Basic Postpositions in Hindi

In Brief

Hindi uses postpositions: relationship words placed after a noun or pronoun. English says “in the house,” but Hindi says घर में, literally “house in.” The essential beginner set is में “in,” पर “on/at,” से “from/with/by,” को “to/object marker,” and का/के/की “of/’s.”

Overview

A postposition does much the same job as an English preposition, but its position is reversed. It can show location, direction, source, means, a recipient, an object, or possession. Compare English on the table with Hindi मेज़ पर, and from Delhi with दिल्ली से. Learning this noun-first order is one of the most useful steps at A1.

A noun is a word for a person, place, thing, or idea, such as “teacher,” “Delhi,” “book,” or “time.” A pronoun stands in for a noun, as “I,” “you,” and “she” do. Hindi places a postposition after the whole noun phrase: मेरे छोटे कमरे में “in my small room.” English speakers often understand the individual words but put them in English order; training yourself to wait until the end of the phrase for the relationship word prevents that mistake.

Postpositions also affect the form of some nouns and pronouns. The form used before a postposition is called the oblique case—simply, a special form required when another word follows the noun to mark its relationship. The core meaning of each postposition is straightforward; the detailed oblique patterns are a related A2 topic.

How It Works

The basic pattern

The beginner pattern is:

noun or pronoun phrase + postposition

English structure	Hindi structure	Hindi example
in + the house	house + in	घर में
on + the table	table + on	मेज़ पर
from + Delhi	Delhi + from	दिल्ली से

A descriptive word stays with its noun: बड़े घर में “in the big house.” A possessor also stays inside the phrase: अंजलि के घर में “in Anjali’s house.”

The five core forms

Form	Useful first meaning	Main jobs	Short example
में	in	inside a place, container, time, or group	बैग में “in the bag”
पर	on, at	a surface, point, place, or event	मेज़ पर “on the table”
से	from, with, by	source, starting point, instrument, means	दिल्ली से “from Delhi”
को	to; object marker	recipient, destination with some verbs, affected person, marked object	मोहन को “to Mohan”
का/के/की	of, ’s	ownership and other relationships	मीरा की किताब “Meera’s book”

These are not exact one-word equivalents. English “with,” for example, may express an instrument (चाकू से, “with a knife”) or companionship; companionship normally uses the later compound form के साथ, “with.” Learn the Hindi function rather than substituting an English preposition mechanically.

में: inside, within, or during

Use में when something is inside a physical or abstract boundary:

• कमरे में — in the room
• पानी में — in the water
• इस किताब में — in this book
• जुलाई में — in July

It also appears with vehicles when the idea is being inside them: कार में “in the car,” बस में “on/in the bus.” English chooses “on” for a bus, but Hindi normally chooses में.

पर: on, at, or at a point

Use पर for contact with a surface and for many locations treated as points:

• कुर्सी पर — on the chair
• दीवार पर — on the wall
• स्टेशन पर — at the station
• काम पर — at work

The difference between में and पर is therefore often conceptual rather than a direct match with English. स्कूल में presents someone as inside or participating in school; स्कूल पर is not the normal general translation of “at school.” Yet स्टेशन पर and दुकान पर are common because those places can be treated as points where someone is present or where an activity happens.

से: source, means, and instrument

The broad idea behind से is a connection through separation, source, or means. At A1, learn three common uses:

1. Origin or starting point: मुंबई से “from Mumbai,” सुबह से “since morning.”
2. Instrument: कलम से “with a pen,” चाबी से “with a key.”
3. Means of transport or communication: बस से “by bus,” फ़ोन से “by phone.”

Do not use bare से for being together with a person. “I am going with Riya” is मैं रिया के साथ जा रहा हूँ / जा रही हूँ, using के साथ.

को: recipient and object marker

को has no single natural English translation. Its clearest beginner use is marking a recipient—the person who receives something—or a goal with verbs such as “give,” “tell,” or “send”:

• सीमा को किताब दो। — Give the book to Seema.
• मुझे बताइए। — Tell me.
• उसको संदेश भेजो। — Send him/her a message.

