The oblique plural is the form a plural noun takes before a postposition. Unlike the oblique singular, which is invisible in many declensions, the oblique plural is normally marked on the noun itself: लड़कों laṛkoṃ, दोस्तों dostoṃ, लड़कियों laṛkiyoṃ, किताबों kitāboṃ. The next step is applying these paradigms before simple postpositions.
Across the major patterns, the ending converges on nasal -oṃ, but it attaches to different stems. Learning those stem changes prevents two common errors: leaving a direct plural before a postposition and mechanically replacing every final letter with -oṃ.
The full cross-class pattern
| Class | Direct plural | Oblique plural | Example before a postposition |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine -ā | लड़के laṛke | लड़कों laṛkoṃ | लड़कों से laṛkoṃ se |
| masculine consonant-final | दोस्त dost | दोस्तों dostoṃ | दोस्तों के साथ dostoṃ ke sāth |
| masculine -ī | आदमी ādmī | आदमियों ādmiyoṃ | आदमियों को ādmiyoṃ ko |
| feminine -ī | लड़कियाँ laṛkiyā̃ | लड़कियों laṛkiyoṃ | लड़कियों से laṛkiyoṃ se |
| feminine consonant-final | किताबें kitābeṃ | किताबों kitāboṃ | किताबों में kitāboṃ meṃ |
| feminine lexical -iyā | चिड़ियाँ ciṛiyā̃ | चिड़ियों ciṛiyoṃ | चिड़ियों के लिए ciṛiyoṃ ke lie |
| feminine -ā | समस्याएँ samasyāẽ | समस्याओं samasyāoṃ | समस्याओं पर samasyāoṃ par |
The final written anusvara in these forms represents a nasalized vowel in this position, romanized -oṃ. It distinguishes oblique plural from a plural vocative ending in nonnasal -o.
लड़के बाहर खड़े हैं, और मैं उन लड़कों से अभी बात करूँगा।
laṛke bāhar khaṛe haiṃ, aur maĩ un laṛkoṃ se abhī bāt karū̃gā.
The boys are standing outside, and I'll speak to those boys now.
Direct लड़के laṛke becomes oblique लड़कों laṛkoṃ before से se. Demonstrative वे ve likewise appears as oblique plural उन un inside the postpositional phrase.
Masculine oblique plurals
Masculine -ā nouns replace direct plural -e with oblique plural -oṃ: कमरे kamre → कमरों kamroṃ. Invariant masculine nouns add -oṃ to the stem: दोस्त dost → दोस्तों dostoṃ, फ़ोन fon → फ़ोनों fonoṃ.
पुराने कमरों में अभी पंखे नहीं लगे हैं।
purāne kamroṃ meṃ abhī paṅkhe nahīṃ lage haiṃ.
Fans haven't been installed in the old rooms yet.
मैं सप्ताहांत पर अपने दोस्तों के साथ बाहर जा रहा हूँ।
maĩ saptāhānt par apne dostoṃ ke sāth bāhar jā rahā hū̃.
I'm going out with my friends this weekend.
With a vowel-final class II noun, a glide or vowel sequence keeps the stem recognizable: आदमी ādmī → आदमियों ādmiyoṃ, आलू ālū → आलुओं ālūoṃ, राजा rājā → राजाओं rājāoṃ.
दरवाज़े के पास खड़े आदमियों को अंदर बुला लो।
darvāze ke pās khaṛe ādmiyoṃ ko andar bulā lo.
Call the men standing near the door inside.
Here आदमियों is oblique plural before को. The participle खड़े agrees with the masculine plural referent, while के पास is part of a different postpositional phrase modifying दरवाज़े.
Feminine oblique plurals
Feminine direct plural -iyā̃ becomes oblique -iyoṃ: लड़कियाँ laṛkiyā̃ → लड़कियों laṛkiyoṃ. Consonant-final direct plural -eṃ is replaced by -oṃ: किताबें kitābeṃ → किताबों kitāboṃ. Feminine -ā retains its vowel before the ending: समस्याएँ samasyāẽ → समस्याओं samasyāoṃ.
नई लड़कियाँ आज आई हैं; मैं उन लड़कियों को कक्षा दिखा दूँगी।
naī laṛkiyā̃ āj āī haiṃ; maĩ un laṛkiyoṃ ko kakṣā dikhā dū̃gī.
The new girls arrived today; I'll show those girls the classroom.
इन किताबों में से कौन-सी किताब तुम्हें चाहिए?
in kitāboṃ meṃ se kaun-sī kitāb tumheṃ cāhie?
Which of these books do you want?
हमने सभी समस्याओं पर खुलकर बात की।
hamne sabhī samasyāoṃ par khulkar bāt kī.
We spoke openly about all the problems.
The direct and oblique plural endings are not interchangeable. The first presents लड़कियाँ as a direct subject, then recasts the same group as oblique लड़कियों before को.
