Masculine class II nouns do not make the familiar -ā → -e change of लड़का → लड़के taught with masculine class I nouns. Their direct singular, direct plural, and oblique singular are normally identical: दो दोस्त do dost “two friends,” दोस्त से dost se “with/from a friend.” Only the oblique plural regularly adds an ending: दोस्तों dostoṃ.
“Invariant” therefore does not mean “never changes.” It means that number and singular oblique case are often invisible on the noun itself. Agreement, quantifiers, context, and postpositions do more of the work. This page develops that paradigm; the meanings selected by individual postpositions belong in the Postpositions group.
The core consonant-final pattern
Many masculine consonant-final nouns belong here: दोस्त dost “friend,” घर ghar “house,” शहर śahar “city,” फ़ोन fon “phone,” and टिकट ṭikaṭ “ticket.” The noun दोस्त gives a useful animate paradigm:
| Form | Hindi | What is visible |
|---|---|---|
| direct singular | दोस्त dost | bare stem |
| direct plural | दोस्त dost | same bare stem |
| oblique singular | दोस्त dost | same stem before a postposition |
| oblique plural | दोस्तों dostoṃ | -oṃ |
| vocative singular/plural | दोस्त dost / दोस्तो dosto | plural vocative -o, without nasalization |
मेरा दोस्त आज घर पर है।
merā dost āj ghar par hai.
My friend is at home today.
मेरे दोस्त आज घर पर हैं।
mere dost āj ghar par haiṃ.
My friends are at home today.
The noun दोस्त is identical in the two sentences. Singular मेरा/है versus plural मेरे/हैं reveals number. English marks friend/friends directly; Hindi can distribute that information across the noun phrase and predicate.
Direct and oblique singular look alike
A class II singular noun remains unchanged before a postposition. Compare direct दोस्त as subject with oblique दोस्त before से:
मेरा दोस्त दिल्ली में रहता है।
merā dost dillī meṃ rahtā hai.
My friend lives in Delhi.
मैं अपने दोस्त से रोज़ बात करता हूँ।
maĩ apne dost se roz bāt kartā hū̃.
I talk to my friend every day.
The noun gives no audible case contrast, but the agreeing material does: मेरा दोस्त is direct, while अपने दोस्त से has masculine oblique अपने and a postposition. This is Hindi's layered case system. The noun carries a small inflectional contrast—or none in this cell—while the postposition carries the main relation.
In the plural, the noun itself changes:
मैं अपने दोस्तों से रोज़ बात करता हूँ।
maĩ apne dostoṃ se roz bāt kartā hū̃.
I talk to my friends every day.
Do not attach a postposition to a direct plural as दोस्त से when several friends are meant. The oblique plural दोस्तों is required.
Vowel-final class II nouns
Class II is not limited to consonant endings. Masculine आदमी ādmī “man; person” and आलू ālū “potato” also keep the same direct singular, direct plural, and oblique singular. Their oblique plural adds -yoṃ after ī or -oṃ after ū, producing आदमियों ādmiyoṃ and आलुओं ālūoṃ.
| Noun | Direct singular/plural | Oblique singular | Oblique plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| आदमी ādmī | आदमी ādmī | आदमी ādmī | आदमियों ādmiyoṃ |
| आलू ālū | आलू ālū | आलू ālū | आलुओं ālūoṃ |
| राजा rājā | राजा rājā | राजा rājā | राजाओं rājāoṃ |
राजा rājā “king” is an important -ā exception: unlike productive class I लड़का, it normally remains राजा in the direct plural and oblique singular. Its oblique plural is राजाओं. Kinship nouns such as पिता, चाचा, मामा create further lexical exceptions and receive their own page.
बाज़ार में आज आलू सस्ते हैं।
bāzār meṃ āj ālū saste haiṃ.
Potatoes are cheap at the market today.
इन आलुओं से सब्ज़ी बना लो।
in ālūoṃ se sabzī banā lo.
Use these potatoes to make a vegetable dish.
The plural adjective सस्ते and demonstrative इन reinforce number and case. The direct noun remains आलू, but oblique plural आलुओं is overt.