It can also mark a direct object—the person or thing directly affected by an action. It is especially common with people and other definite or specific objects: मैंने राहुल को देखा “I saw Rahul.” Many inanimate, nonspecific objects have no को: मैं किताब पढ़ता हूँ “I read a book/the book.” Object marking depends on meaning and specificity, so beginners should not add को after every English object.

Personal pronouns take special forms with को. Several are commonly shortened in speech and ordinary writing:

Basic pronoun	With को	Common combined form	Meaning
मैं	मुझ को	मुझको / मुझे	to me, me
हम	हम को	हमको / हमें	to us, us
तुम	तुम को	तुमको / तुम्हें	to you, you
आप	आप को	आपको	to you, you
वह	उस को	उसको / उसे	to him/her, him/her
वे	उन को	उनको / उन्हें	to them, them

Forms such as मुझे, उसे, and उन्हें are extremely frequent and should be learned as whole units.

का, के, की: possession and relationship

का/के/की links a possessor to something possessed. Unlike English ’s, its form agrees with the possessed noun, not with the owner:

Possessed noun	Form	Example
masculine singular	का	रवि का घर — Ravi’s house
masculine plural	के	रवि के दोस्त — Ravi’s friends
feminine singular or plural	की	रवि की किताब / किताबें — Ravi’s book/books

The same pattern expresses relationships, origin, or association, not only legal ownership: अनिता का भाई “Anita’s brother,” भारत की राजधानी “India’s capital,” चाय का कप “a cup of tea.”

English possessive pronouns correspond to Hindi forms such as मेरा/मेरे/मेरी “my,” तुम्हारा/तुम्हारे/तुम्हारी “your,” and उसका/उसके/उसकी “his/her.” They follow the same agreement principle: मेरी कार because कार is feminine, but मेरा कमरा because कमरा is masculine singular.

The first oblique changes to notice

Before a postposition, a masculine singular noun ending in -ा usually changes -ा to -े:

• लड़का “boy” → लड़के को “to the boy”
• कमरा “room” → कमरे में “in the room”

Many other singular nouns do not visibly change: घर में, मेज़ पर, किताब से. Plural nouns have additional oblique forms, such as लड़कों को “to the boys” and किताबों में “in the books.” At A1, recognize these forms; study the full system with the Oblique Case concept.

Examples in Context

Hindi	English	Note
बच्चे घर में हैं।	The children are in the house.	में marks location inside.
चाबियाँ बैग में हैं।	The keys are in the bag.	A container takes में.
फ़ोन मेज़ पर है।	The phone is on the table.	पर marks a surface.
मैं स्टेशन पर इंतज़ार कर रहा हूँ।	I am waiting at the station.	पर marks a location point; male speaker.
वह दिल्ली से आई है।	She has come from Delhi.	से marks origin.
हम बस से दफ़्तर जाते हैं।	We go to the office by bus.	से marks means of transport.
कृपया पेंसिल से लिखिए।	Please write with a pencil.	से marks an instrument.
मैंने नेहा को फ़ोन किया।	I called Neha.	को marks a specific person affected by the action.
शिक्षक ने बच्चों को कहानी सुनाई।	The teacher told the children a story.	को marks the recipients.
मुझे हिंदी पसंद है।	I like Hindi.	मुझे is a common combined pronoun form; literally, Hindi is pleasing “to me.”
यह आरव का कमरा है।	This is Aarav’s room.	का agrees with masculine singular कमरा.
ये आरव के जूते हैं।	These are Aarav’s shoes.	के agrees with masculine plural जूते.
वह आरव की बहन है।	She is Aarav’s sister.	की agrees with feminine बहन.
मेरी किताब कमरे में है।	My book is in the room.	मेरी agrees with किताब; कमरा becomes कमरे before में.

Common Mistakes

Putting the relationship word before the noun

• Wrong: में घर
• Right: घर में
• Why: Hindi places the postposition after the noun phrase. Think “house in,” not “in house.”

