Hindi Nouns vary:
- by Gender: masculine, feminine 1
- by Number: singular, plural 1
- by Case: nominative, oblique, vocative
Nouns are either masculine or feminine, and “gender” is not equivalent to physical gender (much like every other gendered language that I have seen). Number and case of course vary based on the object(s) and their use in the sentence or relationship to other lexical objects in the sentences structure.
Cases
- Nominative forms indicate the subject of a verb.
- Oblique forms are used before postpositions.
- Vocative forms are used for direct address.
Masculine Nouns
Masculine nouns can be broken up into three varieties, (a) those with nominative ending in आ -ā, (b) those ending with any other sound, and (c) the tricky ones, Sanskrit loanwords that end in आ but are not declined according to pattern (a).
| (a) | ||
| Number | Nominative | Oblique |
|---|---|---|
| singular | आ -ā | ए -e 2 |
| plural | ए -e | ओं -õ |
| (b) | ||
| Number | Nominative | Oblique |
| singular | whatever it is | same as nominative singular |
| plural | same as nominative singular | nominative singular + ओं -õ |
| (c) | ||
| Number | Nominative | Oblique |
| singular | आ -ā | same as nominative singular |
| plural | same as nominative singular | ओं -õ 3 |
Feminine Nouns
As with masculine nouns, there are three patterns for feminine nouns, but they are not the same: The patterns are described by their nominative endings: (d) those with nominative endings in इ/ि -i or ई/ी -ī, (e) those ending in ई/ी -yā, and (f) all others.
| (d) | ||
| Number | Nominative | Oblique |
|---|---|---|
| singular | इ -i or ई -ī | same as nominative singular |
| plural | इयँ -iyā̃ | इयों -iyõ |
| (e) | ||
| Number | Nominative | Oblique |
| singular | या -yā | same as nominative singular |
| plural | याँ -yā̃ | यों -yõ |
| (f) | ||
| Number | Nominative | Oblique |
| singular | whatever it is | same as nominative singular |
| plural | एँ -ẽ | ओं -õ |
Additional Notes
- If there are options missing here, please let me know. I am in the process of adding things, and this post may be edited in the future as I have more information. In other words, I won’t guarantee the options provided are an exhaustive list.
- Proper nouns and some relationship terms do not change in the oblique, instead keeping the singular nominative form. Note that the singular masculine in आ is the only singular that changes in the oblique.
- Ok, in all honesty, this is an educated guess… Some of the stuff I have read says that all plural oblique nouns end in ओ, while elsewhere I have seen that Sanskrit loanwords never change in the oblique. So I’m not sure which it is. Any help here appreciated!
You are right. Sanskrit loanwords do not change into the oblique form. Hence, raajaa, maataa, pitaa, etc. remain unchanged (raajaa ko, maataa ko, pitaa ko, etc).