Key facts

  • Samas compresses two or more meaningful words; samas-vigrah expands the hidden relation.
  • Avyayibhav compounds usually function adverbially, as in "यथाशक्ति" or "प्रतिदिन".
  • Tatpurush keeps the second member dominant and hides a case-like relation such as "का", "में", or "के लिए".
  • Karmadharaya describes the same object, as in "नीलकमल" meaning a blue lotus.
  • Dvigu normally has a numeral and denotes a counted group, collection, or measure.

Key Points at a Glance

  1. 1

    Samas compresses two or more meaningful words; samas-vigrah expands the hidden relation.

  2. 2

    Avyayibhav compounds usually function adverbially, as in "यथाशक्ति" or "प्रतिदिन".

  3. 3

    Tatpurush keeps the second member dominant and hides a case-like relation such as "का", "में", or "के लिए".

  4. 4

    Karmadharaya describes the same object, as in "नीलकमल" meaning a blue lotus.

  5. 5

    Dvigu normally has a numeral and denotes a counted group, collection, or measure.

  6. 6

    Dvandva joins equal members and its vigrah commonly uses "और".

  7. 7

    Bahuvrihi points outside the compound and often expands with "जिसका" or "जिसके".

  8. 8

    A prefix must leave a meaningful base and must change the word meaning in a recognizable way.

  9. 9

    "अ", "अन", "बे", and "ना" often show negation or absence, but similar initial letters are not always prefixes.

  10. 10

    Krit suffixes attach to verbal bases and commonly form doer nouns, action nouns, or participial adjectives.

  11. 11

    Taddhit suffixes attach to noun or adjective bases and commonly form abstract nouns, possessive adjectives, and relational adjectives.

  12. 12

    For objective questions, use the routine: split the word, expand the meaning, label the construction, then eliminate wrong options.

How does word-formation logic appear in LDC Paper II?

Word-formation in LDC Paper II is tested as objective recognition of compounds, prefixes, suffixes and their internal meanings, not as a long descriptive grammar answer. According to the Rajasthan Subordinate and Ministerial Services Selection Board, LDC 2018 syllabus, Paper II carried 150 questions. This topic sits inside the LDC Paper II General Hindi block, where the official pattern is objective: 150 questions, 100 marks, 3 hours, equal marks for all questions, and one-third negative marking. The same paper is divided into 75 General Hindi and 75 General English questions. That matters for preparation because samas, prefixes, and suffixes are not asked as long descriptive answers. They are tested as form recognition: identify the samas type, choose the correct samas-vigrah, find the prefix used in a word, separate the root from the prefix or suffix, or mark the option that is not formed with the given prefix. The safest preparation method is therefore not to memorise isolated lists only, but to learn how a word is built.

Samas means compounding: two or more meaningful words combine and become a compact samasik pad. In a compound, case markers, postpositions, conjunctions, and explanatory words are usually suppressed. Samas-vigrah reverses that compression and expands the compound into its fuller phrase. For example, rajputra may be expanded as raja ka putra; the relation hidden inside the compound is possession or relation. In neelkamal, the first member qualifies the second, so the expansion is neela kamal. In pratidin, the sense is adverbial: din-pratidin or har din depending on usage. The examination asks which internal relation is active, not merely whether two words are joined.

Prefixes and suffixes are different from samas. A prefix is a bound or semi-bound word element placed before a base: pra + gati gives pragati; a + yogya gives ayogya; anu + karan gives anukaran. A suffix comes after a base and forms a new word or a new grammatical category: likh + ak gives lekhak; meetha + aas gives mithaas; raja + tva gives rajatva. Prefixes mainly change direction, intensity, negation, sequence, quality, or relation. Suffixes often create nouns, adjectives, abstract nouns, agents, qualities, places, or states.

The main trap is visual guessing. A word beginning with su is not always prefix plus base; sur is not su + r in exam logic. A word ending in ta is not automatically a suffixal abstract noun; mata should not be split as ma + ta. Similarly, every long word is not a compound. The candidate must ask: can the remaining part stand as a meaningful base after removing the suspected prefix or suffix? Does the proposed expansion preserve the meaning of the given word? Does the answer option match the dominant internal relation?

For LDC-level practice, build a three-step habit. First, identify the construction: compound, prefixal word, or suffixal word. Second, test the split: members must be meaningful and the meaning after expansion must remain close to the given word. Third, match the technical label only after understanding the relation. This order prevents common errors such as calling trilok dvandva only because it has a number, or treating kuputra as a samas when the real formation is prefix ku plus putra. The rest of the topic follows this same form-first method.