़ा घर	big house
किताब	feminine	बड़ी किताब	big book
मेज़	feminine	बड़ी मेज़	big table

The noun’s own ending is not a perfect guide. घर has no -ा ending but is masculine; किताब has no -ी ending but is feminine. Learning बड़ा घर and बड़ी किताब, rather than isolated noun translations, builds gender and agreement together.

Masculine oblique forms

Hindi uses an oblique case—a changed noun-phrase form—before most postpositions. A postposition does the work of an English preposition but follows its noun, as in को “to,” में “in,” पर “on,” and से “from/with/than.” A variable adjective modifying a masculine singular noun changes from -ा to -े in this environment.

Context	Hindi	English	What changes
Masculine singular, direct	बड़ा लड़का आया।	The big boy came.	बड़ा लड़का
Masculine singular + postposition	बड़े लड़के को बुलाओ।	Call the big boy.	बड़ा → बड़े
Masculine plural, direct	बड़े लड़के आए।	The big boys came.	बड़े लड़के
Masculine plural + postposition	बड़े लड़कों को बुलाओ।	Call the big boys.	adjective stays बड़े
Feminine singular + postposition	बड़ी लड़की को बुलाओ।	Call the big girl.	adjective stays बड़ी
Feminine plural + postposition	बड़ी लड़कियों को बुलाओ।	Call the big girls.	adjective stays बड़ी

For a beginner, a useful shortcut is: -ा appears only with a direct masculine singular noun. A changeable masculine adjective appears as -े with masculine plurals and with masculine oblique noun phrases.

Invariable adjectives

An invariable adjective has one form in every combination. The noun and verb may still change, but the adjective does not.

Hindi example	English	Note
सुंदर लड़का	beautiful boy	masculine singular
सुंदर लड़के	beautiful boys	masculine plural
सुंदर लड़की	beautiful girl	feminine singular
सुंदर लड़कियाँ	beautiful girls	feminine plural
सुंदर लड़के को	to the beautiful boy	masculine oblique

Do not add -ा, -े, or -ी to an invariable adjective. सुंदर remains सुंदर, not सुंदरा or सुंदरी in this ordinary adjective pattern.

Examples in Context

Hindi	English	Note
यह अच्छा सवाल है।	This is a good question.	सवाल is masculine singular.
वे अच्छे सवाल हैं।	Those are good questions.	Masculine plural takes अच्छे.
मेरी नई किताब मेज़ पर है।	My new book is on the table.	किताब is feminine, so नई.
ये नए जूते बहुत आरामदायक हैं।	These new shoes are very comfortable.	जूते is masculine plural; आरामदायक is invariable.
हमारी छोटी दुकान आज बंद है।	Our small shop is closed today.	दुकान is feminine.
यह कमरा बड़ा और साफ़ है।	This room is big and clean.	बड़ा changes; साफ़ does not.
बच्चे ठंडा पानी पी रहे हैं।	The children are drinking cold water.	पानी is masculine singular.
आज रात बहुत ठंडी है।	Tonight is very cold.	रात is feminine.
उसने काली चाय मँगाई।	She/he ordered black tea.	चाय is feminine.
बगीचे में सुंदर फूल हैं।	There are beautiful flowers in the garden.	सुंदर is invariable.
मैं पुराने दोस्त से मिला।	I met an old friend.	Masculine singular is oblique before से.
हम बड़ी खिड़कियों के पास बैठे।	We sat near the big windows.	Feminine adjective remains बड़ी.
यह फ़िल्म दिलचस्प है।	This film is interesting.	दिलचस्प is invariable.
रीना और सीमा अच्छी दोस्त हैं।	Reena and Seema are good friends.	A feminine plural group takes अच्छी.

Common Mistakes

Keeping -ा with a feminine noun

• Wrong: अच्छा किताब
• Right: अच्छी किताब
• Why: किताब is feminine, so variable अच्छा must become अच्छी. Its lack of an -ी ending does not make it masculine.

Making a separate feminine plural adjective

• Wrong: अच्छियाँ लड़कियाँ
• Right: अच्छी लड़कियाँ
• Why: The feminine form of this adjective is -ी in both singular and plural. The noun लड़कियाँ marks the plural.

Changing an invariable adjective

• Wrong: सुंदरी लड़की (when you simply mean “beautiful girl”)
• Right: सुंदर लड़की
• Why: Ordinary adjective सुंदर does not change for gender or number. सुंदरी exists as a separate literary noun meaning “beautiful woman,” not as the regular agreement form required here.