Loans take Hindi oblique morphology
Once a loan functions as a Hindi noun, standard Hindi gives it Hindi case forms. Masculine फ़ोन fon forms फ़ोनों fonoṃ; feminine फ़ाइल fāil forms direct plural फ़ाइलें fāileṃ and oblique plural फ़ाइलों fāiloṃ.
इन फ़ाइलों में पिछले साल के बिल रखे हैं।
in fāiloṃ meṃ pichle sāl ke bil rakhe haiṃ.
Last year's bills are kept in these files.
An English -s plural may occur in code-switching (informal), but combining it with standard Hindi oblique morphology is unstable and unsuitable as the core learned pattern.
Agreement belongs to the whole phrase
Before a postposition, a masculine changeable adjective and possessive also take oblique plural -e: मेरे पुराने दोस्तों से mere purāne dostoṃ se. Feminine adjectives in -ī do not create a distinct oblique form: मेरी पुरानी किताबों में merī purānī kitāboṃ meṃ.
मेरे पुराने दोस्तों से तुम्हारी मुलाक़ात कब हुई?
mere purāne dostoṃ se tumhārī mulāqāt kab huī?
When did you meet my old friends?
The noun bears -oṃ, while मेरे and पुराने mark masculine plural/oblique agreement. English speakers often focus only on the final noun, but Hindi distributes case and agreement across the phrase.
Oblique plural versus vocative plural
Oblique plural ends in nasal -oṃ; plural vocative normally ends in oral -o. Compare दोस्तों के साथ dostoṃ ke sāth “with friends” and दोस्तो! dosto! “Friends!” The contrast is grammatical and audible.
दोस्तो, अपने फ़ोनों को अभी बंद कर दो।
dosto, apne fonoṃ ko abhī band kar do.
Friends, switch off your phones now. (informal)
दोस्तो is vocative plural, while फ़ोनों is oblique plural before को. Writing anusvara on both would erase a real case distinction.
A natural exchange
तुमने बच्चों के लिए क्या लिया? — इन डिब्बों में उनके लिए फल और किताबें हैं।
tumne baccoṃ ke lie kyā liyā? — in ḍibboṃ meṃ unke lie phal aur kitābeṃ haiṃ.
What did you get for the children? — These boxes contain fruit and books for them.
Both बच्चों baccoṃ and डिब्बों ḍibboṃ are oblique plurals. फल phal and किताबें kitābeṃ are direct noun phrases in the existential clause.
Common Mistakes
1. Leaving a masculine direct plural before a postposition
❌ मैं उन लड़के से मिला।
Incorrect: plural लड़के must become oblique लड़कों before से.
✅ मैं उन लड़कों से मिला।
maĩ un laṛkoṃ se milā.
I met those boys.
2. Keeping feminine direct plural -eṃ before a postposition
❌ इन किताबें में मेरे नोट्स हैं।
Incorrect: किताबें becomes oblique plural किताबों before में.
✅ इन किताबों में मेरे नोट्स हैं।
in kitāboṃ meṃ mere noṭs haiṃ.
My notes are in these books.
3. Keeping the direct -iyā̃ form before a postposition
❌ उन लड़कियाँ से पूछो।
Incorrect: direct plural लड़कियाँ must become oblique लड़कियों before से.
✅ उन लड़कियों से पूछो।
un laṛkiyoṃ se pūcho.
Ask those girls.
4. Confusing vocative -o with oblique -oṃ
❌ मैं दोस्तो के साथ जा रहा हूँ।
Incorrect: before के साथ, the oblique plural must be दोस्तों.
✅ मैं दोस्तों के साथ जा रहा हूँ।
maĩ dostoṃ ke sāth jā rahā hū̃.
I'm going with friends.
5. Retaining an English plural before a Hindi postposition
❌ इन फ़ाइल्स में रसीदें हैं।
Incorrect in standard Hindi inflection: use oblique plural फ़ाइलों.
✅ इन फ़ाइलों में रसीदें हैं।
in fāiloṃ meṃ rasīdeṃ haiṃ.
There are receipts in these files.
Key Takeaways
- The major oblique plural endings converge on nasal -oṃ, with class-specific stem changes.
- Masculine लड़के becomes लड़कों; invariant दोस्त becomes दोस्तों.
- Feminine लड़कियाँ becomes लड़कियों, and किताबें becomes किताबों.
- Modifiers and demonstratives join the oblique environment of the complete noun phrase.
- Plural vocative -o and oblique plural -oṃ must remain distinct.
Related Topics
- 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.
- Direct plural masculine -eA2 — Use masculine -e for the direct plural of productive -ā nouns and distinguish it from invariant, oblique, and vocative patterns.
- Oblique plural masculine -oṃA2 — Build masculine oblique plurals in -oṃ across Hindi noun classes and use them before postpositions without confusing the vocative.
- Feminine plural -eṃ and oblique -oṃB1 — Form direct, oblique, and vocative plurals across Hindi feminine noun classes while keeping agreement and nasal spelling distinct.
- The oblique before simple postpositionsA2 — Apply oblique case consistently to complete noun phrases before simple Hindi postpositions such as को, ने, से, में, पर, and तक.