Hindi Adjective (विशेषण-) Definition, Types in English Meaning & Examples

Adjectives in Hindi

  • Inflected
  • Uninflected
  • Types of Adjectives
  • Degree of Adjectives
  • Derivation of Adjectives
  • Numerals
    • Cardinals
    • Ordinals
    • Fractions
    • Multiplicatives
    • Approximation
    • Aggregation

Adjectives Definition:

Adjectives are words that are used to describe or modify nouns or pronouns. Adjectives are words that describe the qualities or states of being of nouns: enormous, doglike, silly, yellow, fun, fast. They can also describe the quantity of nouns: many, few, millions, eleven. Depending on the language, an adjective can precede a corresponding noun on a prepositive basis or it can follow a corresponding noun on a postpositive basis. Structural, contextual, and style considerations can impinge on the pre- or post- position of an adjective in a given instance of its occurrence. In English, occurrences of adjectives generally can be classified into one of three categories: Adjectives in Hindi can be classified into two groups: (i) inflected and (ii) uninflected.

1. Inflected Definition and Examples

Adjective. communicable by infection, as from one person to another or from one part of the body to another: infectious diseases.These adjectives are inflected for gender and number.

Masculine Feminine
Sg Pl Sg/Pl
बड़ा badaa बड़े bade बड़ी badee big
छोटा chhotaa छोटे chhote छोटी chhotee small
लंबा lambaa लंबे lambe लंबी lambee tall
काला kaalaa काले kaale काली kaalee black
हरा haraa हरे hare हरी haree green
अच्छा achchhaa अच्छे achchhe अच्छी achchhee good

2. Uninflected Definition and Examples

These adjectives are not inflected for number and gender.

सुंदर लड़का/लड़की sundar ladkaa /ladkee beautiful boy/girl
दुखी आदमी /औरत dukhee aadamee/ aurat sad man/woman
सफेद कपड़ा/ कमीज़ saphed kapadaa/kameez white cloth/shirt

Types of Adjectives

There are two broad types of adjectives:
(i) those that describe a quality or quantity, and
(ii) those that distinguish one person or thing from another.

सुंदर लड़की sundar ladkee a beautiful girl
शर्मीला लड़का sharmeelaa ladkaa a bashful boy

The adjective शर्मीला sharmeelaa is derived by adding the suffix – ईला eelaa to the noun stem. Negative qualities are expressed by a separate set of adjectives and also by adding negative prefixes.

बदसूरत औरत bad-soorat aurat an ugly woman
बेशर्म लड़का be-sharm ladkaa a shameless boy

Quantity may be expressed either by numerals or by the adjectives of quantity like बहुत bahut / अधिक adhik 'a lot,' काफीI kaaphee 'sufficient,' कम kam 'less,' थोड़ाa thodaa 'a little.'

छे किताबें chhe kitaaben six books
बहुत लेग bahut leg many people
थोड़ा दूध thodaa doodh a little milk

Adjectives of quantity may also be formed by the combination of numeral + unit of measure + (classifier (terms of weight, length))/genitive postposition) (+ the particle वाला vaalaa) + noun.

दो सौ गज़ लंबी (वाली) रस्सी |

do sau gaz lambee (vaalee) rassee

two hundred yards long (gen.) rope

the two-hundred-yard long rope


दो किलो वज़न वाला पत्थर |

do kilo vazan vaalaa patthar

two kilo weight-gen stone

the stone weighing two kilograms


The postposition से se is used in the formation of reduplicated adjectival phrases.

अधिक से अधिक adhik se adhik at most
कम से कम kam se kam at least
अच्छे से अच्छा achchhe se achchhaa the best of all
बुरे से बुरा bure se buraa worst of all
मीठे से मीठा meethe se meethaa very sweet

Almost all pronouns can function as adjectives. The demonstrative adjectives that point out persons or things यह - yah 'this,' ye 'these' वह vah 'that,' ve 'those' - are used in the initial position.


यह घर yeh ghar this house
ये किताबें ye kitaaben these books
वह लड़का vah ladkaa that boy
वे बच्चे ve bachche those children

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions.

कौन लड़का? kaun ladkaa? which boy?
क्या काम? kyaa kaam? what work?

The possessive pronouns particularize or show relation.

मेरा / तेरा दोस्त meraa/teraa dost my/your friend
मेरी/ आपकी बहिन meree/aapakee bahin my/your sister
उसका / उनका भाई uskaa/unkaa bhaaee his/their brother

Indefinite and relative pronouns, too, function as adjectives.


कोई अखबार koee akhbaar some newspaper
कुछ सब्ज़ियाँ kuchh sabziyaan some vegetables
जो बच्चा jo bachchaa the child who

Degree of Adjectives in Hindi:

The three degrees of adjectives are positive, comparative and superlative. The comparative and superlative degrees are used to compare between two or more subjects or objects.

