Ordinal Numbers in Hindi

In Brief

Hindi ordinal numbers show position in an order: पहला “first,” दूसरा “second,” and तीसरा “third.” Most behave like adjectives, so their endings agree with the noun: पहला दिन “first day,” पहली बार “first time,” and पहले दिन “on the first day.” For a useful beginner rule, learn each ordinal with the three endings -ा / -े / -ी.

Overview

A cardinal number tells you how many: तीन किताबें means “three books.” An ordinal number tells you where something comes in a sequence: तीसरी किताब means “the third book.” You will use ordinals for floors, chapters, attempts, prizes, positions, school classes, and repeated experiences.

This is an A2 topic because the basic meanings are simple, but Hindi adds something English does not: most ordinals change their ending. They work like a certain type of adjective—a word that describes a noun—and agree with the noun’s gender and grammatical setting. दूसरा, for example, can become दूसरे or दूसरी.

The most frequent ordinals deserve to be learned as complete words. After the first few, the system becomes more predictable: a cardinal number is generally followed by -वाँ, with matching forms -वें and -वीं. Knowing the ordinary Hindi numbers is therefore the essential foundation.

How It Works

The basic series

The first six forms need special attention. From seven onward, the pattern is usually transparent.

Position	Masculine singular, direct	Masculine in -े form	Feminine	Meaning
1	पहला	पहले	पहली	first
2	दूसरा	दूसरे	दूसरी	second
3	तीसरा	तीसरे	तीसरी	third
4	चौथा	चौथे	चौथी	fourth
5	पाँचवाँ	पाँचवें	पाँचवीं	fifth
6	छठा	छठे	छठी	sixth
7	सातवाँ	सातवें	सातवीं	seventh
8	आठवाँ	आठवें	आठवीं	eighth
9	नौवाँ	नौवें	नौवीं	ninth
10	दसवाँ	दसवें	दसवीं	tenth

Notice that छठा, not a mechanically formed form such as “छहवाँ,” is the normal word for “sixth.” Spellings with nasalized endings—पाँचवाँ, सातवाँ, पाँचवें, पाँचवीं—must retain the nasal mark.

Agreement: choosing -ा, -े, or -ी

Agreement means that a describing word changes to match the noun it describes. First determine whether the noun is masculine or feminine. Then check whether a masculine noun needs its direct singular form or the -े form.

Noun and setting	Ordinal form	Example	Meaning
Masculine singular, direct	-ा / -वाँ	तीसरा अध्याय	the third chapter
Masculine plural, direct	-े / -वें	पहले तीन अध्याय	the first three chapters
Masculine singular before a postposition	-े / -वें	तीसरे अध्याय में	in the third chapter
Masculine plural before a postposition	-े / -वें	पहले तीन अध्यायों में	in the first three chapters
Feminine, singular or plural	-ी / -वीं	दूसरी मंज़िल; पहली कक्षाएँ	second floor; first classes

A postposition is a word such as में “in,” पर “on,” or के बाद “after” that comes after a noun phrase. A masculine singular noun before a postposition is in the oblique form—the form used when a postposition follows—so the ordinal also changes:

• तीसरा दिन — the third day
• तीसरे दिन — on the third day
• तीसरे दिन के बाद — after the third day

Feminine ordinals do not make a separate plural or oblique ending. The surrounding noun may change, but the ordinal remains in -ी or -वीं:

• पहली लड़की — the first girl
• पहली लड़कियाँ — the first girls
• पहली लड़कियों से — from the first girls

Forming higher ordinals

For most numbers from seven upward, add the ordinal ending to the cardinal form. The masculine citation form uses -वाँ, its -े counterpart uses -वें, and the feminine uses -वीं.