Missing the masculine oblique form

• Wrong: बड़ा लड़के को बुलाओ।
• Right: बड़े लड़के को बुलाओ।
• Why: Before को, this masculine singular noun phrase is oblique. Both बड़ा and लड़का take their -े forms.

Copying English’s one-form habit

• Wrong: नया जूते
• Right: नए जूते
• Why: English “new” never changes, but Hindi नया does. Masculine plural requires नए.

Agreeing with the nearest unrelated word

• Wrong: किताब का रंग काली है।
• Right: किताब का रंग काला है।
• Why: काला describes रंग “color,” which is masculine—not किताब, even though the book itself is feminine.

Usage Notes

Agreement is normal in both formal and informal Hindi; it is not an optional feature of careful writing. In fast conversation, some endings may sound less distinct, but standard speech and writing still follow the pattern.

Hindi often allows an adjective before the noun or after it with होना “to be.” The position can affect emphasis: बड़ा घर identifies “a big house,” while घर बड़ा है makes “the house is big” the main statement. The agreement itself does not change.

Everyday Hindi contains adjectives from Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, and English. Many borrowed adjectives are invariable, but origin alone is not a dependable test. Learn common combinations from real sentences: महँगी कार “expensive car,” but आधुनिक कार “modern car.”

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all of the following at A1, but these patterns explain forms you will soon encounter.

Adjective-like words use the same endings

Several important word groups follow the -ा/-े/-ी agreement pattern. Possessives such as मेरा “my” and तुम्हारा “your” agree with the thing possessed, not with the owner:

• मेरा भाई — my brother
• मेरी बहन — my sister
• मेरे दोस्त — my friends

The demonstrative itself does not create the adjective form; the noun still controls it: यह नया घर “this new house,” ये नई किताबें “these new books.” The later वाला/वाली/वाले construction follows a closely related agreement pattern.

Adjectives can stand without an expressed noun

When the intended noun is clear, Hindi may use a variable adjective on its own. Its ending helps identify what is understood:

• मुझे नीली वाली चाहिए। — I want the blue one. (an understood feminine item)
• बड़ा वाला कमरा खाली है। — The larger one/large room is empty.
• अच्छे हमेशा याद रहते हैं। — The good ones are always remembered. (context determines who or what)

These uses require context, and वाला is often added in everyday speech to make “the one” explicit.

Respect can trigger plural-style agreement

Hindi frequently uses grammatically plural forms to show respect to one person. With आप, use plural agreement even for one addressee:

• आप बहुत अच्छे हैं। — You are very kind/good.
• आप तैयार हैं। — You are ready. (तैयार is invariable.)

For respected third-person subjects, plural-style verb and adjective agreement can also occur: दादाजी बूढ़े हैं “Grandfather is old.” This is honorific agreement, not a claim that there is more than one grandfather.

More than one noun

An adjective shared by coordinated nouns may take plural agreement. If all the nouns are feminine, feminine plural is natural: साड़ी और कमीज़ नई हैं “The sari and shirt are new.” With a mixed-gender group, standard Hindi commonly uses masculine plural: लड़का और लड़की तैयार हैं has no visible issue because तैयार is invariable, while a variable description may appear in masculine plural. In real usage, speakers often restructure the sentence to avoid awkward or ambiguous agreement.

Practice Tips

1. Learn noun–adjective pairs. Record बड़ा घर and बड़ी किताब, not just “घर = house” and “किताब = book.” This trains gender and agreement at the same time.
2. Run a four-form drill. Take one variable adjective and say four phrases: नया लड़का, नए लड़के, नई लड़की, नई लड़कियाँ. Then add a postposition: नए लड़के को.
3. Sort adjectives while reading. Make two columns headed “changes” and “does not change.” Add अच्छा, लंबा, महँगा to the first and सुंदर, लाल, साफ़ to the second, always with a full example phrase.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Grammatical Gender — learn why Hindi nouns are masculine or feminine.
• Next step: Colors — compare changing colors such as नीला with invariable colors such as लाल.
• Next step: वाला Construction — apply the same agreement logic to वाला, वाले, वाली.
• Later: Comparatives and Superlatives — use adjectives with से, ज़्यादा, and सबसे to compare people and things.