वह खाना ठंडा है।

That food is cold.

Breakdown of वह खाना ठंडा है।

• होना: to be
• वह: that
• ठंडा: cold
• खाना: food

Questions & Answers about वह खाना ठंडा है।

What does each word in वह खाना ठंडा है do?

• वह = that (and in other contexts it can also mean he or she)
• खाना = food here
• ठंडा = cold
• है = is

So the sentence is built like:

वह + खाना + ठंडा + है
that + food + cold + is

Why does खाना mean food here? I thought खाना means to eat.

Good question. खाना can be:

• a verb: to eat
• a noun: food or meal

In this sentence, it is clearly a noun because it is being described by the adjective ठंडा (cold).

So here:

• खाना ठंडा है = The food is cold

Compare:

• मैं खाना खाता हूँ = I eat food / I eat
• खाना ठंडा है = The food is cold

Hindi often uses the same form for related noun and verb ideas, so context matters a lot.

Does वह mean that, he, or she?

It can mean all three, depending on context.

• वह = that
• वह = he
• वह = she

In वह खाना ठंडा है, the most natural reading is that food is cold, because वह is directly pointing to खाना.

If you were talking about a person, context would make that clear:

• वह ठंडा है would usually sound odd for a person unless you meant emotionally cold or physically cold in some special context.

So in this sentence, वह is best understood as a demonstrative: that.

Why is the word order वह खाना ठंडा है instead of something more like English?

Hindi often uses a different word order from English.

A very common Hindi pattern is:

subject + adjective/complement + verb

So:

• वह खाना = that food
• ठंडा = cold
• है = is

Literally, it is closer to:

That food cold is.

This is normal in Hindi. The main verb, especially है, often comes at the end.

Why is it ठंडा and not ठंडी?

Because खाना is a masculine singular noun.

In Hindi, adjectives often agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe.

• masculine singular: ठंडा
• feminine singular: ठंडी
• masculine plural: often ठंडे
• feminine plural: often ठंडी (depending on construction)

Since खाना is masculine singular, you say:

• खाना ठंडा है = The food is cold

Compare:

• रोटी ठंडी है = The bread/roti is cold
  because रोटी is feminine

How do I know that खाना is masculine?

Unfortunately, noun gender in Hindi often has to be learned word by word, though there are patterns.

खाना is treated as a masculine noun. You can see that from adjective agreement:

• गरम खाना = hot food
• ठंडा खाना = cold food

A useful habit is to learn nouns together with an adjective or verb form that shows gender.

For example:

• अच्छा खाना = good food
• ठंडा खाना = cold food

That helps you remember that खाना is masculine.

What is the role of है here?

है is the present-tense form of the verb to be for he/she/it/this/that and singular nouns.

So in this sentence it works like is:

• वह खाना ठंडा है = That food is cold

Without है, the sentence may sound incomplete in standard Hindi, especially in careful speech.

Compare:

• यह अच्छा है = This is good
• वह बड़ा है = That is big
• खाना ठंडा है = The food is cold

Can I leave out वह and just say खाना ठंडा है?

Yes, absolutely.

• खाना ठंडा है = The food is cold
• वह खाना ठंडा है = That food is cold

Adding वह makes it more specific, like pointing out a particular food or dish.

So:

• use खाना ठंडा है when the food is already understood from context
• use वह खाना ठंडा है when you want to say that food

How is वह pronounced? Is it really like vah?

In careful transliteration, वह is often written vah, but in actual speech it is very often pronounced more like voh.

So learners commonly hear:

• वह spoken as voh

This is normal.

Similarly:

• यह is often pronounced yeh

So the sentence may sound like:

• voh khaanaa thandaa hai

How do I pronounce ठंडा?

ठंडा is roughly pronounced thun-daa, but with an important detail:

• ठ is a retroflex aspirated sound, not the English t
• ं here nasalizes the syllable and is part of the ठंड sound
• डा ends with a retroflex d sound

A rough learner-friendly guide:

• ठंडा ≈ thun-daa

But the first sound is made with the tongue curled slightly back. It is not exactly like English th in thin.

Is वह खाना a noun phrase meaning that food?

Yes.

In this sentence, वह खाना works as a noun phrase:

• वह = demonstrative (that)
• खाना = noun (food)

So together:

• वह खाना = that food

This is similar to:

• वह आदमी = that man
• वह किताब = that book
• वह घर = that house

Then the rest of the sentence says something about it:

• ठंडा है = is cold

How would I make this sentence negative?

Put नहीं before है:

• वह खाना ठंडा नहीं है। = That food is not cold.

This is a very common pattern:

subject + description + नहीं + है

Examples:

• यह अच्छा नहीं है। = This is not good.
• कमरा बड़ा नहीं है। = The room is not big.

How would I turn it into a question?

There are two common ways.

1. Use rising intonation in speech:

   • वह खाना ठंडा है? = Is that food cold?

2. Add क्या at the beginning:

   • क्या वह खाना ठंडा है? = Is that food cold?

The second one is especially clear and common in standard Hindi.

What would change if the noun were feminine?

The adjective would usually change to match.

For example, with रोटी (feminine):

• वह रोटी ठंडी है। = That roti is cold.

Compare:

• वह खाना ठंडा है।
• वह रोटी ठंडी है।

So the key change is:

• masculine singular: ठंडा
• feminine singular: ठंडी

Could this sentence refer to a specific dish rather than food in general?

Yes.

खाना can mean:

• food in general
• a meal
• a dish, depending on context

So वह खाना ठंडा है could mean:

• That food is cold
• That meal is cold
• That dish is cold

The exact English translation depends on the situation, but the Hindi grammar stays the same.