The four-word series इतना itnā, उतना utnā, कितना kitnā, जितना jitnā organizes quantity and degree. इतना points to a proximal or current amount (“this much/so much”), उतना to a distal or previously specified amount (“that much”), कितना asks “how much/how many/how,” and relative जितना means “as much/many as.” All four agree like -आ adjectives.
Agreement
| Meaning | Masculine singular | Feminine | Masculine plural/oblique |
|---|---|---|---|
| this much | इतना | इतनी | इतने |
| that much | उतना | उतनी | उतने |
| how much/many | कितना | कितनी | कितने |
| as much/many as | जितना | जितनी | जितने |
इतना समय काफ़ी है, लेकिन इतनी मेहनत ज़रूरी नहीं है।
itnā samay kāfī hai, lekin itnī mehnat zarūrī nahīṃ hai.
This much time is enough, but this much effort is not necessary.
कितने लोग आए और कितनी कुर्सियाँ खाली रहीं?
kitne log āe aur kitnī kursiyā̃ khālī rahīṃ?
How many people came, and how many chairs remained empty?
Degree without an overt noun
Default masculine singular forms often modify adjectives, adverbs, or clauses: इतना अच्छा, कितना दूर, जितना हो सके.
यह फ़ोन इतना महँगा क्यों है?
yah fon itnā mahãgā kyoṃ hai?
Why is this phone so expensive?
मुझे नहीं पता था कि स्टेशन इतना दूर है।
mujhe nahīṃ patā thā ki sṭeśan itnā dūr hai.
I did not know that the station was so far away.
Relative-correlative जितना... उतना
जितना introduces an open degree or quantity; उतना supplies the matching result.
जितना समय चाहिए, उतना ले लो।
jitnā samay cāhie, utnā le lo.
Take as much time as you need. (informal)
जितनी किताबें तुम लाओगे, उतनी ही अलमारी में रखेंगे।
jitnī kitābeṃ tum lāoge, utnī hī almārī meṃ rakheṅge.
We will put as many books in the cupboard as you bring. (informal)
The repeated feminine form agrees with किताबें. ही emphasizes exact matching. See जितना–उतना correlation.
Deixis, definiteness, and context
इतना पानी can refer to a visible amount; उतना पानी can point to a more distant or previously mentioned amount. Their definiteness comes from deixis and shared context, not an article.
इतना पानी अभी पी लो; उतना बाद के लिए रख दो।
itnā pānī abhī pī lo; utnā bād ke lie rakh do.
Drink this much water now; keep that much for later. (informal)
The omitted second noun remains recoverable. With an indefinite amount, use कुछ पानी, not automatically इतना.
Singular and plural scope
हर मेहमान ने जितनी मिठाई चाही, उतनी ली।
har mehmān ne jitnī miṭhāī cāhī, utnī lī.
Every guest took as much sweet food as they wanted. (amount may differ per guest)
Wide-scope हर permits a different amount for each guest. A shared amount requires explicit wording such as सबने बराबर मात्रा ली.
इतने कम छात्रों ने आवेदन किया कि कक्षा शुरू नहीं हुई।
itne kam chātroṃ ne āvedan kiyā ki kakṣā śurū nahīṃ huī.
So few students applied that the class did not start.
Here इतने scopes over कम छात्रों, expressing a degree low enough to cause the result.
Number words and measure nouns
These forms can modify measures directly: कितने किलो, इतने दिन, उतनी देर. Hindi does not require a general classifier, but the measure noun supplies the unit. Full numeral formation belongs elsewhere.
आपको कितने दिन चाहिए? — मुझे इतने दिन नहीं, सिर्फ़ दो दिन चाहिए।
āpko kitne din cāhie? — mujhe itne din nahīṃ, sirf do din cāhie.
How many days do you need? — I don't need this many days, only two. (respectful)
Exclamations and indirect questions
कितना is not limited to information questions. With exclamatory intonation it evaluates an unexpectedly high degree, much like English “how” in “How beautiful!” Agreement still applies when an overt noun controls the form.
यहाँ से पहाड़ कितने सुंदर लगते हैं!
yahā̃ se pahāṛ kitne sundar lagte haiṃ!
How beautiful the mountains look from here!
In an indirect question, कितना introduces an unknown quantity rather than asking the listener directly. It therefore remains inside the embedded clause.
मुझे याद नहीं कि हमने कितनी रोटियाँ मँगाई थीं।
mujhe yād nahīṃ ki hamne kitnī roṭiyā̃ mãgāī thīṃ.
I don't remember how many flatbreads we ordered.
English uses the same “how much/many” forms in direct and indirect questions, so the syntax is familiar; the new task is keeping Hindi agreement visible.
Ellipsis and case
All four words may stand for a recoverable quantity. They still inflect where an overt noun would have controlled the form, and a postposition can follow an elliptical form directly.
इनमें से कितने आपके हैं और कितने किराए के हैं?
inmeṃ se kitne āpke haiṃ aur kitne kirāe ke haiṃ?
How many of these are yours, and how many are rented? (respectful)
जितनों को बुलाया था, उतनों के लिए खाना बना है।
jitnoṃ ko bulāyā thā, utnoṃ ke lie khānā banā hai.
Food has been prepared for as many people as were invited.
Here जितनों/उतनों have a substantival plural reading, “as many people.” The nasalized oblique plural ending appears because को and के लिए govern the forms. This is more structurally marked than ordinary जितने लोग, and the referent must be human or otherwise clear from context.
Common Mistakes
❌ कितना किताबें चाहिए?
Incorrect—feminine किताबें requires कितनी.
✅ कितनी किताबें चाहिए?
kitnī kitābeṃ cāhie?
How many books are needed?
❌ इतने पानी काफ़ी है।
Incorrect—masculine mass पानी requires इतना in direct case.
✅ इतना पानी काफ़ी है।
itnā pānī kāfī hai.
This much water is enough.
❌ जितना किताबें बिकेंगी, उतना पैसे मिलेंगे।
Incorrect—both correlatives must agree with their nouns.
✅ जितनी किताबें बिकेंगी, उतने पैसे मिलेंगे।
jitnī kitābeṃ bikeṅgī, utne paise mileṅge.
The more books are sold, the more money will come in.
❌ हर कितना छात्र आया?
Incorrect—हर and interrogative कितना do not combine this way.
✅ कितने छात्र आए?
kitne chātr āe?
How many students came?
Key Takeaways
- इतना/उतना/कितना/जितना form one deictic-interrogative-relative quantity series.
- All agree for gender, number, and masculine oblique case.
- Default masculine singular forms measure degree when no noun is expressed.
- जितना... उतना correlates two matching quantities or degrees.
- Demonstration and context establish definiteness without an article.
Related Topics
- जितना–उतना degree and quantityB2 — Correlate amounts, numbers, extents, and proportional change with agreeing जितना–उतना forms.
- यह and वह as determinersA1 — Use singular यह and वह before nouns for near and far reference, and change them to इस and उस before postpositions.
- कितना कौन-सा and कैसा agreementB1 — Choose and inflect कितना, कौन-सा, and कैसा to ask about quantity, selection, and quality across gender, number, and case.
- थोड़ा and थोड़े agreementB1 — Make थोड़ा agree with gender, number, and case while distinguishing small quantity from low quantity and degree.
- Declinable adjectives in -āA1 — Form the -ā, -e, and -ī agreement pattern of variable Hindi adjectives across gender, number, case, and predicate position.