Hindi grammar · Beginner (A1)
Postpositions and the oblique case
Hindi puts small words like में (in) and से (from) after the noun. Learn the main ones and how nouns and pronouns change before them.
Small words after the noun
English uses prepositions before a noun: “in the room”. Hindi uses postpositions after it: (ghar men), literally “house in”.
With pronouns, the postposition (or its first part) is joined to the pronoun: (aapse, from you), (aapke liye, for you). With nouns it is written separately: (Raam ke liye, for Ram).
| Postposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (men) | in, inside | (ghar men) in the house |
| (par) | on, at | (mez par) on the table |
| (se) | from, with, by, since | (Dillee se) from Delhi |
| (ko) | to (a person); marks some objects | (Raam ko) to Ram |
| (tak) | up to, until | (steshan tak) as far as the station |
| , , (kaa, kee, ke) | of, ’s | (Raam kaa ghar) Ram's house |
| (ke liye) | for | (Raam ke liye) for Ram |
| (ke paas) | near; in someone's possession | (steshan ke paas) near the station |
- मैं दिल्ली से हूँ।Main Dillee se hoon.I'm from Delhi.
- चाबी मेज़ पर है।Chaabee mez par hai.The key is on the table.
- यह आपके लिए है।Yah aapke liye hai.This is for you.
The oblique case: nouns change before a postposition
Before a postposition, some nouns change their ending. Grammar books call this the oblique case. In the singular, only masculine nouns ending in -आ change, from -आ to -ए: (kamraa) → (kamre men, in the room). A few words for people, such as (pitaa, father), don't change.
In the plural, every noun ends in -ओं (-on) before a postposition: (larkon ko, to the boys), (gharon men, in the houses). Adjectives ending in -आ only change to -ए, in the singular and the plural: (bare kamre men, in the big room), (bare kamron men, in the big rooms).
| Noun | Singular + postposition | Plural + postposition |
|---|---|---|
| (larkaa) boy | (larke ko) | (larkon ko) |
| (ghar) house | (ghar men) | (gharon men) |
| (larkee) girl | (larkee se) | (larkiyon se) |
| (kitaab) book | (kitaab men) | (kitaabon men) |
- मैं कमरे में हूँ।Main kamre men hoon.I'm in the room.
- बच्चों के लिए दूध लाइए।Bachchon ke liye doodh laaiye.Please bring some milk for the children.
का, की, के: “of” agrees
(kaa) links two nouns like English “’s” or “of”, but the owner comes first: (Raam kaa ghar, Ram's house). It agrees with the thing owned, not with the owner: before a masculine singular noun, (kee) before a feminine noun, and (ke) before a masculine plural noun or a masculine noun followed by a postposition. is also used before a man you show respect to: (Raam ke pitaa jee, Ram's father).
- राम का भाईRaam kaa bhaaeeRam's brother
- राम की बहनRaam kee bahanRam's sister
- राम के दोस्तRaam ke dostRam's friends
- राम के घर मेंRaam ke ghar menin Ram's house
Pronouns before postpositions
Pronouns also change before a postposition. With (ko), most of them have a short form that is used more often: and (mujhko, mujhe) both mean “to me”. With (kaa) they become the possessives (meraa, my), (tumhaaraa, your) and so on, and postpositions that start with (ke) use the possessive too: (mere liye, for me), (tumhaare saath, with you).
| Pronoun | + (se, from, with) | + (ko, to) | + (kaa, of) |
|---|---|---|---|
| (main) | (mujhse) | , (mujhe, mujhko) | (meraa) |
| (too) | (tujhse) | , (tujhe, tujhko) | (teraa) |
| (tum) | (tumse) | , (tumhen, tumko) | (tumhaaraa) |
| (aap) | (aapse) | (aapko) | (aapkaa) |
| (yah) | (isse) | , (ise, isko) | (iskaa) |
| (vah) | (usse) | , (use, usko) | (uskaa) |
| (ham) | (hamse) | , (hamen, hamko) | (hamaaraa) |
| (ye) | (inse) | , (inhen, inko) | (inkaa) |
| (ve) | (unse) | , (unhen, unko) | (unkaa) |
- मुझसे हिंदी में बात कीजिए।Mujhse Hindee men baat keejiye.Please talk to me in Hindi.
- उसे पानी दीजिए।Use paanee deejiye.Please give him some water.
This and that before a postposition: इस, उस
(yah, this) and (vah, that) become (is) and (us) before a postposition, both on their own and before a noun: (ismen, in this one), (is rang men, in this colour), (us dukaan par, at that shop).
In the plural, (ye) and (ve) become (in) and (un): (inmen, in these), (un kamron men, in those rooms).
- इस रंग में लार्ज नहीं है।Is rang men laarj naheen hai.We don't have a large in this colour.
- उस दुकान में कपड़े सस्ते हैं।Us dukaan men kapre saste hain.Clothes are cheap in that shop.
- इन कुर्तों में लार्ज है।In kurton men laarj hai.These kurtas come in large.