Hindi feminine nouns normally show plurality overtly, but the ending depends on the singular stem. Consonant-final किताब kitāb forms direct plural किताबें kitābeṃ; -ī noun लड़की laṛkī forms लड़कियाँ laṛkiyā̃; -ā noun समस्या samasyā forms समस्याएँ samasyāẽ. Before a postposition, these distinct direct plurals converge on an oblique family ending in -ों/-यों -oṃ/-yoṃ.
The title names the common consonant-final -eṃ pattern and the convergent oblique -oṃ family. The guide's fixed romanization preserves the spelling contrast here: word-final anusvara is ṃ, while chandrabindu appears as a tilde on its vowel. Thus किताबें is kitābeṃ, लड़कियाँ is laṛkiyā̃, and किताबों is kitāboṃ. Before a stop, anusvara is instead rendered with the corresponding homorganic nasal, as in पंक्ति paṅkti. The feminine -ī guide gives the productive -ī → -iyā̃/-iyoṃ class fuller treatment.
Five useful feminine patterns
| Feminine class | Direct singular | Direct plural | Oblique plural | Vocative plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ī | लड़की laṛkī | लड़कियाँ laṛkiyā̃ | लड़कियों laṛkiyoṃ | लड़कियो laṛkiyo |
| consonant-final | किताब kitāb | किताबें kitābeṃ | किताबों kitāboṃ | किताबो kitābo |
| lexical -iyā | चिड़िया ciṛiyā | चिड़ियाँ ciṛiyā̃ | चिड़ियों ciṛiyoṃ | चिड़ियो ciṛiyo |
| -ā | समस्या samasyā | समस्याएँ samasyāẽ | समस्याओं samasyāoṃ | समस्याओ samasyāo |
| -ū | बहू bahū | बहुएँ bahuẽ | बहुओं bahuoṃ | बहुओ bahuo |
Vocatives for inanimate books and problems are grammatically formable but pragmatically rare. Animate लड़कियो, बहनो, and बहुओ illustrate the productive address pattern more naturally.
Feminine -ī: -iyā̃ direct, -iyoṃ oblique
Most feminine nouns ending in -ी -ī replace that vowel with -ियाँ -iyā̃ in the direct plural and -ियों -iyoṃ in the oblique plural: लड़की → लड़कियाँ → लड़कियों, नदी → नदियाँ → नदियों, कुर्सी → कुर्सियाँ → कुर्सियों.
नई कुर्सियाँ बालकनी में रखी हैं।
naī kursiyā̃ bālkanī meṃ rakhī haiṃ.
The new chairs have been placed on the balcony.
नई कुर्सियों पर अभी कोई नहीं बैठा है।
naī kursiyoṃ par abhī koī nahīṃ baiṭhā hai.
No one is sitting on the new chairs yet.
Direct कुर्सियाँ becomes oblique कुर्सियों before पर. The adjective नई does not distinguish feminine number or case; the noun, determiner if present, and predicate carry the contrast.
दोनों लड़कियाँ मेट्रो से साथ आईं।
donoṃ laṛkiyā̃ meṭro se sāth āīṃ.
Both girls came together by metro.
दोनों लड़कियों से मेरी कल मुलाक़ात हुई।
donoṃ laṛkiyoṃ se merī kal mulāqāt huī.
I met both girls yesterday.
The quantifier दोनों remains plural in both phrases, while the noun changes from direct -iyā̃ to oblique -iyoṃ.
Consonant-final feminines: -eṃ direct, -oṃ oblique
Feminine consonant-final nouns usually add -ें -eṃ in the direct plural and -ों -oṃ in the oblique plural: किताब–किताबें–किताबों, रात–रातें–रातों, तस्वीर–तस्वीरें–तस्वीरों, फ़ाइल–फ़ाइलें–फ़ाइलों.
पुरानी तस्वीरें अभी भी दीवार पर लगी हैं।
purānī tasvīreṃ abhī bhī dīvār par lagī haiṃ.
The old photographs are still hanging on the wall.
पुरानी तस्वीरों के पीछे तारीख़ लिखी है।
purānī tasvīroṃ ke pīche tārīx likhī hai.
