Number (Singular and Plural) in Hindi

In Brief

Hindi distinguishes singular (एकवचन) from plural (बहुवचन), but there is no single ending equivalent to English -s. The main beginner patterns are लड़का → लड़के for many masculine -ा nouns, किताब → किताबें for many feminine nouns, and लड़की → लड़कियाँ for feminine -ी nouns. Before a postposition such as को, में, or से, plural nouns take an oblique plural form: लड़कों को, किताबों में, लड़कियों से.

Overview

Number tells us whether a noun refers to one person or thing (singular) or more than one (plural). A noun is a naming word such as “boy,” “book,” or “city.” In Hindi, grammatical number is called वचन (vachan): एकवचन is singular and बहुवचन is plural.

This is an A1 topic, but number cannot be separated from Hindi grammatical gender. Every noun is treated as masculine or feminine, and its gender and ending determine how its plural is formed. English speakers therefore need to replace the habit “add -s” with a better question: “What is this noun’s gender, and how does it end?”

Hindi also distinguishes direct and oblique noun forms. The direct form is normally used when no postposition follows the noun. The oblique form is used before a postposition—a short word placed after a noun, serving a role similar to English “in,” “to,” “from,” or “with.” Learn the direct plural first, but do not be surprised when the ending changes in phrases such as कमरों में “in the rooms.”

How It Works

The core direct-plural patterns

The direct plural is the ordinary plural form used when the noun is not governed by a postposition.

Noun type	Singular	Direct plural	Core change
Masculine ending in -ा	लड़का	लड़के	-ा → -े
Other common masculine nouns	घर	घर	often no visible change
Feminine ending in a consonant	किताब	किताबें	add -ें
Feminine ending in -ी	लड़की	लड़कियाँ	-ी → -ियाँ
Feminine ending in -या / -िया	चिड़िया	चिड़ियाँ	plural is nasalized
Some learned feminine -ा nouns	माता	माताएँ	-ा → -ाएँ

The marks ँ and ं often signal nasalization: part of the vowel is pronounced through the nose. That nasal quality is meaningful in plural endings such as -ें and -याँ, so it should not be omitted in writing or pronunciation.

Masculine nouns ending in -ा

Many masculine nouns ending in written -ा change that ending to -े in the direct plural.

Singular	Direct plural	Meaning
लड़का	लड़के	boy, boys
बच्चा	बच्चे	child, children
कमरा	कमरे	room, rooms
बेटा	बेटे	son, sons
घोड़ा	घोड़े	horse, horses

This is the most useful masculine pattern, but it is not a rule for every word ending in -ा. Gender comes first: भाषा “language” is feminine and has the plural भाषाएँ, not भाषे. A few masculine -ा words are also indeclinable (their form does not change), especially certain family terms or borrowed words, such as राजा → राजा “king → kings.” It is safest to learn frequent exceptions with their plurals.

Other masculine nouns

Masculine nouns not belonging to the regular -ा class often show no difference between direct singular and direct plural.

Singular	Direct plural	Meaning
घर	घर	house, houses
दोस्त	दोस्त	friend, friends
आदमी	आदमी	man, men
दिन	दिन	day, days

Context, a number, or another agreeing word makes the meaning clear: एक घर “one house,” but तीन घर “three houses.” No ending is needed on घर in the direct plural.

Feminine nouns ending in a consonant

Many feminine nouns ending in a consonant add -ें in the direct plural.

Singular	Direct plural	Meaning
किताब	किताबें	book, books
रात	रातें	night, nights
दुकान	दुकानें	shop, shops
सड़क	सड़कें	road, roads
तस्वीर	तस्वीरें	picture, pictures

The spelling contains े + ं, and the ending is nasalized. Compare singular किताब with plural किताबें.

Feminine nouns ending in -ी or -िया

A feminine noun ending in long -ी generally forms its direct plural in -ियाँ.

Singular	Direct plural	Meaning
लड़की	लड़कियाँ	girl, girls
नदी	नदियाँ	river, rivers
कुर्सी	कुर्सियाँ	chair, chairs
चाबी	चाबियाँ	key, keys

Words already ending in -िया, such as चिड़िया, keep a similar shape but nasalize the plural: चिड़ियाँ. The difference can be small in spelling and sound, so learn it as a singular–plural pair.

