प्याज़ काटिए।

• प्याज़ = onion
• काटिए = cut / please cut

So the sentence is an instruction or command: Cut the onion.

काटिए comes from the verb काटना, meaning to cut.

In Hindi, commands usually leave out the subject because it is understood.

So प्याज़ काटिए। naturally means:

• (You) cut the onion.
• more naturally in English: Cut the onion.

If you want, you can include the pronoun for emphasis:

• आप प्याज़ काटिए। = You cut the onion.

But in normal instructions, the pronoun is often omitted.

काटना is the dictionary form of the verb, meaning to cut.

But here you need a command form because the sentence is telling someone to do something.
That command form is काटिए.

So:

• काटना = to cut
• काटिए = cut / please cut

This is a very common pattern in Hindi: the verb changes form depending on whether you are stating, asking, commanding, and so on.

Yes. काटिए is a polite / respectful imperative.

Hindi has different command levels depending on who you are talking to:

• काट = very informal
• काटो = familiar
• काटिए = polite / respectful

So प्याज़ काटिए। sounds polite. It is also very common in:

• recipes
• instructions
• classroom language
• formal or neutral directions

Even when no special respect is meant, Hindi often uses this polite form in instructions because it sounds natural and smooth.

Hindi does not have articles like a, an, and the the way English does.

So प्याज़ can mean:

• an onion
• the onion
• sometimes even onion in a more general sense

The exact meaning comes from the context.

That is why प्याज़ काटिए। can be translated as Cut the onion even though there is no separate word for the.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• प्याज़ ≈ pyaaz
• काटिए ≈ kaa-tee-ye

A few helpful notes:

• In प्याज़, the beginning प्य sounds like py in pure, but smoother together.
• या has a long aa sound.
• काटिए has a long kaa at the start.
• The ट sound is a retroflex sound, made with the tongue curled slightly back. It is not exactly the same as an English t.
• The ending इए is often pronounced like iye.

So overall: pyaaz kaa-ṭi-ye.

The letter ज़ represents a z sound.

So:

• ज = usually j
• ज़ = usually z

In प्याज़, the dot shows that the word is pronounced more like pyaaz with a z sound.

However, in everyday Hindi, many speakers do not strongly distinguish ज and ज़, and you may also see the word written as:

• प्याज़
• प्याज

Both are common, and both refer to onion.

Yes, you could, but प्याज़ काटिए is more natural in a simple instruction.

The marker को is often omitted with direct objects, especially in straightforward commands like this one.

So:

• प्याज़ काटिए। = the normal, simple instruction
• प्याज़ को काटिए। = possible, but slightly more marked or explicit

In everyday recipe-style or classroom-style language, प्याज़ काटिए is the version you will hear most often.

By itself, प्याज़ does not always make number completely explicit in the way English does. Context helps.

In many situations, प्याज़ काटिए will be understood as:

• Cut the onion

But depending on context, Hindi can also use ingredient words more generally, so it may sometimes feel closer to:

• Cut onion
• Cut the onions

If you want to make one onion very clear, you can say:

• एक प्याज़ काटिए। = Cut one onion.

Both काटिए and काटिये are used, and they mean the same thing.

• काटिए is often preferred in modern standard spelling.
• काटिये is also very common in real-life writing.

So if you see either form, do not worry: they are just spelling variants of the same polite imperative.

Not in this sentence.

प्याज़ is generally treated as a feminine noun, but in an imperative like काटिए, the verb form does not change to match the gender of the object.

So even if the noun has gender, the command stays:

• प्याज़ काटिए।

That is why you do not see any special feminine marking on काटिए here.