The date is written on the backs of the old photographs.
The written dot in तस्वीरें is anusvara at the end of the word, so the fixed romanization is -eṃ, not a chandrabindu tilde. In तस्वीरों, -oṃ similarly marks the oblique plural.
English loanwords can be fully integrated into this class. Neutral Standard Hindi has तीन फ़ाइलें tīn fāileṃ and इन फ़ाइलों में in fāiloṃ meṃ, not an English -s plural inserted into an otherwise Hindi phrase.
Feminine -ā and -iyā keep their stem identity
Feminine -ā nouns—many of them learned Sanskrit forms—add -एँ -ẽ after the retained vowel: समस्या → समस्याएँ, भाषा → भाषाएँ, परीक्षा → परीक्षाएँ. Their oblique plurals end in written -ाओं -āoṃ.
बैठक में कई नई समस्याएँ सामने आईं।
baiṭhak meṃ kaī naī samasyāẽ sāmne āīṃ.
Several new problems emerged at the meeting.
इन समस्याओं पर अलग से चर्चा होगी।
in samasyāoṃ par alag se carcā hogī.
These problems will be discussed separately.
Lexical -iyā nouns do not add another -eṃ. They nasalize the final vowel in the direct plural and use -iyoṃ in the oblique: चिड़िया → चिड़ियाँ → चिड़ियों, गुड़िया → गुड़ियाँ → गुड़ियों.
दो चिड़ियाँ खिड़की के पास बैठी हैं।
do ciṛiyā̃ khiṛkī ke pās baiṭhī haiṃ.
Two birds are sitting near the window.
चिड़ियों के लिए बाहर पानी रख दो।
ciṛiyoṃ ke lie bāhar pānī rakh do.
Put some water outside for the birds.
Final -ū and less common shapes
Feminine बहू bahū “daughter-in-law” shortens its vowel before the plural endings: बहुएँ bahuẽ, बहुओं bahuoṃ. This cannot be predicted merely by copying the singular spelling. Other lower-frequency or learned nouns may have stem adjustments that should be learned with their plural.
दोनों बहुएँ छुट्टियों में घर आई हैं।
donoṃ bahuẽ chuṭṭiyoṃ meṃ ghar āī haiṃ.
Both daughters-in-law have come home for the holidays.
दोनों बहुओं के कमरे ऊपर हैं।
donoṃ bahuoṃ ke kamre ūpar haiṃ.
Both daughters-in-law's rooms are upstairs.
There is no honest one-ending shortcut for every feminine noun. The productive classes cover a great deal, but high-frequency irregular stems deserve their own memorized triplets.
Agreement does not copy the noun ending
Feminine changeable adjectives normally use -ī in singular and plural, direct and oblique: नई लड़की, नई लड़कियाँ, नई लड़कियों से. They do not copy -iyā̃ or -oṃ from the noun. Predicate verbs and participles do distinguish number where the construction permits agreement.
नई किताब आई है, लेकिन पुरानी किताबें अभी नहीं आईं।
naī kitāb āī hai, lekin purānī kitābeṃ abhī nahīṃ āīṃ.
The new book has arrived, but the old books have not arrived yet.
Feminine singular आई है contrasts with feminine plural आईं. The adjective remains नई/पुरानी, not a special plural adjective.
Oblique case and the postpositional layer
The change किताबें → किताबों or लड़कियाँ → लड़कियों does not itself mean “in,” “to,” or “with.” It creates an oblique plural noun phrase. A following postposition carries the more specific relation.
ये किताबें आज लौटानी हैं।
ye kitābeṃ āj lauṭānī haiṃ.
These books have to be returned today.
इन किताबों में मेरी नोटबुक भी है।
in kitāboṃ meṃ merī noṭbuk bhī hai.
My notebook is also among these books.
The demonstrative changes ये → इन, the noun changes किताबें → किताबों, and then में adds the relation. This division of labor is the distinguishing logic of Hindi case: a small inflectional system supports a much richer postpositional system.