Some feminine words of learned or Sanskrit origin use -ाएँ, including माता → माताएँ “mother → mothers” and भाषा → भाषाएँ “language → languages.” These are useful, but the three beginner models लड़के, किताबें, and लड़कियाँ should come first.

Numbers and quantity words

After numbers greater than one, Hindi uses the plural where the noun has a visible direct plural:

• दो लड़के — two boys
• तीन किताबें — three books
• चार लड़कियाँ — four girls
• पाँच घर — five houses

In पाँच घर, the noun looks singular only because घर has the same direct form for both numbers. The number already makes the plural meaning unambiguous.

Agreement with verbs and adjectives

Number may also appear on words connected to the noun. An adjective describes a noun; an agreeing adjective changes to match gender and number. A verb expresses an action or state and may also agree with a noun.

• अच्छा लड़का — a good boy
• अच्छे लड़के — good boys
• अच्छी लड़की — a good girl
• अच्छी लड़कियाँ — good girls
• लड़का आया। — The boy came.
• लड़के आए। — The boys came.

Not every adjective changes: adjectives such as सुंदर “beautiful” remain the same. Verb agreement also depends on sentence structure, especially in some past-tense sentences, so at first simply notice the clear contrast आया → आए.

The oblique plural before postpositions

A case form is a version of a noun used for a particular grammatical role. Hindi nouns take an oblique case form before postpositions such as को “to,” में “in,” पर “on,” से “from/with,” का/के/की “of,” and के साथ “with.”

Direct singular	Direct plural	Oblique plural	Example
लड़का	लड़के	लड़कों	लड़कों को — to the boys
कमरा	कमरे	कमरों	कमरों में — in the rooms
घर	घर	घरों	घरों के पास — near the houses
किताब	किताबें	किताबों	किताबों में — in the books
लड़की	लड़कियाँ	लड़कियों	लड़कियों से — from/with the girls
चिड़िया	चिड़ियाँ	चिड़ियों	चिड़ियों के लिए — for the birds

A practical beginner shortcut is that the oblique plural usually ends in a nasal -ों or -यों sound. Do not simply attach -ों to the visible direct plural: किताबें में is wrong; the correct form is किताबों में.

The singular also matters. Regular masculine -ा nouns change to -े before a postposition: लड़के को “to the boy,” कमरे में “in the room.” Feminine nouns generally keep their singular form: लड़की को, किताब में.

Examples in Context

Hindi	English	Note
यह लड़का मेरा भाई है।	This boy is my brother.	Masculine singular -ा
वे लड़के स्कूल जा रहे हैं।	Those boys are going to school.	लड़का → लड़के
कमरे बड़े हैं।	The rooms are large.	Noun and adjective are plural
मेरे दो दोस्त दिल्ली में रहते हैं।	My two friends live in Delhi.	दोस्त is unchanged in the direct plural
मेज़ पर एक किताब है।	There is one book on the table.	Feminine singular
ये किताबें बहुत उपयोगी हैं।	These books are very useful.	किताब → किताबें
रातें ठंडी हैं।	The nights are cold.	Feminine consonant-ending noun
तीन लड़कियाँ बाहर खेल रही हैं।	Three girls are playing outside.	लड़की → लड़कियाँ
इस शहर में कई नदियाँ हैं।	There are several rivers in this city.	नदी → नदियाँ
पेड़ पर चिड़ियाँ बैठी हैं।	Birds are sitting in the tree.	Nasalized direct plural
बच्चों को पानी चाहिए।	The children need water.	Oblique plural before को
हम कमरों में गए।	We went into the rooms.	Oblique plural before में
उसने दुकानों से फल खरीदे।	He/She bought fruit from the shops.	दुकानें → दुकानों before से
मैं लड़कियों के साथ पढ़ती हूँ।	I study with the girls.	लड़कियाँ → लड़कियों before के साथ; female speaker

Common Mistakes

Adding one English-style plural ending to every noun

• Wrong: घरें for “houses”
• Right: घर
• Why: Many masculine nouns not ending in regular -ा have no visible change in the direct plural. Say एक घर, but दो घर.

Using the masculine rule for a feminine -ा noun

• Wrong: दो भाषे
• Right: दो भाषाएँ
• Why: An ending does not determine the pattern by itself. भाषा is feminine, so it does not follow लड़का → लड़के.

Leaving -ी unchanged in a feminine plural

• Wrong: तीन लड़की
• Right: तीन लड़कियाँ
• Why: Regular feminine -ी nouns form the direct plural in -ियाँ.

