Gender of tatsama and Perso-Arabic loans

Hindi contains a large learned Sanskrit layer, called tatsama, and a large Perso-Arabic layer shared historically with Urdu. Nouns from both layers receive Hindi grammatical gender and participate in Hindi agreement, number, and case. Their origin can provide clues, but it never excuses learning their behavior in present-day Hindi.

Two cautions matter from the start. First, a word's source does not by itself determine register: Sanskrit-derived समस्या samasyā “problem” and Perso-Arabic किताब kitāb “book” are ordinary neutral words. Second, Hindi normally gives these nouns Hindi plural and oblique forms; learners should not manufacture a Sanskrit or Arabic plural.

Tatsama nouns: useful patterns and important traps

Many tatsama nouns written with final -ा -ā are feminine, unlike the very productive native masculine pattern लड़का laṛkā. Common examples include भाषा bhāṣā “language,” समस्या samasyā “problem,” आशा āśā “hope,” दिशा diśā “direction,” and परीक्षा parīkṣā “examination.” Their agreeing words are feminine.

Their direct plurals use -एँ -ẽ, and their oblique plurals use -ओं -oṃ: समस्याएँ samasyāẽ / समस्याओं samasyāoṃ, भाषाएँ bhāṣāẽ / भाषाओं bhāṣāoṃ.

Many consonant-final tatsama nouns are masculine: प्रश्न praśn “question,” उत्तर uttar “answer,” विषय viṣay “subject,” समय samay “time,” समाज samāj “society,” and इतिहास itihās “history.” Their direct plural is normally unchanged, while the oblique plural adds -ों.

Tatsama nouns ending in -ि/-ी are often feminine—शक्ति śakti, नीति nīti, प्रकृति prakriti, स्थिति sthiti—but high-frequency masculine exceptions include व्यक्ति vyakti, कवि kavi, ऋषि riṣi, and पति pati. There is no safe rule that replaces learning these exceptions.

Perso-Arabic nouns: Hindi usage is decisive

Perso-Arabic consonant-final nouns occur in both genders. Common masculines include सवाल savāl “question,” जवाब javāb “answer,” काग़ज़ kāġaz “paper,” बाज़ार bāzār “market,” शहर śahar “city,” मौसम mausam “weather,” and दफ़्तर daftar “office.” Common feminines include किताब kitāb “book,” तस्वीर tasvīr “picture,” ख़बर xabar “news item,” आवाज़ āvāz “voice,” दुकान dukān “shop,” आदत ādat “habit,” and ज़रूरत zarūrat “need.”

A useful tendency is that many Arabic-origin abstract nouns ending in -त -t are feminine: आदत, इमारत, ज़रूरत, इजाज़त, हक़ीक़त. But the final consonant is not a guarantee. वक़्त vaqt “time” and शरबत śarbat “sherbet” are masculine. Learn the whole agreement phrase: बुरी आदत burī ādat, but अच्छा वक़्त acchā vaqt.

The Sanskritic-versus-Urdu vocabulary guide explains register choice in depth. For gender, the central point is simpler: प्रश्न and सवाल are both masculine, while समस्या and किताब are feminine. Etymological family and grammatical gender are separate facts.

Compact paradigms across the two layers

The table shows four representative nouns. Vocative forms are included for completeness, although direct address to a “problem,” “question,” or “book” is unusual.

The masculine consonant-final nouns keep one form in the direct singular, direct plural, and oblique singular. The feminine nouns distinguish direct plural. All four use -oṃ in the oblique plural, with the feminine -ā nouns showing the glide-like transition written -ाओं.

Paired direct and oblique forms

Direct समस्याएँ becomes oblique समस्याओं before a postposition. Direct plural सवाल is unchanged, but oblique plural सवालों is overtly marked.

This is Hindi's layered case system: the noun contributes a modest direct–oblique contrast, while the postposition carries most of the relational meaning. English keeps problems and questions unchanged before prepositions; Hindi selects समस्याओं/सवालों first.

Vocative behavior and register

Animate nouns make the vocative useful. Sanskritic मित्र mitr “friend” has plural vocative मित्रो mitro, heard especially in speeches (formal). Perso-Arabic उस्ताद ustād “master; teacher” can be used unchanged in singular direct address. Bare address can sound rhetorical, familiar, or abrupt, so polite Hindi often adds जी jī.

The plural vocative -o is oral, unlike oblique plural -oṃ. This distinction survives regardless of whether the noun came from Sanskrit, Persian, or Arabic.

A natural exchange

Direct plural प्रश्न is unchanged; oblique plural प्रश्नों and किताबों visibly mark the phrases linked to postpositions.

Common Mistakes

Treating every -ā noun as masculine

Defaulting every Perso-Arabic consonant-final noun to masculine

Adding a feminine plural ending to प्रश्न

Keeping a direct plural before a postposition

Nasalizing a plural vocative

Key Takeaways

Tatsama and Perso-Arabic nouns are fully part of Hindi grammar. Some patterns help—many tatsama -ā nouns and many Perso-Arabic abstracts in -t are feminine—but frequent exceptions require lexical learning. Use Hindi direct, oblique, plural, and vocative morphology, and let agreement confirm gender rather than assuming that a word's origin or final letter decides it.