Questions & Answers about अभी पानी ठंडा है।
In this sentence, अभी means now, right now, or at the moment.
It gives the sentence a current-time feeling: the water is cold at this time.
A useful warning: अभी can mean slightly different things in other contexts, such as just now or even soon, so you always have to read it in context. But in अभी पानी ठंडा है, the natural reading is right now.
Hindi normally does not use articles like a, an, or the.
So पानी can mean:
- water
- the water
The context tells you which one sounds best in English.
If Hindi wants to be more specific, it can use words like यह (this) or वह (that), but very often no article is needed at all.
Because ठंडा is being used as a predicate adjective here.
Hindi often structures this kind of sentence as:
noun + adjective + form of “to be”
So:
- पानी ठंडा है = The water is cold
But if you want cold water as a noun phrase, then the adjective usually comes before the noun:
- ठंडा पानी = cold water
So the difference is:
- पानी ठंडा है = the water is cold
- ठंडा पानी = cold water
Because ठंडा agrees with पानी, and पानी is a masculine singular noun.
In Hindi, many adjectives change form to match the gender and number of the noun. ठंडा is one of those changeable adjectives.
Basic pattern:
- masculine singular: ठंडा
- masculine plural: ठंडे
- feminine singular/plural: ठंडी
So:
- पानी ठंडा है = water is cold
- चाय ठंडी है = tea is cold
That is a very common learner question.
The short answer is: noun gender in Hindi is not always predictable from the ending.
It is true that many nouns ending in -ी are feminine, but पानी is an important exception: it is masculine.
So this is something you simply have to learn with the noun:
- पानी = masculine
Hindi has many nouns whose gender must be memorized individually.
है is the present-tense form of होना (to be). Here it means is.
So the structure is:
- पानी = water
- ठंडा = cold
- है = is
Together: The water is cold.
For learners, it is best to think of है as an essential part of a normal present-tense sentence like this.
In normal standard Hindi, you should keep it.
So say:
- अभी पानी ठंडा है।
Not:
- अभी पानी ठंडा। (unnatural for standard speech)
You may sometimes see है omitted in:
- headlines
- notes
- poetry
- very casual spoken fragments
But as a learner, the safe rule is: include है in this kind of sentence.
Yes, absolutely.
Hindi word order is more flexible than English word order. Both of these are natural:
- अभी पानी ठंडा है
- पानी अभी ठंडा है
The difference is mainly one of focus or emphasis:
- अभी पानी ठंडा है puts right now first
- पानी अभी ठंडा है starts with the water
Both mean essentially the same thing.
A simple learner-friendly pronunciation is:
ṭhan-ḍaa
A few helpful points:
- ठ is not the English th in think or this
- it is a retroflex aspirated t sound: your tongue curls back a bit
- ंड sounds like nḍ
- ा at the end is a long aa
So the whole word is roughly: ṭhan-ḍaa
If you want an easy approximation, say something like thun-daa, but remember that the real Hindi sounds are more retroflex than English ones.
Not always.
Depending on context, ठंडा can be translated as:
- cold
- cool
For water, both may be possible in English depending on the situation. Hindi does not always draw the same sharp distinction that English does.
So in context, पानी ठंडा है could mean:
- the water is cold
- the water is cool
The adjective would change form to match the feminine noun.
For example:
- चाय ठंडी है। = The tea is cold.
Compare:
- पानी ठंडा है। (masculine noun)
- चाय ठंडी है। (feminine noun)
Notice:
- ठंडा → masculine
- ठंडी → feminine
The verb है stays the same here because both nouns are singular.
A very useful pattern is:
[time word] + [noun] + [adjective] + [है]
So here:
- अभी = time word
- पानी = noun
- ठंडा = adjective
- है = is
This pattern is extremely common in Hindi:
- आज मौसम अच्छा है। = The weather is good today.
- कमरा साफ़ है। = The room is clean.
- दूध गरम है। = The milk is hot.
So अभी पानी ठंडा है is a great example of a very common Hindi sentence type.