Dropping nasalization

• Wrong: किताबे, लड़किया
• Right: किताबें, लड़कियाँ
• Why: The nasal mark is part of the plural ending. Omitting it produces a misspelling and can affect pronunciation.

Keeping the direct plural before a postposition

• Wrong: किताबें में, लड़कियाँ को
• Right: किताबों में, लड़कियों को
• Why: A plural noun before a postposition must take its oblique plural form.

Changing only the noun when other words must agree

• Wrong: अच्छा लड़के आया।
• Right: अच्छे लड़के आए।
• Why: Here the adjective and verb both agree with the masculine plural noun लड़के.

Usage Notes

Hindi does not use an indefinite article equivalent to English “a/an.” लड़का can mean “boy,” “a boy,” or “the boy,” depending on context. Likewise, the plural does not by itself distinguish “boys” from “the boys.” Words such as एक “one/a,” यह/ये “this/these,” and वह/वे “that/those” provide more detail.

Several nouns are commonly used for substances or general ideas rather than countable items: पानी “water,” दूध “milk,” and ज्ञान “knowledge.” They normally remain singular when used in this general sense. If you count containers or kinds, another noun supplies the count: दो गिलास पानी “two glasses of water.”

Some words borrowed from other languages vary in everyday usage. Speakers may preserve the borrowed plural in a familiar expression or adapt the noun to a Hindi pattern. For a learner, the most reliable approach is to copy the form used by careful native sources and learn common borrowed nouns individually rather than inventing a plural from spelling alone.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master every detail at A1, but the following points explain forms you will soon encounter.

Oblique forms are part of a larger case system

The direct–oblique contrast is not an optional pronunciation change. Postpositions require it. With regular masculine -ा nouns, all four common combinations are visible:

Number and case	Form	Example
Direct singular	लड़का	लड़का आया। — The boy came.
Direct plural	लड़के	लड़के आए। — The boys came.
Oblique singular	लड़के	लड़के को बुलाओ। — Call the boy.
Oblique plural	लड़कों	लड़कों को बुलाओ। — Call the boys.

Notice that लड़के can be either direct plural or oblique singular. The postposition and the rest of the sentence tell you which meaning is intended.

Masculine nouns ending in -ी or another vowel may require a linking -य- in the oblique plural: आदमी → आदमियों “men” before a postposition. Such forms are best learned through phrases, for example आदमियों से “from the men.”

Respectful singular people may trigger plural grammar

Hindi often uses plural or honorific agreement to show respect toward one person. आप can address one person politely but takes plural agreement: आप कैसे हैं? “How are you?” A respected person’s title or name may likewise appear with plural agreement: गांधी जी महान नेता थे। “Gandhi was a great leader.” This is called an honorific plural: plural grammar signals respect, not multiple people.

Agreement is affected by sentence structure

In simple present and intransitive past sentences, agreement is often easy to see: लड़कियाँ आती हैं “the girls come,” लड़कियाँ आईं “the girls came.” In perfective sentences with ने, however, the verb may agree with another noun or use a default masculine singular form. That belongs to later study of Hindi agreement and the perfective past; do not “correct” every verb solely by looking at the subject’s number.

Meaning can favor a singular or collective form

A noun may refer to a category in the singular: कुत्ता एक वफ़ादार जानवर है। “The dog is a faithful animal,” meaning dogs as a kind. Conversely, words such as लोग “people” are plural in meaning and agreement even though the everyday singular is normally a different word, such as व्यक्ति “person” or आदमी “man/person.” Not every English singular–plural pair maps onto one Hindi stem.

Practice Tips

1. Learn nouns in three-part sets. Record gender, direct singular, and direct plural: लड़का (m.) — लड़के, किताब (f.) — किताबें, लड़की (f.) — लड़कियाँ. This is more useful than memorizing a bare translation.
2. Add a postposition drill. Turn each direct plural into a phrase with में, को, or से: कमरे → कमरों में, किताबें → किताबों में, लड़कियाँ → लड़कियों से.
3. Make agreement visible. Build short pairs such as अच्छा लड़का आया / अच्छे लड़के आए and लड़की आई / लड़कियाँ आईं. Say them aloud so the noun, adjective, and verb changes become one pattern rather than three separate rules.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Grammatical Gender — knowing whether a noun is masculine or feminine helps you choose its plural pattern.