Cardinal	Masculine direct	Masculine -े form	Feminine
ग्यारह (11)	ग्यारहवाँ	ग्यारहवें	ग्यारहवीं
बीस (20)	बीसवाँ	बीसवें	बीसवीं
इक्कीस (21)	इक्कीसवाँ	इक्कीसवें	इक्कीसवीं
पचास (50)	पचासवाँ	पचासवें	पचासवीं
सौ (100)	सौवाँ	सौवें	सौवीं

Hindi cardinals from 11 to 99 have many individual forms, so an ordinal preserves the correct cardinal stem: पच्चीसवाँ “twenty-fifth,” उनतीसवीं “twenty-ninth” feminine. Do not build the number word by translating English pieces such as “twenty + fifth.”

Position in the noun phrase

The ordinal normally comes before the noun, just like an attributive adjective:

• दूसरी मंज़िल — the second floor
• पाँचवाँ सवाल — the fifth question
• इक्कीसवीं सदी — the twenty-first century

It can also stand on its own when the omitted noun is obvious. The ending still reflects the understood person or thing:

• मैं तीसरा हूँ। — I am third. (male speaker)
• मैं तीसरी हूँ। — I am third. (female speaker)
• कौन-सी बस चाहिए? दूसरी। — Which bus do you need? The second one.

Hindi has no word equivalent to English “the,” so पहला अध्याय can mean “first chapter” or “the first chapter,” depending on context.

Examples in Context

Hindi	English	Note
पहली बार आया हूँ।	I have come for the first time.	बार is feminine, so use पहली.
दूसरी मंज़िल पर कार्यालय है।	The office is on the second floor.	Feminine मंज़िल; पर does not alter the feminine ending.
तीसरा लड़का कहाँ है?	Where is the third boy?	Masculine singular, direct.
तीसरे दिन बारिश हुई।	It rained on the third day.	Masculine oblique before the understood time use.
यह मेरा चौथा प्रयास है।	This is my fourth attempt.	प्रयास is masculine.
उसने पाँचवीं कक्षा में हिंदी पढ़ी।	She studied Hindi in fifth grade.	कक्षा is feminine.
हमारी टीम दूसरे स्थान पर रही।	Our team finished in second place.	स्थान is masculine and followed by पर.
मैं सातवीं पंक्ति में बैठा था।	I was sitting in the seventh row.	पंक्ति is feminine.
आठवाँ अध्याय बहुत छोटा है।	The eighth chapter is very short.	Regular masculine -वाँ form.
दसवें सवाल का जवाब आसान है।	The answer to the tenth question is easy.	सवाल is masculine before का.
आज उसकी इक्कीसवीं सालगिरह है।	Today is her twenty-first anniversary.	A higher feminine ordinal.
भारत इक्कीसवीं सदी में तेज़ी से बदला है।	India has changed rapidly in the twenty-first century.	Fixed, common use with feminine सदी.
रीना दौड़ में पहली आई।	Reena came first in the race.	The noun is omitted; the form matches Reena.
अमित दौड़ में पहले आया।	Amit came first in the race.	Predicative masculine form commonly appears as पहले here.

Common Mistakes

Using the masculine form with a feminine noun

• Wrong: पहला बार
• Right: पहली बार
• Why: बार in the expression “time/occasion” is feminine. The ordinal must therefore use -ी.

Forgetting the oblique masculine form

• Wrong: तीसरा दिन में
• Right: तीसरे दिन में
• Why: A masculine noun phrase before में is oblique. Both the ordinal and a changeable noun or adjective must fit that setting.

Treating every early ordinal as cardinal + वाँ

• Wrong: दोवाँ अध्याय, तीनवाँ अध्याय, छहवाँ अध्याय
• Right: दूसरा अध्याय, तीसरा अध्याय, छठा अध्याय
• Why: The common words for first through sixth include forms that must be memorized; do not apply the productive rule too early.

Copying English number structure

• Wrong: building “twenty-first” as separate translated pieces
• Right: इक्कीसवाँ दिन / इक्कीसवीं सदी
• Why: Hindi has a single cardinal word इक्कीस for 21, and the ordinal ending attaches to that whole word.

Using an ordinal in an ordinary date

• Unnatural in most everyday contexts: पाँचवीं जुलाई को
• Natural: पाँच जुलाई को — on July 5
• Why: English says “the fifth of July,” but Hindi normally uses a cardinal number for the day of the month.

