Hindi masculine nouns form an oblique plural before a postposition by using a nasal ending represented in the guide's fixed romanization as -ों -oṃ: लड़कों को laṛkoṃ ko, दोस्तों से dostoṃ se, घरों में gharoṃ meṃ. The spelling and romanization keep written anusvara ṃ distinct from chandrabindu vowel nasalization.
Unlike the direct plural, the oblique plural is overt in every productive masculine noun class. Direct दो दोस्त do dost has no plural ending, but दो दोस्तों के साथ do dostoṃ ke sāth clearly marks both plurality and the oblique environment.
One function, several stem shapes
The grammatical function is stable, but the shape before -oṃ depends on the noun class.
| Masculine class | Direct singular | Direct plural | Oblique plural | Vocative plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| productive -ā | लड़का laṛkā | लड़के laṛke | लड़कों laṛkoṃ | लड़को laṛko |
| consonant-final | दोस्त dost | दोस्त dost | दोस्तों dostoṃ | दोस्तो dosto |
| masculine -ī | आदमी ādmī | आदमी ādmī | आदमियों ādmiyoṃ | आदमियो ādmiyo |
| vowel-final -u | साधु sādhu | साधु sādhu | साधुओं sādhuoṃ | साधुओ sādhuo |
| invariant -ā | राजा rājā | राजा rājā | राजाओं rājāoṃ | राजाओ rājāo |
| kinship -āī | भाई bhāī | भाई bhāī | भाइयों bhāiyoṃ | भाइयो bhāiyo |
The productive -ā class replaces -ā with -oṃ: कमरा → कमरों. Consonant-final nouns add -oṃ: घर → घरों. Final -ī normally gives -iyoṃ, while invariant -ā nouns retain their vowel and add -oṃ, producing written -ाओं.
Direct plural and oblique plural do different jobs
The direct plural appears without a following postposition. The oblique plural appears when a postposition selects the noun phrase.
पुराने मकान अब खाली हैं।
purāne makān ab khālī haiṃ.
The old houses are empty now.
पुराने मकानों में अब कोई नहीं रहता।
purāne makānoṃ meṃ ab koī nahīṃ rahtā.
No one lives in the old houses now.
Masculine consonant-final मकान is unchanged in the direct plural but becomes मकानों before में. The adjective पुराने shows masculine plural agreement in both phrases.
नए लड़के सुबह जल्दी आ गए।
nae laṛke subah jaldī ā gae.
The new boys arrived early in the morning.
नए लड़कों से कल परिचय होगा।
nae laṛkoṃ se kal paricay hogā.
We will meet the new boys tomorrow.
Here the class I contrast is audible: direct लड़के versus oblique लड़कों. The postposition से supplies the particular relation; the ending -oṃ only signals plural plus oblique case.
Hindi case is layered
An oblique ending does not translate as “to,” “in,” “from,” or “with.” The same noun form can stand before different postpositions:
| Oblique noun | Complete phrase | Relation expressed by the postposition |
|---|---|---|
| लड़कों laṛkoṃ | लड़कों को laṛkoṃ ko | recipient, goal, or marked object |
| लड़कों laṛkoṃ | लड़कों से laṛkoṃ se | source, means, comparison, or accompaniment context |
| लड़कों laṛkoṃ | लड़कों के लिए laṛkoṃ ke lie | beneficiary or purpose |
| लड़कों laṛkoṃ | लड़कों ने laṛkoṃ ne | ergative subject in the relevant perfective construction |
This is the central architecture of Hindi case: noun inflection builds a modest oblique layer, and the following postposition contributes most of the relational meaning. The lexical meanings and government of individual postpositions belong to the postposition overview.
लड़कों ने सभी खिड़कियाँ साफ़ कीं।
laṛkoṃ ne sabhī khiṛkiyā̃ sāf kīṃ.
The boys cleaned all the windows.
The plural subject is oblique before ने. Because the transitive perfective subject is ने-marked and the object is unmarked, feminine plural खिड़कियाँ controls कीं in this sentence; ने does not create a blanket “no agreement” rule.
The entire noun phrase enters the oblique environment
Demonstratives and changeable modifiers coordinate with the noun phrase. Direct ये पुराने कमरे ye purāne kamre becomes oblique इन पुराने कमरों in purāne kamroṃ before a postposition.
ये पुराने कमरे अगले महीने खाली होंगे।
ye purāne kamre agle mahīne khālī hoṅge.
These old rooms will be empty next month.
इन पुराने कमरों की खिड़कियाँ बहुत छोटी हैं।
in purāne kamroṃ kī khiṛkiyā̃ bahut choṭī haiṃ.
The windows of these old rooms are very small.
The demonstrative changes ये → इन, and the noun changes कमरे → कमरों. The adjective stays पुराने because masculine plural direct and masculine plural oblique share that adjective form. Learners who look only at the adjective can therefore miss the case change.
The -ī and invariant -ā classes
Masculine -ī nouns insert -y- and use -iyoṃ. Common examples are आदमी → आदमियों, कर्मचारी → कर्मचारियों, and खिलाड़ी → खिलाड़ियों. Their direct plurals are unchanged.
कई खिलाड़ी अभ्यास के लिए जल्दी पहुँचे।
kaī khilāṛī abhyās ke lie jaldī pahũce.