 For example

Tina is smarter than Abhishek


In this sentence, the comparative degree (smarter) of the adjective 'smart' is used to compare between the two persons.

For example

Tina is the smartest girl in the class


In this sentence, the superlative degree (smartest) of the same adjective is used to compare a person against two or more people. 

The superlative adjective is also used to qualify a person or an object as the best among all its counterparts.

For example


Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

There are three varieties of adjectival degrees: superlative, comparative and minimal. Superlative and comparative degrees of qualities are denoted with the help of the postposition से se attached to the noun or pronoun (in oblique form) with which the comparison is made. Superlative involves comparison with all.

For example

सब से बड़ी इमारत sab se badee imaarat the biggest building
सब से सुंदर लड़की sab se sundar ladkee the most beautiful girl

Comparative involves comparison between two.

अपने दोस्त से लंबा apne dost se lambaa taller than his friend

Comparative involves comparison between two.

मेरा अच्छा दोस्त meraa achchhaa dost my good friend

The postposition में mei is also alternately used to denote the superiority of one out of two or more.

दोनों में बड़ा donon mei badaa bigger of the two
सब में ऊँचा sab mei oonchaa the tallest

Sometimes, the phrase की अपेक्षा kee apekshaa 'in comparison to' is substituted for से se.


उमा की अपेक्षा लंबी umaa kee apekshaa lambee taller than Uma

Notice that words अधिक/ज़्यादा adhik/zyaadaa 'more' and कम kam 'less' may be prefixed to adjectives for denoting comparison.


सोने से अधिक
चमकीला
sone se adhik
chamkeelaa
brighter than gold
फूल से ज़्यादा कोमल phool se zyaadaa komal more delicate than a flower
बीस से कम bees se kam less than twenty

5. Derivation of Adjectives

Derivative Adjectives, which often become nouns, are either Nominal (from nouns or adjectives) or Verbal (as from roots or verb stems). Diminutive Adjectives are usually confined to one gender, that of the primitive, and are used as Diminutive Nouns.


A large number of adjectives are derived from nouns by adding the suffixes -आ -aa, -ई -ee, -उ-u, -इला -ilaa, -लू -loo, -इक -ik, -जनक -janak, - दाई-daaee, -मय -mai, -वन -van, -आना -aanaa , - नाक- naak, -ईन-een, -मंद - mand, and - दार- daar.


-आ –aa
Noun Adjective
सच sach truth सच्चा sachchaa truthful
झूठ jhooth lie झूठा jhoothaa liar
भूख bhookh hunger भूखा bhookhaa hungry

-ई –ee
कीमत keemat price कीमती keemtee expensive
सुख sukh comfort सुखी sukhee happy
नेक nek good नेकी nekee goodness
पहाड़ pahaad mountain पहाडी pahaadee mountainous

-ऊ –oo
पेट pet stomach पेटू petoo voracious
बाज़ार baazaar market बाज़ारू baazaaru common

-ईला –eelaa
रस ras juice रसीला raseelaa juicy
ज़हर zahar poison ज़हरीला zahareelaa poisonous
खर्च kharch expense खर्चीला kharcheelaa expensive
पत्थर patthar stone पत्थरीला patthreelaa stony

-लू-loo
श्रद्धा shradhaa faith श्रद्धालू shradhaaloo devotee
दया dayaa kindness दयालू dayaaloo kind

-इक -ik
समाज samaaj society समाजिक samaajik social
विज्ञान vigyaan science विज्ञानिक vigyaanik scientific
वर्ष varsh year वार्षिक vaarshik yearly

-जनक -janak
आशा aashaa hope आशाजनक aashaajanak hopeful
चिंता chintaa worry चिंताजनक chintaajanak worried

-दाई –daaee
सुख sukh comfort सुखदाई sukhdaaee comfortable
दुख dukh pain दुखदाई dukhdaaee painful

-मई –maee
आशा aashaa hope आशामई aashaamaee hopeful

- वान- vaan
धन dhan wealth धनवान dhanvaan wealthy
बल bal strength बलवान balvaan strong

-आना –aanaa
साल saal year सालाना saalaanaa yearly
रोज़ roz day रोज़ाना rozaanaa daily
मर्द mard man मर्दाना mardaanaa manly

- नाक- naak
दर्द dard pain दर्दनाक dardnaak painful
खौफ khauph fear खौफनाक khauphanaak frightful
खतरा khatraa danger खतरनाक khatarnaak dangerous

-ईन -een
रंग rang color रंगीन rangeen colorful
नमक namak salt नमकीन namkeen salty
शौक shauk liking शौकीन shaukeen fond

-मंद -mand
अक्ल akl wisdom अक्लमंद aklmand wise
दौलत daulat wealth दौलतमंद daulatmand wealthy

-दार -daar
माल maal property
मालदार maaldaar wealthy
ज़मीन zameen land
ज़मीनदार zameendaar landlord
दुकान dukaan shop
दुकानदार dukaandaar shopkeeper

When सा saa 'like' is attached to the oblique forms of nouns or pronouns, they function as adjectives.


