Questions & Answers about यह बच्चा छोटा है।
Yes — यह can mean this or, in many contexts, he/she for someone nearby.
In यह बच्चा छोटा है, यह is working like this, because it comes before the noun बच्चा:
- यह बच्चा = this child / this boy
If यह stood by itself, it could mean:
- यह छोटा है = This is small / He is small / She is small
Hindi often uses the same word for this and this person/he/she nearby, and context tells you which meaning is intended.
The sentence breaks down like this:
- यह = this
- बच्चा = child / boy
- छोटा = small / little
- है = is
So the structure is basically:
- this + child + small + is
Very literally:
- This child small is.
Natural English:
- This child is small.
- This boy is small.
Because this sentence is being used predicatively, not attributively.
Compare:
यह छोटा बच्चा है = This is a small child
- Here छोटा comes before बच्चा, like an ordinary adjective before a noun.
यह बच्चा छोटा है = This child is small
- Here छोटा is part of the predicate, so it comes later, before है.
So in your sentence, छोटा means small in the sense of is small, not small child as one noun phrase.
Because बच्चा is masculine singular, and the adjective agrees with it.
In Hindi, many adjectives change form depending on gender and number. छोटा is one of those adjectives.
Forms of छोटा:
- छोटा = masculine singular
- छोटी = feminine singular
- छोटे = masculine plural, and also some other masculine contexts
So:
- यह बच्चा छोटा है। = This boy/child is small.
- यह बच्ची छोटी है। = This girl/child is small.
है is the present-tense form of to be here — basically is.
So:
- छोटा है = is small
It connects the subject and the description, just like is in English.
A few related forms:
- मैं ... हूँ = I am
- तुम ... हो = you are
- वह/यह ... है = he/she/it/this is
- वे/ये ... हैं = they/these are
So है matches a singular subject like यह बच्चा.
Usually, in a normal full sentence like this, no — you should keep है.
- यह बच्चा छोटा है = correct, complete sentence
If you say only:
- यह बच्चा छोटा
it sounds incomplete in standard Hindi, like saying This child small.
In casual speech, Hindi sometimes drops words in very informal contexts, but for learners, it is best to include है in sentences like this.
Hindi usually does not use articles the way English does.
So बच्चा can mean:
- a child
- the child
- sometimes just child in a general sense
Context tells you which one is most natural.
In this sentence, यह बच्चा already means this child, so no article is needed. Hindi does not need a separate word for the here.
In careful spelling, it is written यह, but in modern speech it is very often pronounced more like yeh.
So learners commonly hear:
- यह → yeh
This is normal.
A rough pronunciation guide for the whole sentence:
- यह = yeh
- बच्चा = bach-chaa
- छोटा = chho-taa
- है = hai (like high, but shorter and lighter)
So the sentence sounds roughly like:
- yeh bach-chaa chho-taa hai
The च्च shows a doubled consonant sound: cch.
So बच्चा is pronounced roughly:
- bach-chaa
not just ba-chaa
You can think of it as a stronger break in the middle:
- bac + chaa
This kind of doubled consonant is common in Hindi spelling and pronunciation.
It can mean child, but in this form it is grammatically masculine, so it often feels like boy unless the context is general.
- बच्चा = child/boy (masculine singular form)
- बच्ची = girl/child (feminine singular form)
- बच्चे = children / boys, depending on context
So यह बच्चा छोटा है could be understood as:
- This child is small
- This boy is small
Context decides which translation is best.
You would change the noun, and the adjective and verb may also change to agree.
For a girl:
- यह बच्ची छोटी है।
- This girl/child is small.
For these children:
- ये बच्चे छोटे हैं।
- These children are small.
Notice the changes:
- यह → ये for these
- बच्चा → बच्चे for plural
- छोटा → छोटे for masculine plural
- है → हैं for plural
This is a very common pattern in Hindi.