Several players arrived early for practice.
कोच ने खिलाड़ियों से मैदान में मिलने को कहा।
koc ne khilāṛiyoṃ se maidān meṃ milne ko kahā.
The coach told the players to meet on the field.
Invariant masculine -ā nouns keep -ā in the direct plural but add -oṃ after it in the oblique plural: राजा → राजाओं, नेता → नेताओं, पिता → पिताओं.
दो नेता आज शहर आए हैं।
do netā āj śahar āe haiṃ.
Two leaders have come to the city today.
दोनों नेताओं के भाषण शाम को होंगे।
donoṃ netāoṃ ke bhāṣaṇ śām ko hoṅge.
Both leaders' speeches will take place in the evening.
Treat नेताओं as नेता + ओं, not as the productive class I replacement found in लड़का → लड़कों.
Integrated loanwords use Hindi morphology
Masculine consonant-final loans behave like other consonant-final nouns: फ़ोन → फ़ोनों, होटल → होटलों, कंप्यूटर → कंप्यूटरों. Direct plural may be unchanged, but oblique plural is overt.
इन फ़ोनों पर अभी छूट मिल रही है।
in fonoṃ par abhī chūṭ mil rahī hai.
These phones are currently being discounted.
English -s followed by Hindi -oṃ creates an unnecessary hybrid. Code-switched English plurals occur (informal), but the integrated Standard Hindi pattern is फ़ोन–फ़ोनों.
Oblique plural versus vocative plural
Plural vocatives use oral -o, with no anusvara: लड़को!, दोस्तो!, खिलाड़ियो! Oblique plurals use nasal -oṃ and combine with postpositions.
खिलाड़ियो, अभ्यास शुरू होने वाला है।
khilāṛiyo, abhyās śurū hone vālā hai.
Players, practice is about to begin.
The addressees are not complements of a postposition, so खिलाड़ियों would belong to a different case cell in the standard paradigm.
A natural exchange
नए खिलाड़ी आ गए? — पाँच खिलाड़ी आ गए हैं; बाकी खिलाड़ियों से शाम को मिलेंगे।
nae khilāṛī ā gae? — pā̃c khilāṛī ā gae haiṃ; bākī khilāṛiyoṃ se śām ko mileṅge.
Have the new players arrived? — Five have arrived; we'll meet the remaining players this evening.
Direct plural खिलाड़ी is visibly unchanged. The shift to खिलाड़ियों before से makes number and oblique case overt.
Common Mistakes
Keeping a direct plural before a postposition
❌ इन लड़के से पता पूछो।
Incorrect — the plural noun must be oblique लड़कों before से.
✅ इन लड़कों से पता पूछो।
in laṛkoṃ se patā pūcho.
Ask these boys for the address.
Adding -oṃ to the direct -e form
❌ लड़केओं के बैग बाहर रखे हैं।
Incorrect — replace class I -ā with -oṃ; do not attach the ending to लड़के.
✅ लड़कों के बैग बाहर रखे हैं।
laṛkoṃ ke baig bāhar rakhe haiṃ.
The boys' bags have been left outside.
Keeping long -ī before -yoṃ
❌ आदमीयों को बाहर इंतज़ार करना पड़ा।
Incorrect — आदमी forms oblique plural आदमियों.
✅ आदमियों को बाहर इंतज़ार करना पड़ा।
ādmiyoṃ ko bāhar intazār karnā paṛā.
The men had to wait outside.
Treating राजा like लड़का
❌ पुराने राजों की तस्वीरें यहाँ हैं।
Incorrect — invariant राजा forms oblique plural राजाओं.
✅ पुराने राजाओं की तस्वीरें यहाँ हैं।
purāne rājāoṃ kī tasvīreṃ yahā̃ haiṃ.
Pictures of the former kings are here.
Using nasal oblique form in direct address
❌ खिलाड़ियों, अब मैदान में आओ!
Incorrect in the standard vocative paradigm — plural address takes oral -o.
✅ खिलाड़ियो, अब मैदान में आओ!
khilāṛiyo, ab maidān meṃ āo!
Players, come onto the field now!
Key Takeaways
Every productive masculine class has an overt oblique plural in -oṃ, but stems differ: लड़कों, दोस्तों, आदमियों, साधुओं, राजाओं. The ending marks plural oblique case; the following postposition supplies the specific relation. Do not confuse nasal oblique -oṃ with oral plural vocative -o, and do not build Hindi obliques on top of English -s plurals.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- 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 formationA2 — Build the plural noun forms required before postpositions across the major Hindi declension classes.
- Masculine class I nouns in -āA2 — Learn the productive -ā/-e/-oṃ declension of Hindi masculine nouns across direct, oblique, and vocative forms.
- Masculine class II invariant nounsA2 — Decline masculine nouns whose singular and direct plural stay unchanged, including consonant-final nouns, loans, and vowel-final exceptions.
- Vocative singular and pluralA2 — Form Hindi vocatives for one or several addressees and distinguish direct address from direct and oblique noun phrases.
- Postpositions and oblique complementsA1 — Build Hindi relational phrases by placing a postposition after an oblique noun or special pronoun form instead of translating English prepositions word for word.