Ordinal numbers identify a position in an ordered series: first train, second floor, or twenty-fifth anniversary. Hindi ordinals behave mainly like variable adjectives, so their ending follows the gender, number, and case of the noun. The basic contrast is therefore not just English one versus first, but Hindi एक versus पहला / पहली / पहले.
The first four ordinals are very frequent lexical forms. From five onward, a productive -वाँ pattern makes the system much more predictable. The forms are easy to build once that pattern is visible, but their agreement cannot be ignored.
The lexical core: first through fourth
The common everyday ordinals for one through four are:
| Cardinal | Masculine singular | Feminine | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| एक | पहला | पहली | first |
| दो | दूसरा | दूसरी | second |
| तीन | तीसरा | तीसरी | third |
| चार | चौथा | चौथी | fourth |
These forms must be learned as words: पहला is not transparently built from एक, and दूसरा is not made by adding a suffix to दो. They are also adjectives, not frozen labels.
हमारी पहली ट्रेन सुबह छह बजे है।
hamārī pahlī ṭren subah chah baje hai.
Our first train is at six in the morning.
दूसरा कमरा अभी खाली नहीं है।
dūsrā kamrā abhī khālī nahīṃ hai.
The second room is not vacant yet.
वह दौड़ में तीसरे स्थान पर आया।
vah dauṛ meṃ tīsre sthān par āyā.
He came in third place in the race.
In तीसरे स्थान पर, masculine तीसरा changes to oblique तीसरे because the noun phrase is followed by पर. This is the same adjective agreement taught on the ordinal adjectives and agreement page.
The productive -वाँ pattern
From five upward, attach the ordinal element -वाँ to the cardinal expression. Some forms undergo ordinary spelling or stem adjustments, but the strategy is stable:
| Number | Ordinal | Number | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 पाँच | पाँचवाँ | 10 दस | दसवाँ |
| 6 छह | छठा | 11 ग्यारह | ग्यारहवाँ |
| 7 सात | सातवाँ | 20 बीस | बीसवाँ |
| 8 आठ | आठवाँ | 21 इक्कीस | इक्कीसवाँ |
| 9 नौ | नौवाँ | 100 सौ | सौवाँ |
छठा “sixth” is a high-frequency irregular-looking form and should be memorized. With a compound number, only the entire final number expression is ordinal: एक सौ पच्चीसवाँ, not a chain of separate ordinal words.
यह इस किताब का इक्कीसवाँ अध्याय है।
yah is kitāb kā ikkīsvā̃ adhyāy hai.
This is the twenty-first chapter of this book.
आज दुकान का सौवाँ दिन पूरा हुआ।
āj dukān kā sauvā̃ din pūrā huā.
Today the shop completed its hundredth day.
कंपनी ने अपना एक हज़ारवाँ ऑर्डर भेज दिया।
kampanī ne apnā ek hazārvā̃ orḍar bhej diyā.
The company sent its thousandth order.
Agreement: -वाँ, -वीं, and -वें
An ordinal ending in -वाँ agrees like बड़ा. Use masculine singular direct -वाँ, feminine -वीं, and masculine plural or oblique -वें.
| Environment | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular, direct | -वाँ | पाँचवाँ अध्याय |
| feminine, any number/case | -वीं | पाँचवीं मंज़िल |
| masculine plural, direct | -वें | पाँचवें खिलाड़ी |
| masculine, oblique | -वें | पाँचवें अध्याय में |
हमारा दफ़्तर पाँचवीं मंज़िल पर है।
hamārā daftar pā̃cvīṃ maṃzil par hai.
Our office is on the fifth floor.
सातवें अध्याय में यह नियम फिर समझाया गया है।
sātveṃ adhyāy meṃ yah niyam phir samjhāyā gayā hai.
This rule is explained again in the seventh chapter.
दसवीं और ग्यारहवीं कक्षाओं की परीक्षा सोमवार को है।
dasvīṃ aur gyārahvīṃ kakṣāoṃ kī parīkṣā somvār ko hai.
The exam for the tenth and eleventh grades is on Monday.
Notice that feminine -वीं contains vowel nasalization, romanized -vīṃ. Masculine oblique/plural -वें is -veṃ, not a consonantal n sound.
Rankings and numbered stages
Hindi uses ordinals naturally for rank, sequence, floors, attempts, chapters, birthdays, and anniversaries. A ranking is often expressed with स्थान पर “in position,” which puts a masculine ordinal into the oblique form.
हमारी टीम दूसरे स्थान पर रही।
hamārī ṭīm dūsre sthān par rahī.
Our team finished in second place.
मैंने तीसरी कोशिश में ताला खोल लिया।
maĩne tīsrī kośiś meṃ tālā khol liyā.
I opened the lock on the third attempt.
उनकी शादी की पच्चीसवीं सालगिरह अगले महीने है।
unkī śādī kī paccīsvīṃ sālgirah agle mahīne hai.
Their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary is next month.