Losing nasalization in -वाँ forms

• Wrong: सातवा, सातवी
• Right: सातवाँ, सातवीं
• Why: The standard ordinal suffix is nasalized. In careful writing, include ँ in -वाँ and ं as written in -वें/-वीं.

Usage Notes

Floors and local counting conventions

दूसरी मंज़िल literally means “second floor/storey,” but floor numbering can differ between buildings. Many Indian buildings label street level भूतल “ground floor” and the level above it पहली मंज़िल. Others use English-influenced numbering or simply display numbers. When directions matter, check the lift buttons or ask whether the speaker counts भूतल separately.

School classes, ranks, and repeated occasions

Ordinal forms are frequent with कक्षा “class/grade,” स्थान “place,” अध्याय “chapter,” प्रयास “attempt,” and बार “time/occasion.” English speakers should pay special attention to the noun’s Hindi gender rather than to the English translation: पाँचवीं कक्षा is feminine, while पाँचवाँ प्रयास is masculine.

For race results and rankings, Hindi may omit the noun: वह दूसरे नंबर पर आया “he came in second,” or simply वह दूसरा आया. With the adverb-like use “came first,” पहले आया / पहले आई is also very common.

Dates are usually cardinal

Use cardinals in ordinary dates: पंद्रह अगस्त, दो अक्टूबर, एक जनवरी. Ordinals remain appropriate when referring to an item’s sequence rather than naming a calendar date: महीने का तीसरा सोमवार “the third Monday of the month.”

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master these alternatives at A2, but they appear often in formal writing, headings, institutions, and historical names.

Hindi also uses Sanskrit-derived ordinal words such as प्रथम “first,” द्वितीय “second,” तृतीय “third,” and चतुर्थ “fourth.” They are more formal than पहला, दूसरा, तीसरा, चौथा and generally remain unchanged rather than taking the everyday -ा/-े/-ी agreement pattern.

Everyday form	Formal form	Typical example	Meaning
पहला	प्रथम	प्रथम पुरस्कार	first prize
दूसरा	द्वितीय	द्वितीय विश्व युद्ध	Second World War
तीसरा	तृतीय	तृतीय श्रेणी	third category/class
चौथा	चतुर्थ	चतुर्थ अध्याय	fourth chapter

The two sets are not always interchangeable in tone. पहली बार is normal conversation; प्रथम बार sounds formal or literary. प्रथम पुरस्कार is conventional in announcements, while पहला पुरस्कार is also understandable and less formal.

Another advanced distinction is between a single ordinal and a range at the beginning of a sequence. पहले तीन अध्याय means “the first three chapters”: पहले describes the group selected from the beginning, while तीसरा अध्याय identifies only chapter number three. Similarly, अंतिम दो सवाल means “the last two questions,” not “the second-last question.”

Large ordinal forms are grammatically possible—सौवाँ, हज़ारवाँ—but speakers may rephrase when a long number would be hard to process. In technical labels, room numbers, bus routes, and years, Hindi often reads a number as a label or cardinal rather than turning it into an ordinal. Grammar follows meaning: use an ordinal only when the position in a sequence is genuinely being expressed.

Practice Tips

1. Learn in three-form sets. Say दूसरा–दूसरे–दूसरी, then attach each form to a real noun: दूसरा सवाल, दूसरे सवाल में, दूसरी किताब. This builds agreement into the word from the start.
2. Sort nouns by gender. Make two short lists from daily life: masculine दिन, सवाल, प्रयास, अध्याय and feminine बार, मंज़िल, कक्षा, पंक्ति. Add a different ordinal to each noun every day.
3. Describe real sequences. Number the chapters of a book, floors of a building, or places in a competition in Hindi. Then add postpositions: चौथा अध्याय → चौथे अध्याय में. This tests meaning and form together.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Numbers — learn the Hindi cardinal forms that higher ordinals are built from.