कम kam is an invariant quantity and degree word meaning “little, few, less, fewer,” or “not much.” It works with mass nouns (कम पानी), plural count nouns (कम लोग), adjectives (कम महँगा), and events (कम बोलना). Unlike थोड़ा, it does not agree with gender, number, or case.
Quantity and degree
| Use | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| mass quantity | कम पानी kam pānī | little/less water |
| count quantity | कम लोग kam log | few/fewer people |
| degree | कम कठिन kam kaṭhin | less difficult |
| frequency | कम आना kam ānā | to come less often |
इस साल बारिश कम हुई है।
is sāl bāriś kam huī hai.
There has been little rain this year.
आज दफ़्तर में कम लोग आए हैं।
āj daftar meṃ kam log āe haiṃ.
Few people have come to the office today.
कम versus थोड़ा
थोड़ा पानी presents a small positive amount—“a little water.” कम पानी evaluates the amount as low—“little/not enough/less water.” The contrast resembles English a little versus little, though context can soften it.
बोतल में थोड़ा पानी है, लेकिन यात्रा के लिए पानी कम है।
botal meṃ thoṛā pānī hai, lekin yātrā ke lie pānī kam hai.
There is a little water in the bottle, but there is too little water for the journey.
कम stays invariant; agreeing थोड़ा/थोड़ी/थोड़े follows the quantified expression. See थोड़ा agreement.
Explicit comparison with से
इस कमरे में उस कमरे से कम रोशनी है।
is kamre meṃ us kamre se kam rośnī hai.
This room has less light than that room.
पहले से कम छात्र बस से आते हैं।
pahle se kam chātr bas se āte haiṃ.
Fewer students come by bus than before.
English distinguishes less for mass and fewer for count nouns. Hindi uses कम for both. The noun and verb reveal countability.
Position and agreement
As a pre-nominal quantifier, कम usually precedes adjectives and nouns: कम अच्छे विकल्प “fewer good options.” It remains unchanged in oblique phrases.
कम अनुभवी कर्मचारियों को अतिरिक्त प्रशिक्षण मिला।
kam anubhavī karmacāriyoṃ ko atirikt praśikṣaṇ milā.
Less-experienced employees received additional training.
This phrase can mean employees with less experience rather than a smaller number of experienced employees. Word grouping and context decide whether कम modifies अनुभवी or the entire noun phrase. कम संख्या में अनुभवी कर्मचारी removes the ambiguity.
Definiteness without articles
कम कुर्सियाँ बची हैं।
kam kursiyā̃ bacī haiṃ.
Few chairs are left. (indefinite set)
इन कुर्सियों में से कम ही आरामदेह हैं।
in kursiyoṃ meṃ se kam hī ārāmdeh haiṃ.
Few of these chairs are comfortable. (definite domain)
The demonstrative partitive इन कुर्सियों में से establishes the definite set. कम only evaluates the selected quantity; Hindi needs no article.
Intensification and scope
बहुत कम means “very little/few,” while थोड़ा कम means “a little less.”
हर समूह को बहुत कम समय मिला।
har samūh ko bahut kam samay milā.
Every group received very little time.
With हर taking wide scope, each group may receive its own small amount. सभी समूहों को कुल मिलाकर बहुत कम समय मिला instead evaluates one shared total.
चीनी थोड़ी कम डालिए।
cīnī thoṛī kam ḍālie.
Please add a little less sugar. (respectful)
Feminine थोड़ी tracks the measured feminine noun चीनी; in ellipsis, speakers may instead recover a phrase such as थोड़ी मात्रा. कम remains invariant.
Ellipsis and practical evaluations
Once the thing being measured is established, कम can stand without a repeated noun. It then means “less,” “fewer,” or “too little” according to context. Because the form itself carries no gender or number, listeners recover those features from the omitted noun and from predicate agreement.
चावल सबके लिए काफ़ी हैं, लेकिन दाल कम है।
cāval sabke lie kāfī haiṃ, lekin dāl kam hai.
There is enough rice for everyone, but too little lentil curry.
मुझे छह प्लेटें चाहिए थीं, पर यहाँ कम हैं।
mujhe chah pleṭeṃ cāhie thīṃ, par yahā̃ kam haiṃ.
I needed six plates, but there are fewer here.
This evaluative force also explains why कम often sounds negative where English “a few” sounds cautiously positive. मेरे कुछ दोस्त यहाँ हैं states that some friends are here; मेरे कम दोस्त यहाँ हैं says that the number is low. For an explicitly sufficient small amount, थोड़ा or कुछ is normally the clearer choice.
Negation and minimum requirements
Putting नहीं with कम can reverse the scale. कम नहीं literally means “not little/few” and commonly implies a substantial amount; it does not mean “none.”
इस काम में मेहनत कम नहीं लगेगी।
is kām meṃ mehnat kam nahīṃ lagegī.
This job will require no small amount of effort.
By contrast, कम से कम is a fixed expression meaning “at least.” The repeated कम no longer simply quantifies a following noun; the whole phrase sets a lower boundary.
कम से कम तीन दिन पहले बता देना।
kam se kam tīn din pahle batā denā.
Let me know at least three days in advance. (informal)
Common Mistakes
❌ कमा पानी पीना चाहिए।
Incorrect—कम is invariant and never takes an agreeing -आ ending.
✅ कम पानी पीना चाहिए।
kam pānī pīnā cāhie.
One should drink less water.
❌ कम बच्चा स्कूल आया।
Incorrect for ‘few children’—count reference must be plural.
✅ कम बच्चे स्कूल आए।
kam bacce skūl āe.
Few children came to school.
❌ वह मुझसे कम लंबा अधिक है।
Incorrect—competing degree words have been stacked.
✅ वह मुझसे कम लंबा है।
vah mujhse kam lambā hai.
He is less tall than I am.
❌ हर पानी कम है।
Incorrect—हर distributes over countable members, not undivided mass पानी.
✅ हर बोतल में पानी कम है।
har botal meṃ pānī kam hai.
There is little water in every bottle.
Key Takeaways
- कम is invariant and covers little/few as well as less/fewer.
- It often evaluates quantity against an implicit or explicit standard.
- थोड़ा presents a small positive amount; कम presents an amount as low.
- Demonstratives and partitives establish definiteness; कम does not act as an article.
- Modifier scope can distinguish “fewer experienced employees” from “less-experienced employees.”
Related Topics
- बहुत and ज़्यादा much many moreA2 — Distinguish neutral बहुत from evaluative and comparative ज़्यादा across quantity, degree, count, mass, and scope.
- थोड़ा and थोड़े agreementB1 — Make थोड़ा agree with gender, number, and case while distinguishing small quantity from low quantity and degree.
- कुछ some and anyA2 — Use invariant कुछ with mass and plural nouns, as a pronoun, and in polarity-sensitive ‘anything’ readings.
- Comparatives with सेB1 — Build unequal comparisons with an oblique standard plus से, while making the adjective agree with the item being described.
- Mass nouns and count readingsB1 — Understand how Hindi mass nouns control agreement, take case, and acquire count meanings for portions, kinds, and units.