English often leaves an ordinal unchanged, as in third place and on the third floor. Hindi reveals the case relation: तीसरा स्थान in direct case but तीसरे स्थान पर with पर; पाँचवीं मंज़िल remains feminine before पर because feminine adjective endings do not distinguish direct and oblique here.
Formal प्रथम, द्वितीय, and तृतीय
Hindi also has Sanskrit-derived ordinals such as प्रथम, द्वितीय, तृतीय, चतुर्थ, and पंचम. They are common in (formal) institutional labels, examination papers, official stages, and elevated prose. They do not take the everyday -ा / -ी / -े agreement endings.
प्रथम चरण में सभी दस्तावेज़ जाँचे जाएँगे।
pratham caraṇ meṃ sabhī dastāvez jā̃ce jāẽge.
In the first stage, all documents will be checked. (formal)
द्वितीय वर्ष के छात्रों की कक्षा ऊपर है।
dvitīy varṣ ke chātroṃ kī kakṣā ūpar hai.
The second-year students’ classroom is upstairs. (formal)
In everyday conversation, पहले चरण में and दूसरे साल के छात्र are usually more natural. Do not mix the two series mechanically: प्रथम is a stylistic alternative to पहला, not the cardinal “one.” Beyond the familiar formal set, Sanskrit ordinal vocabulary becomes specialized and is not the productive everyday system.
Dates use cardinals, not ordinals
Unlike English October thirteenth, Hindi normally names a calendar date with a cardinal number: तेरह अक्टूबर, literally “thirteen October.” In a sentence, को commonly marks the day on which something occurs.
हमारी अगली बैठक 13 अक्टूबर को है।
hamārī aglī baiṭhak terah aktūbar ko hai.
Our next meeting is on October 13.
Calling that date तेरहवाँ अक्टूबर would normally mean “the thirteenth October” in an unusual count of Octobers, not “October 13.” This difference is important on tickets, forms, and schedules. See dates, years, and centuries for full date patterns.
Large ordinals and grouping
Hindi builds large ordinals on the Indian number system. 1,00,000वाँ is read एक लाखवाँ “one-hundred-thousandth,” and 1,00,00,000वाँ is एक करोड़वाँ “ten-millionth.” Internationally grouped 100,000th and Indian 1,00,000वाँ denote the same rank, but Hindi normally names it with लाख, not by copying English hundred thousand.
Large ordinal expressions are possible but uncommon in casual speech. Speakers often rephrase with a cardinal plus नंबर: एक लाख नंबर का टिकट “ticket number 100,000.” Use a true ordinal when sequence is central, not merely because a digit label appears.
Common Mistakes
❌ हमारी पाँचवाँ बैठक कल है।
Incorrect — पाँचवाँ does not agree with feminine बैठक.
✅ हमारी पाँचवीं बैठक कल है।
hamārī pā̃cvīṃ baiṭhak kal hai.
Our fifth meeting is tomorrow.
❌ वह तीसरा स्थान पर आया।
Incorrect — पर makes the masculine noun phrase oblique.
✅ वह तीसरे स्थान पर आया।
vah tīsre sthān par āyā.
He came in third place.
❌ कार्यक्रम तेरहवें अक्टूबर को है।
Incorrect for an ordinary calendar date — Hindi uses the cardinal तेरह.
✅ कार्यक्रम तेरह अक्टूबर को है।
kāryakram terah aktūbar ko hai.
The program is on October 13.
❌ यह दोवाँ अध्याय है।
Incorrect — the high-frequency ordinal for two is lexical दूसरा.
✅ यह दूसरा अध्याय है।
yah dūsrā adhyāy hai.
This is the second chapter.
Key Takeaways
- Memorize पहला, दूसरा, तीसरा, चौथा, and छठा; use productive -वाँ for most higher values.
- Make ordinals agree: masculine direct -वाँ, feminine -वीं, masculine plural/oblique -वें.
- Use cardinals for calendar dates and identifiers; use ordinals for actual sequence or rank.
- Prefer प्रथम, द्वितीय, तृतीय in formal institutional labels, but everyday speech normally uses पहला, दूसरा, तीसरा.
- Read large ordinals through हज़ार, लाख, करोड़, respecting Indian grouping.
Related Topics
- Numbers zero to tenA1 — Learn the Hindi cardinals from zero to ten, how they combine with nouns, and how they appear in prices, times, dates, and measurements.
- Numbers twenty-one to one hundredA1 — Learn the Hindi cardinals from twenty-one to one hundred as a lexical system, with patterns for recognition and accurate use in everyday noun phrases.
- Hundreds thousands lakh and croreA2 — Build and interpret large Hindi cardinals with सौ, हज़ार, लाख, and करोड़, including exact and approximate number phrases.
- Ordinal adjectives and agreementB1 — Form and agree Hindi ordinal adjectives such as पहला, दूसरा, and पाँचवाँ across gender, number, and case.
- Masculine plural and oblique -eA1 — Use adjective -ए for masculine plurals and for masculine noun phrases made oblique by a postposition.
- Dates years and centuriesB1 — Read and write Hindi calendar dates, years, decades, and centuries with the right cardinals, postpositions, and agreement.