Hindi noun endings often give a strong gender clue. A long -ā commonly marks a declinable masculine noun, while long -ī commonly marks a feminine noun. These patterns predict not only agreement but also many plural, oblique, and vocative forms.
They are clues, not definitions. समस्या samasyā “problem” is feminine despite -ā, and पानी pānī “water” is masculine despite -ī. English speakers should therefore use endings to make a first prediction, then store frequent exceptions with an agreeing adjective. See noun gender: masculine and feminine for the agreement system these clues feed.
The strongest everyday pattern: -ā masculine
Many familiar masculine nouns end in long -ā: लड़का laṛkā “boy,” कमरा kamrā “room,” रास्ता rāstā “road,” and जूता jūtā “shoe.” This class changes -ā to -e in the direct plural and oblique singular, and to -oṃ in the oblique plural.
| Form | कमरा “room” | Use |
|---|---|---|
| direct singular | कमरा kamrā | one room |
| direct plural | कमरे kamre | rooms |
| oblique singular | कमरे kamre | one room + postposition |
| oblique plural | कमरों kamroṃ | rooms + postposition |
| vocative singular/plural | कमरे kamre / कमरो kamro | direct address, rarely useful for “room” |
यह कमरा खाली है।
yah kamrā khālī hai.
This room is empty.
बड़े कमरे में चार कुर्सियाँ हैं।
baṛe kamre meṃ cār kursiyā̃ haiṃ.
There are four chairs in the large room.
The direct कमरा becomes oblique कमरे before में. The agreeing adjective changes too: masculine oblique बड़े कमरे. This is the layered case system—noun and adjective mark a small inflectional change, while the postposition supplies the relation.
The strongest everyday pattern: -ī feminine
Many nouns in long -ī are feminine: लड़की laṛkī “girl,” कुर्सी kursī “chair,” नदी nadī “river,” रोटी roṭī “flatbread,” and चाबी cābī “key.” The singular stays in -ī; direct plural adds -iyā̃, and oblique plural uses -iyoṃ.
| Form | कुर्सी “chair” | लड़की “girl” |
|---|---|---|
| direct singular | कुर्सी kursī | लड़की laṛkī |
| direct plural | कुर्सियाँ kursiyā̃ | लड़कियाँ laṛkiyā̃ |
| oblique singular | कुर्सी kursī | लड़की laṛkī |
| oblique plural | कुर्सियों kursiyoṃ | लड़कियों laṛkiyoṃ |
| vocative singular/plural | कुर्सी kursī / कुर्सियो kursiyo | लड़की laṛkī / लड़कियो laṛkiyo |
नई कुर्सियाँ बाहर रखी हैं।
naī kursiyā̃ bāhar rakhī haiṃ.
The new chairs have been placed outside.
पुरानी कुर्सियों पर मत बैठिए।
purānī kursiyoṃ par mat baiṭhie.
Please don't sit on the old chairs.
The adjective नई/पुरानी remains feminine across number and case, while the noun ending distinguishes direct plural -iyā̃ from oblique plural -iyoṃ.
High-frequency exceptions to -ā and -ī
Several common feminine nouns end in -ā: भाषा bhāṣā “language,” आशा āśā “hope,” हवा havā “air,” दवा davā “medicine,” समस्या samasyā “problem,” and दुनिया duniyā “world.” They take feminine agreement and form plurals like other vowel-final feminine nouns: समस्याएँ samasyāẽ, oblique समस्याओं samasyāoṃ.
यह समस्या गंभीर है, लेकिन बाकी समस्याएँ छोटी हैं।
yah samasyā gambhīr hai, lekin bākī samasyāẽ choṭī haiṃ.
This problem is serious, but the other problems are small.
इन समस्याओं पर कल बात करेंगे।
in samasyāoṃ par kal bāt kareṅge.
We'll discuss these problems tomorrow.
Common masculine nouns in -ī include पानी pānī “water,” आदमी ādmī “man; person,” हाथी hāthī “elephant,” मोती motī “pearl,” and घी ghī “ghee.” Their gender is masculine, but they do not adopt the feminine -iyā̃ plural simply because they end in ī.
ठंडा पानी तैयार है।
ṭhaṇḍā pānī taiyār hai.
The cold water is ready.
