पिल्ला छोटा कुत्ता है।

The sentence breaks down like this:

• पिल्ला = puppy
• छोटा कुत्ता = small dog
• है = is

So the literal word order is:

• puppy small dog is

This is normal in Hindi. The subject comes first, and the verb है usually comes at the end.

Because Hindi is usually a verb-final language.

In English, you say:

• A puppy is a small dog.

In Hindi, the equivalent pattern is:

• Puppy small dog is.

So है naturally goes at the end of the sentence.

Hindi usually does not use articles the way English does. That means words like a, an, and the are often simply omitted.

So:

• पिल्ला छोटा कुत्ता है
  can mean
• A puppy is a small dog
  or, depending on context,
• The puppy is a small dog

If you want, you can add एक to mean one / a:

• पिल्ला एक छोटा कुत्ता है

That is also correct, but it is not required.

Because छोटा agrees with a masculine singular noun.

Here, कुत्ता is masculine singular, so the adjective is:

• छोटा कुत्ता = small dog

Compare:

• छोटी कुतिया = small female dog
• छोटे कुत्ते = small dogs

So the ending of the adjective changes depending on gender and number.

In this sentence, छोटा goes with कुत्ता:

• छोटा कुत्ता = small dog

So the sentence means:

• A puppy is a small dog

This is important, because:

• पिल्ला छोटा है = The puppy is small
• पिल्ला छोटा कुत्ता है = The puppy is a small dog / A puppy is a small dog

In the first sentence, छोटा is just describing the puppy’s size.
In the second, छोटा कुत्ता is a whole noun phrase.

Yes, in this sentence both are masculine singular nouns.

That is why you see the -ा ending in both:

• पिल्ला
• कुत्ता
• छोटा

A lot of Hindi masculine singular words look like this, though not all masculine nouns end in -ा.

It can do either, depending on context.

As a standalone learner sentence, it is usually understood as a general statement:

• A puppy is a small dog.

But in a real conversation, it could also refer to a specific puppy if the context makes that clear:

• The puppy is a small dog.

Hindi often relies more on context than English does for this kind of distinction.

Both can work, but they feel slightly different.

• पिल्ला छोटा कुत्ता है = straightforward identification/definition
• पिल्ला छोटा कुत्ता होता है = more like a general fact, rule, or explanatory statement

For beginners, है is completely fine and very common.
If you want a more general truth or dictionary-definition feeling, होता है can sound more natural in some contexts.

The spelling कुत्ता shows a doubled consonant sound:

• कुत्ता ≈ kut-tā

So you hold the t a little longer than in a single त sound.

Also note:

• त in कुत्ता is a dental sound, made with the tongue touching the teeth.
• ट in छोटा is a retroflex sound, made with the tongue curled back a bit.

That means कुत्ता and छोटा use different t sounds.

It is pronounced roughly like:

• pil-lā

The ल्ल shows a doubled l sound, so the l is held a little longer.

A rough guide:

• पि = pi
• ल्ला = llā

So the whole word is something like pillā.

Hindi word order is somewhat flexible, but this sentence is already in the most natural neutral order:

• पिल्ला छोटा कुत्ता है

If you rearrange it, the sentence may sound marked, poetic, or unnatural for a beginner context.

So the safest pattern to learn is:

• subject + complement + है

Here:

• पिल्ला
  • छोटा कुत्ता
    • है

A natural plural version would be:

• पिल्ले छोटे कुत्ते हैं।

Changes:

• पिल्ला → पिल्ले
• छोटा → छोटे
• कुत्ता → कुत्ते
• है → हैं

So Hindi changes the noun, adjective, and verb to match the plural.