Masculine class I nouns in -ā

Masculine nouns such as लड़का laṛkā “boy,” बेटा beṭā “son,” and कमरा kamrā “room” belong to Hindi's most visibly changing noun class. Their final -ा -ā becomes -े -e in the direct plural and oblique singular, while the oblique plural ends in -ों -oṃ. This is often called masculine class I or the marked masculine declension.

The pattern is productive, but final -ा is not enough to identify it. Feminine भाषा bhāṣā “language” follows a feminine pattern, and masculine राजा rājā “king” is an important invariant exception. This page develops the regular class, shows how agreement and postpositions interact with it, and then marks the boundaries learners must memorize.

The core six-form paradigm

The full paradigm of लड़का reveals that six grammatical cells share only four surface forms.

The ending -e therefore has no single translation. It can mark direct plural, singular oblique, or singular vocative. Hindi listeners recover its function from the wider phrase: a numeral suggests plural, a following postposition creates an oblique environment, and direct address supplies a vocative context.

The direct plural changes both noun and a changeable adjective: छोटा लड़का choṭā laṛkā becomes छोटे लड़के choṭe laṛke. English marks plural only on boys; Hindi coordinates number and gender across the phrase.

Direct forms: -ā in singular, -e in plural

The regular alternation applies to many everyday masculine nouns: बच्चा baccā “child,” घोड़ा ghoṛā “horse,” जूता jūtā “shoe,” कमरा kamrā “room,” दरवाज़ा darvāzā “door,” रास्ता rāstā “road,” केला kelā “banana,” and पैसा paisā “money; coin.”

After a number greater than one, use the direct plural कमरे, not singular कमरा. With a changeable adjective or demonstrative, the surrounding words also show the plural: नया कमरा nayā kamrā, but नए कमरे nae kamre. Indeclinable adjectives such as खाली khālī do not change.

Mass meanings can complicate counting. पैसा has the regular count plural पैसे paise for coins, sums, or money in everyday expressions, but Hindi frequently treats “money” as a collective concept. The morphology is regular even when the meaning is not simply “several individual objects.”

Oblique singular: the postposition changes -ā to -e

A postposition such as को ko, से se, में meṃ, पर par, or का kā requires the preceding noun phrase to be oblique. For a class I noun, singular -ā becomes -e. Compare direct कमरा साफ़ है with oblique कमरे में.

In the last sentence, demonstrative उस, adjective छोटे, and noun लड़के form one oblique singular phrase before को. This is Hindi's layered case system: inflection first places the phrase in the oblique case, and the postposition then expresses the specific relation. English merely puts to or another preposition before an unchanged noun. The oblique singular guide develops the same selection rule across other noun classes.

The noun's -e can be audible even when no adjective is present, so forms such as बच्चे को and रास्ते पर must not be reduced to the direct singular बच्चा and रास्ता.

Oblique plural: -oṃ before a postposition

The oblique plural replaces -ā with nasalized -ों -oṃ: लड़कों laṛkoṃ, कमरों kamroṃ, रास्तों rāstoṃ. It is not formed by adding -ों to the direct plural; learners should retrieve it as a distinct cell in the paradigm.

The first sentence has direct plural कमरे. In the second, कमरों stands before में and is oblique plural. Notice that the adjective is नए in both phrases: masculine plural direct and masculine plural oblique have the same adjective form, while the noun distinguishes -e from -oṃ.

This compact sentence contains three class I forms: oblique plural बच्चों before के, direct plural जूते, and oblique singular दरवाज़े inside दरवाज़े के पास.

Vocatives: direct address has its own endings

Singular direct address uses -e, and plural direct address uses oral -o without nasalization. बेटा therefore has singular vocative बेटे and plural vocative बेटो.

Kin vocatives like बेटे are common and can sound affectionate (informal). A bare vocative aimed at an unfamiliar adult can sound abrupt. Respectful address normally uses a title, kin term, name plus जी, or a plural/honorific construction appropriate to the relationship.

The contrast between plural बेटों beṭoṃ and vocative बेटो beṭo matters: nasal -oṃ belongs to the oblique plural, while oral -o directly summons the group.

The important boundaries of the class

Not every final -ा -ā noun belongs here. Feminine Sanskrit-derived nouns such as भाषा bhāṣā, समस्या samasyā, and परीक्षा parīkṣā form direct plurals in -एँ and oblique plurals in -ओं. Agreement identifies them as feminine: नई भाषा naī bhāṣā, not नया भाषा.

A smaller but frequent set is masculine yet does not change -ā to -e in the direct plural or oblique singular. It includes राजा rājā “king,” पिता pitā “father,” चाचा cācā “paternal uncle,” दादा dādā “paternal grandfather,” मामा māmā “maternal uncle,” नेता netā “leader,” and योद्धा yoddhā “warrior.” These belong with invariant masculine nouns, not productive class I.

There is no fully reliable semantic shortcut for these exceptions. Memorize them with an invariant singular oblique phrase—राजा से, पिता से, नेता से—and a plural oblique—राजाओं से, पिताओं से, नेताओं से.

A natural exchange

The exchange moves from direct singular कमरा to oblique singular कमरे before में, then uses direct plural लड़के and कमरे. One ending never carries the whole meaning; determiners, postpositions, agreement, and discourse context identify each form.

Common Mistakes

Leaving a counted noun in the singular

Keeping direct singular -ā before a postposition

Using direct plural -e before a postposition

Applying the productive alternation to राजा

Nasalizing a plural vocative

Key Takeaways

Regular masculine class I nouns follow -ā in the direct singular, -e in the direct plural and oblique singular, -oṃ in the oblique plural, and -o in the plural vocative. Postpositions force the oblique layer, and agreeing adjectives help expose number and case. Do not extend the pattern to feminine -ā nouns or invariant masculines such as राजा, पिता, and नेता.