Vocative plural drops the nasal element
The plural vocative resembles the oblique plural without final nasalization: बहनों bahnoṃ → बहनो bahno, लड़कियों laṛkiyoṃ → लड़कियो laṛkiyo. It directly addresses a group and takes no postposition.
बहनो, कृपया आगे वाली पंक्ति में बैठिए।
bahno, kripyā āge vālī paṅkti meṃ baiṭhie.
Ladies, please sit in the front row. (formal)
The respectful imperative बैठिए suits a formal group address. A bare vocative with a familiar imperative would create a different social stance.
A natural exchange
कुर्सियाँ कहाँ रखें? — दो कुर्सियाँ बालकनी में रखो; बाकी कुर्सियों को कमरे में ले जाओ।
kursiyā̃ kahā̃ rakheṃ? — do kursiyā̃ bālkanī meṃ rakho; bākī kursiyoṃ ko kamre meṃ le jāo.
Where should we put the chairs? — Put two on the balcony; take the remaining chairs into the room.
Direct plural कुर्सियाँ becomes oblique plural कुर्सियों before को. The final phrase also shows masculine singular कमरा → कमरे before में.
Common Mistakes
Leaving a feminine count noun singular after a plural number
❌ मेज़ पर चार किताब रखी हैं।
Incorrect — consonant-final किताब takes direct plural किताबें.
✅ मेज़ पर चार किताबें रखी हैं।
mez par cār kitābeṃ rakhī haiṃ.
Four books have been placed on the table.
Using -eṃ with an -ī noun
❌ बाहर दो लड़कियें इंतज़ार कर रही हैं।
Incorrect spelling and declension — लड़की forms लड़कियाँ.
✅ बाहर दो लड़कियाँ इंतज़ार कर रही हैं।
bāhar do laṛkiyā̃ intazār kar rahī haiṃ.
Two girls are waiting outside.
Keeping a direct feminine plural before a postposition
❌ इन कुर्सियाँ पर मत बैठिए।
Incorrect — before पर, plural कुर्सियाँ becomes कुर्सियों.
✅ इन कुर्सियों पर मत बैठिए।
in kursiyoṃ par mat baiṭhie.
Please do not sit on these chairs.
Inventing a plural adjective ending
❌ नईयाँ किताबें कल आएँगी।
Incorrect — feminine adjective नई remains नई in the plural.
✅ नई किताबें कल आएँगी।
naī kitābeṃ kal āẽgī.
The new books will arrive tomorrow.
Retaining English -s in an integrated loan
❌ मैंने तीन फ़ाइल्स खोलीं।
Incorrect in integrated Standard Hindi — use feminine plural फ़ाइलें.
✅ मैंने तीन फ़ाइलें खोलीं।
maĩne tīn fāileṃ kholīṃ.
I opened three files.
Key Takeaways
Feminine direct plurals preserve noun-class differences: लड़कियाँ, किताबें, चिड़ियाँ, समस्याएँ, बहुएँ. Their oblique plurals use the converging -oṃ/-yoṃ family: लड़कियों, किताबों, चिड़ियों, समस्याओं, बहुओं. Feminine adjectives usually remain in -ī, postpositions require the oblique form, and plural vocatives drop the final nasal element.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- Feminine class I nouns in -īA2 — Form the direct plural, oblique plural, vocative, and agreement patterns of productive feminine nouns ending in -ī.
- Feminine consonant-final nounsA2 — Decline feminine consonant-final nouns with direct plural -eṃ and oblique plural -oṃ while maintaining feminine agreement.
- Feminine nouns in -iyā and -āA2 — Distinguish the two feminine vowel-final declensions: lexical -iyā nouns such as चिड़िया and -ā nouns such as भाषा and समस्या.
- Oblique plural formationA2 — Build the plural noun forms required before postpositions across the major Hindi declension classes.
- Vocative singular and pluralA2 — Form Hindi vocatives for one or several addressees and distinguish direct address from direct and oblique noun phrases.
- Plural marking with numerals and quantifiersB1 — Choose singular, plural, and oblique Hindi noun forms after numbers and quantifiers such as ek, har, kai, kuch, and sabhī.