फूल सा phool saa flower-like
मुझसा mujhasaa/ तुमसा tum saa me-like/you-like

सा saa is also attached to adjectives to denote 'looking, seeming.' When added to quantitative adjectives, it intensifies the meaning.


लाल सा laal saa red-looking
बड़ा सा badaa saa big-looking
दुबला सा dublaa saa slim-looking
कमज़ोर सा kamzor saa weak-looking
ऊँचा सा oonchaa saa high-looking
बहुत सा bahut saa a great deal
थोड़ा सा thodaa saa just a little

The forms of सा saa (agreeing in number and gender with the noun) are also added to the genitive/possessive forms to denote a similarity of quality, or possession.


गाय का सा मुंह gaay kaa saa munh a face like that of a cow
उनके से कपड़े unke se kapde clothes similar to his
मेरी meree/ तेरी सी नाक teree see naak a nose like mine/yours

सा saa may be replaced by जैसा jaisaa with nouns and pronouns (other than indefinite or interrogative ones.)


बंदर सा /जैसा bandar saa/jaisaa similar to a monkey
तुम सा/जैसा tum saa/jaisaa like you

The forms of saa sa: can be added to कोई koee and कौन kaun to indicate 'any one,' and 'which one' respectively.


कोई सा रंग koee saa rang any color
कोई सी कमीज़ koee see kameez any shirt
कौन सा कोट kaun saa kot which coat
कौन सी कमीज़ kaun see kameez which shirt

6. Numerals

A numeral is a symbol or name that stands for a number.

Numerals are adjectives indicating number. They may by divided into cardinals, ordinals, or multiplicatives.

6.1. Cardinals

A cardinal number is a number such as 1, 3, or 10 that tells you how many things there are in a group but not what order they are in. Compare ordinal number.

Cardinal numeral forms in Hindi are given below.

एक ek 1
दो do 2
तीन teen 3
चार chaar 4
पाँच paanch 5
छे chhe 6
सात saat 7
आठ aath 8
नौ nau 9
दस das 10

More...

Starting with one hundred, the numerals proceed regularly.

(एक) सौ (ek) sau 100
एक सौ एक ek sau ek 101
एक सौ दो ek sau do 102
दो सौ do sau 200
दो सौ do sau 201
एक हज़ार ek hazaar 1000
दो हज़ार तीन do hazaar teen 2003
दो हज़ार सात do hazaar saat 2007

The numerals one thousand and above are as follows.

(एक) हज़ार (ek) hazaar one thousand
दस हज़ार das hazaar ten thousand
लाख laakh hundred thousand
दस लाख das laakh million
करोड़ karod ten million
अरब arab thousand million (billion)
खरब kharab hundred billion

6.2. Ordinals

An ordinal number or an ordinal is a word such as 'first', 'third', and ' tenth' that tells you where a particular thing occurs in a sequence of things. Compare cardinal number.

a number denoting relative position in a sequence, such as first, second, third,etc,.

The first six ordinals are पहला pahlaa 'first,' दूसरा doosraa 'second'; तीसरा teesraa 'third'; चौथा chauthaa 'fourth'; पांचवा paanchvaa 'fifth'; छठा chathaa 'sixth.' The suffix - आं-aam is added to the cardinals from seven onwards to make ordinals: सातवां saatvaan 'seventh'; आठवां aathvaan 'eighth'; नौवां nauvaan 'ninth'; दसवां dasvaan 'tenth'; बीसवां beesvaan 'twentieth'; तीसवां teesvaan 'thirteenth'; सौवां sauvaan 'hundredth' हज़ारवां hazaarvaan 'thousandth' etc.

Adjectives of Quantity

Nouns denoting measure, and weight preceded by a numeral or by an adjective denoting an indefinite number, such as कोई koee or कुछ kuch, are used as adjectives of quantity.

तीन किलो चावला teen kilo caaval three kilograms of rice
दो प्याले चाय do pyaale caay two cups of tea
कुछ बोतल शहद kuchh botal shahad some bottles of honey
कई किलो दूध kaee kilo doodh several kilos of milk

Collective Adjectives

Some regular numerals can be replaced by collective adjectives like जोड़ा jodaa 'pair,' चौकड़ा chaukadaa 'four,' पंजा panjaa 'five,' छक्का chakkaa 'six,' दर्जन darjan 'dozen,' बीसी beesee / कोड़ी kodee 'score,' सैंकड़ा sainkadaa 'hundred.' They are treated as nouns and may be qualified by the regular numerals.

