Key facts

  • Hindi nouns are mainly masculine or feminine, and that gender controls many adjective and verb forms.
  • Common masculine "आ" nouns often form feminine counterparts with "ई", as in "लड़का-लड़की", but exceptions must be learned by usage.
  • Suffixes such as "इन", "आनी" and "नी" often mark feminine forms in pairs such as "माली-मालिन" and "शेर-शेरनी".
  • Object nouns also carry grammatical gender: "किताब" is feminine, while "कमरा" is masculine.
  • Plural formation changes both noun endings and agreement words, so check the whole phrase, not the noun alone.

Key Points at a Glance

  1. 1

    Hindi nouns are mainly masculine or feminine, and that gender controls many adjective and verb forms.

  2. 2

    Common masculine "आ" nouns often form feminine counterparts with "ई", as in "लड़का-लड़की", but exceptions must be learned by usage.

  3. 3

    Suffixes such as "इन", "आनी" and "नी" often mark feminine forms in pairs such as "माली-मालिन" and "शेर-शेरनी".

  4. 4

    Object nouns also carry grammatical gender: "किताब" is feminine, while "कमरा" is masculine.

  5. 5

    Plural formation changes both noun endings and agreement words, so check the whole phrase, not the noun alone.

  6. 6

    Honorific plural uses plural agreement for respect, as in "प्रधानाचार्य आए" or "माताजी बैठी हैं" depending on accepted usage.

  7. 7

    First, second and third person pronouns guide verb agreement, especially in present and future forms.

  8. 8

    Respectful second-person "आप" takes plural-style agreement even when one person is addressed.

  9. 9

    Hindi tense recognition depends on tense markers and aspect markers such as "ता", "रहा", "चुका", "गा" and past participles.

  10. 10

    Sentence correction questions usually hide one mismatch in gender, number, person or tense inside an otherwise normal official sentence.

  11. 11

    A reliable objective method is to identify the subject or head noun, mark gender-number-person, then test each adjective and verb against it.

  12. 12

    Some adjectives are invariable, so do not invent forms for words such as "सुंदर", "विशेष" and "महत्वपूर्ण".

How do gender forms and agreement work in Hindi grammar?

Gender in Hindi grammar classifies nouns mainly as masculine or feminine, and that classification controls the form of nearby adjectives, participles and many verb phrases. The Hindi term is linga, but for LDC objective questions the first task is not to translate the noun; it is to recognise the agreement chain around it. According to the Rajasthan Subordinate and Ministerial Services Selection Board's LDC 2018 syllabus, General Hindi accounts for 75 questions in Paper II. A sentence such as "ladka aaya" is masculine singular because "ladka" pairs with "aaya"; "ladki aayi" is feminine singular because "ladki" pairs with "aayi". The same logic works with adjectives: "achchha ladka", "achchhi ladki", "bada ghar", "badi mez". Many masculine nouns end in "aa" and many corresponding feminine forms take "ee", as in "beta-beti", "ladka-ladki", "ghoda-ghodi". Some feminine forms are made with suffixes such as "in", "aani", "ni" or related forms: "mali-malin", "seth-sethani", "sher-sherni", "raja-rani". These patterns help, but they are not absolute rules. Words such as "pita" and "dada" are masculine by meaning; words such as "mata" and "dadi" are feminine by meaning. Objects also have grammatical gender that must be learned through usage: "kitab" is feminine, so "kitab achchhi hai" is correct; "kamra" is masculine, so "kamra bada hai" is correct. In exams, errors often hide in official-style sentences where the noun appears before a long phrase. The correction depends on the head noun: "yah suchana sahi hai" is natural because "suchana" is feminine and pairs with the invariant adjective "sahi", while a mismatched masculine form would be wrong. Another common trap is treating all abstract nouns alike. "Samasya", "vyavastha" and "suchana" are feminine in ordinary Hindi agreement, while "nirnay", "prayas" and "aadesh" are masculine. When a postposition such as "ne", "ko", "se" or "mein" appears, agreement can shift according to the structure, but basic recognition questions usually test the visible adjective or participle next to the noun: "nayi yojana", "purana aadesh", "mahatvapurna suchana", "spasht nirdesh". A practical correction method is to underline the head noun first, mark its gender, and then check every agreeing word. If the noun is feminine singular, look for "ee" forms or invariant adjective forms where appropriate; if it is masculine singular, look for "aa" forms in variable adjectives and participles. Some adjectives do not change, such as "sundar", "upayukt", "vishesh" and "mahatvapurna"; these should not be forced into artificial feminine forms. Thus, the examinee should combine pattern recognition with actual usage. Gender questions rarely ask for theory alone. They ask which option makes the sentence natural and grammatically consistent, so the correct answer is the option in which the noun, adjective, participle and verb behave as one agreement chain.