Keeping an -ा noun unchanged

• Wrong: लड़का को बुलाओ।
• Right: लड़के को बुलाओ।
• Why: A masculine singular -ा noun normally changes to -े before a postposition.

Choosing का from the owner

• Wrong: राहुल का किताब
• Right: राहुल की किताब
• Why: का/के/की agrees with what is possessed. किताब is feminine, so use की, regardless of Rahul’s gender.

Adding को to every direct object

• Wrong: मैं पानी को पीता हूँ। (in an ordinary nonspecific statement)
• Right: मैं पानी पीता हूँ।
• Why: Bare inanimate objects are often unmarked. को is common with people and definite or specifically identified objects, but it is not an automatic equivalent of an English object position.

Translating every English “with” as से

• Wrong: मैं दोस्त से बाज़ार जा रहा हूँ। (intended: “I am going to the market with a friend.”)
• Right: मैं दोस्त के साथ बाज़ार जा रहा हूँ।
• Why: Use से for an instrument or means. Companionship normally uses के साथ.

Confusing में and पर from English alone

• Wrong: बस पर बैठा हूँ। (intended: “I am on the bus.”)
• Right: बस में बैठा हूँ।
• Why: Hindi treats a passenger as being inside the bus, so it uses में. Learn common place phrases as complete chunks rather than translating “in/on/at” word by word.

Usage Notes

In everyday speech, पर is often pronounced and informally written पे, as in मेज़ पे. Standard edited Hindi generally prefers पर. Both will be heard, but पर is the safer form for formal writing and beginner practice.

Hindi often omits information that is obvious from context. A shopkeeper may ask किसको? “For whom?/To whom?” or someone may answer simply घर में “in the house.” The postposition still makes the relationship clear even when the rest of the sentence is unstated.

English prepositions and Hindi postpositions rarely line up perfectly. For instance, English “at” may be पर in स्टेशन पर, में in स्कूल में, or absent in some time expressions. A good dictionary example or a remembered phrase is more reliable than choosing from an English label alone.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master these points at A1, but they explain forms you will soon encounter.

से expands well beyond “from” and “with.” It marks comparison in रीना मोहन से लंबी है “Reena is taller than Mohan,” cause in expressions such as डर से “from/because of fear,” and an agent in some passive constructions. These uses share the same form but are understood from the sentence.

को also marks experiencers in many expressions where English uses a grammatical subject: मुझे भूख लगी है “I am hungry” (literally, hunger has affected me), उसे हिंदी आती है “He/she knows Hindi,” and आपको जाना चाहिए “You should go.” This is often called a dative-subject construction: the experiencer is marked like a recipient rather than appearing as a plain subject.

The form के has another role inside longer phrases. Because a masculine singular possessed noun may itself stand before a postposition, का can change to के: राहुल का घर “Rahul’s house,” but राहुल के घर में “in Rahul’s house.” Here घर is in an oblique environment before में, and the possessive marker agrees with that form.

Hindi also has many compound postpositions, multiword units built around these basic forms: के साथ “with,” के लिए “for,” के पास “near/possessing,” के बारे में “about,” and के बिना “without.” Their internal के is part of the construction: मेरे साथ “with me,” बच्चों के लिए “for the children.” Once the basic postposition order feels natural, these longer units become much easier.

Practice Tips

1. Learn phrases in contrasting pairs. Put घर में / मेज़ पर, दिल्ली से / दिल्ली को, and कलम से / दोस्त के साथ on cards. Say what relationship changes when the marker changes.
2. Build one phrase outward. Start with कमरा, then say कमरे में, बड़े कमरे में, and मेरे बड़े कमरे में. This trains both postposition placement and the oblique -ा → -े change.
3. Sort real examples by function. When reading or listening, collect examples under “inside” (में), “point/surface” (पर), “source/means” (से), “recipient/object” (को), and “relationship” (का/के/की). Record the whole phrase, not only the marker.

Related Concepts

• Next step: Oblique Case — learn the full set of noun changes required before postpositions.
• Related: Expressing Feelings (Dative Subjects) — see how को marks the person who experiences a feeling, need, or state.