Hindi grammar · Beginner (A1)
Adjectives: changing and unchanging
Adjectives ending in -आ change for gender and number, like अच्छा, अच्छी, अच्छे. Other adjectives never change.
Adjectives ending in -आ change
Many common adjectives end in -आ (-aa): (achchhaa, good), (baraa, big), (chhotaa, small), (nayaa, new). They change to match the noun: -आ for a masculine singular noun, -ई (-ee) for any feminine noun, and -ए (-e) for a masculine plural noun. becomes (naee) and (naye).
An adjective goes before the noun, or after it with (hai): (baraa ghar, a big house), (ghar baraa hai, the house is big).
| Number | Masculine | Feminine |
|---|---|---|
| singular | (achchhaa larkaa) | (achchhee larkee) |
| plural | (achchhe larke) | (achchhee larkiyaan) |
- यह नया घर है।Yah nayaa ghar hai.This is a new house.
- मेरी गाड़ी पुरानी है।Meree gaaree puraanee hai.My car is old.
- ये केले बहुत मीठे हैं।Ye kele bahut meethe hain.These bananas are very sweet.
Adjectives that never change
Adjectives that don't end in -आ stay the same with every noun: (sundar, beautiful), (laal, red), (khush, happy), (saaf, clean), (kharaab, bad, broken). A few adjectives ending in -आ don't change either, such as (badhiyaa, great) and (zyaadaa, more, too much).
- यह एक सुंदर शहर है।Yah ek sundar shahar hai.This is a beautiful city.
- मेरी बहन बहुत ख़ुश है।Meree bahan bahut khush hai.My sister is very happy.
- खाना बढ़िया था।Khaanaa badhiyaa thaa.The food was great.
Before a postposition
When a masculine noun is followed by a postposition such as (men, in), an adjective ending in -आ takes -ए, even in the singular: (baraa kamraa, a big room), but (bare kamre men, in the big room). Feminine adjectives always stay -ई: (chhotee gaaree men, in the small car).
- हम एक छोटे होटल में रुके।Ham ek chhote hotal men ruke.We stayed in a small hotel.
- वह नीली गाड़ी में बैठी है।Vah neelee gaaree men baithee hai.She is sitting in the blue car.
Comparing
Hindi has no “-er” or “-est” endings. To compare, put (se, than) after the thing you compare with: “this room that room than big is”. For “the most” or “the best”, use (sabse, than all).
- यह कमरा उस कमरे से बड़ा है।Yah kamraa us kamre se baraa hai.This room is bigger than that room.
- यह सबसे अच्छा होटल है।Yah sabse achchhaa hotal hai.This is the best hotel.
More and less: ज़्यादा and कम
When there is no “than”, put (zyaadaa, more) or (kam, less) before the adjective: (zyaadaa achchhaa, better), (kam mahangaa, less expensive). (behtar) also means “better” and is a little more formal.
(bahut) means “very”, and the context often makes it “too”: (yah bahut mahangaa hai), it's very expensive, or it's too expensive.
- दूसरा फ़्लैट ज़्यादा अच्छा है।Doosraa flait zyaadaa achchhaa hai.The second flat is better.
- यह होटल कम महँगा है।Yah hotal kam mahangaa hai.This hotel is less expensive.
- यह कुर्ता मेरे लिए बहुत छोटा है।Yah kurtaa mere liye bahut chhotaa hai.This kurta is too small for me.