Loans enter the Hindi pattern
Many masculine loans behave as class II nouns: फ़ोन fon, टिकट ṭikaṭ, and होटल hoṭal. Their direct plurals commonly remain unchanged after a numeral, while oblique plurals take Hindi -oṃ: फ़ोनों fonoṃ, टिकटों ṭikaṭoṃ, होटलों hoṭaloṃ.
दो फ़ोन मेज़ पर पड़े हैं।
do fon mez par paṛe haiṃ.
Two phones are lying on the table.
इन फ़ोनों में नया ऐप नहीं चलता।
in fonoṃ meṃ nayā aip nahīṃ caltā.
The new app doesn't run on these phones.
English speakers may be tempted to add English -s. Standard Hindi instead integrates a loan into Hindi gender and case. Hinglish can retain an English plural inside code-switching (informal), but that does not replace the Hindi paradigm.
Vocative behavior
The singular vocative is usually the bare form: दोस्त! The plural vocative has -o without the nasalization of oblique plural -oṃ: दोस्तो! This contrast is clearest with animate nouns.
दोस्तो, मेरी बात ध्यान से सुनो।
dosto, merī bāt dhyān se suno.
Friends, listen carefully to what I'm saying. (informal)
The familiar plural imperative सुनो fits the address. In a formal audience, मित्रो mitro (formal/Sanskritic) or a respectful title may be appropriate; register and relationship determine whether दोस्तो sounds warm or too familiar.
A natural exchange
तुम्हारा दोस्त कहाँ है? — मेरे दोस्तों के साथ बाहर गया है।
tumhārā dost kahā̃ hai? — mere dostoṃ ke sāth bāhar gayā hai.
Where is your friend? — He has gone out with my friends.
The exchange moves from direct singular दोस्त to oblique plural दोस्तों. The postpositional phrase supplies the relation, while the noun ending marks plural oblique status.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding -e to an invariant direct plural
❌ मेरे दोस्ते बाहर हैं।
Incorrect: class II दोस्त stays unchanged in the direct plural.
✅ मेरे दोस्त बाहर हैं।
mere dost bāhar haiṃ.
My friends are outside.
2. Omitting the oblique plural ending
❌ मैं अपने दोस्त से मिला।
Incorrect if several friends are meant; plural before से must be दोस्तों.
✅ मैं अपने दोस्तों से मिला।
maĩ apne dostoṃ se milā.
I met my friends.
3. Treating आदमी like a feminine -ī noun
❌ दो आदमियाँ दरवाज़े पर हैं।
Incorrect: आदमी is masculine class II and stays unchanged in the direct plural.
✅ दो आदमी दरवाज़े पर हैं।
do ādmī darvāze par haiṃ.
Two men are at the door.
4. Using an English plural inside standard Hindi morphology
❌ इन फ़ोन्स में कैमरे अच्छे हैं।
Incorrect in standard Hindi inflection: the oblique plural is फ़ोनों.
✅ इन फ़ोनों में कैमरे अच्छे हैं।
in fonoṃ meṃ kaimre acche haiṃ.
These phones have good cameras.
Key Takeaways
- Class II masculine nouns keep one form for direct singular, direct plural, and oblique singular.
- Oblique plural normally adds -oṃ, with glide or vowel adjustments after vowel-final stems.
- Agreement and context reveal number when the noun itself is invariant.
- Singular oblique case can be invisible, but the postposition still creates an oblique environment.
- Vocative plural -o and oblique plural -oṃ are distinct.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- Masculine class I nouns in -āA2 — Learn the productive -ā/-e/-oṃ declension of Hindi masculine nouns across direct, oblique, and vocative forms.
- Direct singular and plural formsA2 — Recognize Hindi's default noun forms and build direct plurals across the major masculine and feminine declension classes.
- Oblique singular formationA2 — Form the singular case used before Hindi postpositions and recognize when that case is overt or hidden on the noun.
- Oblique plural formationA2 — Build the plural noun forms required before postpositions across the major Hindi declension classes.
- Reliable gender clues from endingsA1 — Use productive Hindi noun endings to predict gender and declension while learning the high-frequency exceptions that endings cannot solve.
- Gender of English loanwordsA1 — Learn how English nouns acquire Hindi gender and follow Hindi agreement, plural, oblique, and vocative patterns.