दो आदमी बाहर खड़े हैं।
do ādmī bāhar khaṛe haiṃ.
Two men are standing outside.
The direct plural of आदमी remains आदमी; its oblique plural is आदमियों ādmiyoṃ. This shows why gender and declension class are related but not identical: masculine does not always mean the -ā paradigm.
Productive derivational endings
Some longer suffixes are more dependable than a final vowel viewed in isolation:
| Ending | Usual gender | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -ता -tā, abstract noun suffix | feminine | सुंदरता sundartā, सफलता safaltā |
| -आई -āī, action/quality noun | feminine | पढ़ाई paṛhāī, सफ़ाई safāī |
| -आवट -āvaṭ / -ाहट -āhaṭ | feminine | सजावट sajāvaṭ, घबराहट ghabrāhaṭ |
| -पन -pan, state/quality noun | masculine | बचपन bacpan, पागलपन pāgalpan |
इस कमरे की सफ़ाई अच्छी है।
is kamre kī safāī acchī hai.
This room has been cleaned well.
The analysis must be morphological. पता patā is masculine, but its final -ता is not the abstract suffix found in सुंदरता. Likewise, a borrowed or unanalyzed word that happens to end in similar sounds need not follow the suffix pattern.
Endings that do not solve gender
Consonant-final nouns are mixed: घर ghar “house” and शहर śahar “city” are masculine; किताब kitāb “book,” रात rāt “night,” and सड़क saṛak “road” are feminine. Loanwords are also assigned gender by Hindi usage, not by English form: फ़ोन fon is normally masculine, while फ़ाइल fāil is normally feminine.
मेरा फ़ोन और मेरी फ़ाइल मेज़ पर हैं।
merā fon aur merī fāil mez par haiṃ.
My phone and my file are on the table.
For these nouns, memorize an agreeing form and check reliable usage. Do not add English -s to solve plural number: feminine फ़ाइल normally becomes फ़ाइलें, not फ़ाइल्स, in standard Hindi morphology.
A natural exchange
कौन-सा कमरा खाली है? — बड़े कमरे में जगह है।
kaun-sā kamrā khālī hai? — baṛe kamre meṃ jagah hai.
Which room is empty? — There is space in the large room.
The exchange makes the case change audible: direct masculine कौन-सा कमरा becomes oblique बड़े कमरे before में. The noun remains masculine throughout.
Common Mistakes
1. Treating every -ī noun as feminine
❌ ठंडी पानी चाहिए।
Incorrect: पानी is a high-frequency masculine -ī exception.
✅ ठंडा पानी चाहिए।
ṭhaṇḍā pānī cāhie.
Cold water is needed.
2. Treating every -ā noun as masculine
❌ यह बड़ा समस्या है।
Incorrect: समस्या is feminine despite its final -ā.
✅ यह बड़ी समस्या है।
yah baṛī samasyā hai.
This is a big problem.
3. Giving a masculine -ā noun a feminine plural
❌ होटल में दो कमराएँ खाली हैं।
Incorrect: masculine कमरा has direct plural कमरे, not कमराएँ.
✅ होटल में दो कमरे खाली हैं।
hoṭal meṃ do kamre khālī haiṃ.
Two rooms in the hotel are empty.
4. Giving आदमी the feminine -iyā̃ plural
❌ बाहर दो आदमियाँ खड़ी हैं।
Incorrect: आदमी is masculine and has unchanged direct plural आदमी.
✅ बाहर दो आदमी खड़े हैं।
bāhar do ādmī khaṛe haiṃ.
Two men are standing outside.
Key Takeaways
- Long -ā strongly suggests the declinable masculine class; long -ī strongly suggests feminine.
- Frequent exceptions such as समस्या and पानी must be learned with agreement.
- Productive suffixes such as feminine -ता/-आई and masculine -पन are stronger clues than a coincidental final syllable.
- Endings predict plural, oblique, and vocative behavior as well as gender.
- Consonant-final nouns and loans often require lexical learning rather than an ending rule.
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- Masculine class I nouns in -āA2 — Learn the productive -ā/-e/-oṃ declension of Hindi masculine nouns across direct, oblique, and vocative forms.
- Feminine class I nouns in -īA2 — Form the direct plural, oblique plural, vocative, and agreement patterns of productive feminine nouns ending in -ī.