वह आदमी हिंदी बोलता है।

Breakdown of वह आदमी हिंदी बोलता है।

होना
to be
वह
that
आदमी
man
हिंदी
Hindi
बोलना
to speak
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Hindi grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Hindi now

Questions & Answers about वह आदमी हिंदी बोलता है।

How do you pronounce वह आदमी हिंदी बोलता है।?

A common pronunciation guide is:

vah aadmii hindii boltaa hai

A more natural-sounding everyday pronunciation is often closer to:

vo aadmi hindi bolta hai

A few notes:

  • वह is written vah, but in normal speech it is very often pronounced more like voh / vo.
  • आदमी is pronounced roughly aadmi.
  • हिंदी is hindii.
  • बोलता है is boltaa hai, though in fast speech hai may sound lighter.

The symbol at the end is the Hindi full stop, called the danda.

What is the basic word order in this sentence?

The sentence follows the typical Hindi word order:

Subject + Object/Language + Verb

So here:

  • वह आदमी = the subject
  • हिंदी = what he speaks
  • बोलता है = the verb

Hindi usually puts the verb at the end, unlike English. So where English says He speaks Hindi, Hindi says something more like He Hindi speaks.

What does वह mean here?

वह can mean either:

  • he / she / it
  • that

So वह आदमी can mean:

  • that man
  • or, depending on context, something like he, the man

In many beginner examples, it is translated simply as that man or he depending on what meaning is intended in context.

Also, Hindi does not have separate everyday words exactly matching English he and that in all situations. Words like यह and वह do double duty.

Why is there no word for the or a before आदमी?

Hindi normally does not use articles like English a, an, and the.

So:

  • आदमी can mean a man, the man, or just man
  • the exact meaning depends on context

That is why वह आदमी can naturally be understood as that man or the man without any separate article word.

What does आदमी mean, and is it masculine?

आदमी means man or sometimes more generally person in some contexts, though in this sentence it is understood as man.

Grammatically, it is treated as masculine singular here. That matters because the verb form बोलता agrees with a masculine singular subject.

So:

  • masculine singular: बोलता है
  • feminine singular: बोलती है
Why is हिंदी used without any extra word like in or language?

In Hindi, names of languages can often appear directly before verbs like speak, learn, understand, etc.

So:

  • हिंदी बोलता है = speaks Hindi
  • हिंदी सीखता है = learns Hindi
  • हिंदी समझता है = understands Hindi

You do not need an extra word meaning language here. It is understood naturally.

Why is the verb written as बोलता है in two words?

This is a very common Hindi verb pattern.

  • बोलता is the main verb form
  • है is the present-tense form of to be

Together, बोलता है gives a habitual/simple present meaning such as:

  • speaks
  • does speak
  • sometimes is in the habit of speaking

This pattern is extremely common in Hindi:

  • खाता है = eats
  • जाता है = goes
  • पढ़ता है = studies / reads
Why is it बोलता and not बोलती?

Because the subject is masculine singular: आदमी.

In this kind of present habitual construction, the participle-like part of the verb agrees with the subject in gender and number.

So:

  • वह आदमी हिंदी बोलता है। = masculine singular
  • वह औरत हिंदी बोलती है। = feminine singular

If the subject were plural masculine, you would typically get:

  • वे आदमी हिंदी बोलते हैं।
What exactly does बोलता है mean here: speaks or is speaking?

बोलता है usually expresses the habitual/simple present:

  • speaks
  • does speak
  • speaks regularly / generally

It does not usually mean is speaking right now.

For is speaking, Hindi normally uses the progressive:

  • वह आदमी हिंदी बोल रहा है। = That man is speaking Hindi.

So this sentence is better understood as a general fact or habit, not an action happening at this exact moment.

Why doesn’t the verb agree with हिंदी? Why does it agree with आदमी?

In this sentence, आदमी is the subject, and हिंदी is the object.

In the present habitual, the verb agrees with the subject, not the object. So the masculine singular subject आदमी gives:

  • बोलता है

If the subject changed, the verb would change accordingly:

  • वह लड़की हिंदी बोलती है।
  • वे लोग हिंदी बोलते हैं।

So the verb form is controlled by the speaker, not by the language being spoken.

Could this sentence also be said without वह?

Yes. Hindi often allows the subject to be omitted if it is clear from context.

For example:

  • आदमी हिंदी बोलता है।

This could mean The man speaks Hindi or A man speaks Hindi, depending on context.

However, keeping वह makes the reference more specific, like that man or he.

Can वह आदमी mean both that man and he is a man?

No. In this sentence, वह आदमी is a noun phrase meaning that man.

If you want to say he is a man, Hindi would need a different structure, such as:

  • वह आदमी है।

So:

  • वह आदमी हिंदी बोलता है। = That man speaks Hindi.
  • वह आदमी है। = He is a man.

The presence of हिंदी बोलता है makes it clear that आदमी is part of the subject phrase.

Why is there no marker like को after हिंदी?

Because हिंदी here is the direct object of बोलना in a simple sentence, and direct objects in Hindi often appear with no marker.

The postposition को is used in more specific situations, especially with animate, definite, or affected objects, but language names with बोलना are normally just used directly:

  • हिंदी बोलता है
  • अंग्रेज़ी बोलती है
  • उर्दू बोलते हैं

So the sentence is completely normal without को.

How would the sentence change if the speaker were a woman?

Then the verb would change to the feminine singular form:

  • वह औरत हिंदी बोलती है।
  • वह लड़की हिंदी बोलती है।

If you kept वह but changed only the understood person to a woman, you would still need the feminine verb form if the subject is feminine.

So the key contrast is:

  • masculine: बोलता है
  • feminine: बोलती है
How would this change in the plural?

For plural subjects, both the main verb form and the form of to be usually change.

Examples:

  • वे आदमी हिंदी बोलते हैं। = Those men speak Hindi.
  • वे लोग हिंदी बोलते हैं। = Those people speak Hindi.
  • वे औरतें हिंदी बोलती हैं। = Those women speak Hindi.

So:

  • singular masculine: बोलता है
  • singular feminine: बोलती है
  • plural masculine/mixed: बोलते हैं
  • plural feminine: बोलती हैं
Is हिंदी always written this way? I’ve also seen हिन्दी.

Yes, both spellings may be seen:

  • हिंदी
  • हिन्दी

In modern standard usage, हिंदी is very common and widely accepted. Learners will often see both, but हिंदी is simpler and extremely common in textbooks, media, and everyday writing.

So for practical learning, treat them as the same word.

Is the final है always necessary?

In standard written Hindi, yes, it should be included here:

  • वह आदमी हिंदी बोलता है।

In very casual speech, people may sometimes reduce or blur है, but learners should definitely keep it in normal speaking and writing.

Without है, the sentence sounds incomplete or nonstandard in most basic contexts.

So as a learner, it is safest to use:

  • बोलता है
  • not just बोलता