यह महज एक सवाल है।

A word-by-word breakdown is:

• यह = this
• महज = mere, merely, just
• एक = one, but here it works like a/an
• सवाल = question
• है = is

So the literal structure is something like this merely one question is, while the natural English meaning is This is just a question or This is merely a question.

In this sentence, यह means this or this thing.

Hindi यह can work as a demonstrative pronoun, so it can mean:

• this
• this one
• sometimes he/she/it, depending on context

Here it points to something being talked about and identifies it as a mere question.

A useful comparison:

• यह = this
• वह = that

So यह महज एक सवाल है is the this version, while वह महज एक सवाल है would be That is just a question.

महज means mere, merely, just, or nothing more than.

It adds a minimizing sense. The speaker is saying that the thing being discussed is only a question, not something bigger or more serious.

So the tone can be:

• neutral: It is simply a question
• dismissive: It’s only a question
• reassuring: It’s just a question

This is why महज is important: it is not just identifying something as a question, but saying it is only that.

They are very close in meaning.

You can often translate all of these as only or just:

• महज
• सिर्फ
• केवल

But the nuance is a little different:

• महज often feels slightly more literary, emphatic, or expressive
• सिर्फ is very common in everyday speech
• केवल can sound a bit more formal or written

So all of these are possible:

• यह महज एक सवाल है।
• यह सिर्फ एक सवाल है।
• यह केवल एक सवाल है।

All are understandable, but महज gives a slightly stronger sense of merely / nothing more than.

Good question. Hindi does not have a true article system like English, but एक often does the job of a/an with singular countable nouns.

Literally, एक means one, but in many sentences it is used in an article-like way:

• एक सवाल = a question
• एक आदमी = a man
• एक किताब = a book

In this sentence, एक सवाल naturally means a question.

If you remove एक, the sentence यह महज सवाल है would sound unnatural in this context. The noun सवाल here normally wants एक when it means a question.

Because Hindi normally puts the verb at the end of the sentence.

Here, है is the present-tense form of to be for singular subjects. It corresponds to is.

So English says:

• This is just a question

But Hindi structures it as:

• This just a question is

That is why है comes last.

This end position is very normal in Hindi, not special to this sentence.

Because the sentence is singular.

Here the subject is यह = this, which is singular, and the whole statement is about one thing being one question. So Hindi uses है.

Compare:

• यह महज एक सवाल है। = This is just a question.
• ये महज सवाल हैं। = These are just questions.

So:

• है = singular is
• हैं = plural or respectful are

सवाल is masculine.

In this sentence, that does not create a very obvious visible change, because:

• एक does not change for gender
• सवाल itself stays सवाल
• the copula है is the same for masculine and feminine singular in the present tense

But gender still matters in Hindi. You would notice it more with adjectives:

• बड़ा सवाल = a big question
• अच्छा सवाल = a good question

Those adjectives are masculine because सवाल is masculine.

If the noun were feminine, the adjective would usually change:

• एक बड़ी समस्या = a big problem

So yes, सवाल is masculine, even though this particular sentence does not show much overt agreement.

This is the normal and most natural order.

Structure:

• यह = topic/subject
• महज = modifier meaning merely
• एक सवाल = predicate noun phrase
• है = copula at the end

So यह महज एक सवाल है is the standard way to say it.

You do have some flexibility in Hindi, but not every rearrangement sounds natural. For example:

• यह तो महज एक सवाल है। = This is, after all, just a question.
  This is natural and adds emphasis with तो.

But something like:

• यह एक महज सवाल है।

sounds less natural than the original.

A good rule here is: महज should come before the thing it is limiting, namely एक सवाल.

Yes. They are the same word.

You may see both spellings:

• महज
• महज़

The version with the dot, ज़, reflects a z sound more explicitly. In everyday Hindi writing, people often omit the dot, so महज is very common too.

For a learner, the important thing is:

• same meaning
• same basic usage
• spelling may vary depending on writer, style, or level of formality

A common pronunciation would be roughly:

yeh mahaj ek sawaal hai

A few notes:

• यह is usually pronounced yeh in normal speech
• सवाल is pronounced sawaal, with a long aa
• है sounds like hai

For महज, pronunciation can vary a bit depending on speaker and spelling tradition. You may hear something like:

• mahaj
• or a pronunciation closer to mahaz

Either way, learners should mainly focus on recognizing it as the word meaning merely / just.

That punctuation mark is the Hindi full stop, called danda.

It works like an English period:

• । = .

So यह महज एक सवाल है। simply ends with the standard Hindi sentence-ending mark.

In modern typing, texting, and online writing, some people also use a regular English period, but । is the traditional Hindi punctuation mark.