दो जोड़े कपड़े do jode kapde two pairs of clothes
तीम दर्जन सेब teen darjan seb three dozens of apples

The सैंकड़ा sainkadaa is also used in the sense of 'per hundred.' बीस रुपए सैंकड़ा bees rupye sainkadaa twenty rupees per hundred

6.3. Fractions

A fraction (from Latin fractus, "broken") represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts.

In addition to being of great practical importance, fractions are also studied by mathematicians, who check that the rules for fractions given above are consistent and reliable.

Fractions are expressed as follows:

एक बटे चार / पाव ek bate chaar/paav one quarter
(paav is used mainly for denoting weights)
एक बटे तीन /तिहाई ek bate teen/tihaaee one-third
एक बटे दो /आधा ek bate do/aadhaa half
एक बटे चार /पैन teen bate chaar/pain three quarters
एक सही एक बटे
चार / सौवा
ek sahee ek bate
chaar/sauvaa
one and a quarter
एक सही एक बटे दो डेढ़ ek sahee ek bate do/dedh one and a half
दो सही एक बटे दो ढ़ाई do sahee ek bate do/dhaee two and a half
पौने दो paune do two less by a quarter
पौने तीन paune teen three less by a quarter
साढ़े तीन saadhe teen three and a half

Note that साढ़े saadhe denoting 'half' is attached to the numerals beginning with three: साढ़े चार saadhe chaar 'four and half,साढ़े पांच saadhe paanch 'five and half,' etc. The system of denoting fractions is also used to denote fractions of hundred, thousand, ten thousand, etc.

सवा सौ savaa sau 125
डेढ़ सौ dedh sau 150
सढ़ाई sdhaaee sau 250
डेढ़ हज़ार dedh hazaar 1,500
सवा दो लाख savaa do laakh 2,25,000

6.4. Multiplicatives

The multiplication of whole numbers may be thought as a repeated addition; that is, the multiplication of two numbers is equivalent to adding as many copies of one of them, the multiplicand, as the value of the other one, the multiplier. The multiplier can be written first and multiplicand second (though the custom can vary by culture both can be called factors.

Multiplicatives are formed by attaching गुना gunaa 'multiplied by' to the numerals. The numerals 2 to 8 are slightly modified.

दुगना dugnaa or दूना doona: 'double,' तिगुना tigunaa 'threefold,' चौगुना chaugunaa 'fourfold,' पंचगुना panchgunaa 'fivefold,' छ्गुना chhaguna 'sixfold,' सतगुना satgunaa 'sevenfold,' अठगुना athgunaa 'eightfold.' After this the forms are regular: नवगुना navgunaa 'ninefold,' दसगुना dasgunaa 'tenfold,' बीसगुना beesgunaa 'twentyfold,' तीसगुना teesgunaa 'thirtyfold,' सौगुना saugunaa 'hundredfold,' हज़ारगुना hazaargunaa 'thousandfold. The गुना gunaa can be attached to fractions too: सवा गुना Savaa gunaa 1¼ times as much, डेढ़ गुना dedh gunaa 1½ times as much, ढ़ाई गुना dhaaee: gunaa 2 ½ times as much.

6.5. Approximation

Approximation is expressed by placing कोई koee, लगभग lagbhag, or प्राया praayaa before the numeral.

The term can be applied to various properties (e.g., value, quantity, image, description) that are nearly, but not exactly correct; similar, but not exactly the same (e.g., the approximate time was 10 o'clock).

The type of approximation used depends on the available information, the degree of accuracy required, the sensitivity of the problem to this data, and the savings (usually in time and effort) that can be achieved by approximation.

कोई बीस आदमी koee bees aadmee about twenty persons
लगभग पाँच सौ लोग lagbhag paanch sau log about five hundred people
प्राया दो सौ वर्ष praayaa do sau varsh about two hundred years
पहिले pahile ago

It is also expressed by certain pairs of numerals

दो-एक do-ek one or two
दो-तीन do-teen about two or three
दस-पांच das-paach about ten
सौ-सवा सौ sau-savaa sau about 125

Reduplication of a numeral denotes '… at a time,' or '…per piece.'

दो-दो लड़के do-do ladke two boys at a time
एक-एक लड़के को तीन-तीन ek-ek ladke ko teen-teen Give three books to
किताबें दो | kitaaben do each boy.

6.6. Aggregation

Aggregation is expressed by adding – ओं –om to a numeral. In the case of दो do, -नों-nom is added. (e.g., दोनों donon 'both,' तीनों teenon 'all the three,' चारों chaaron 'all the four,' दसों dason 'all the ten,' बीसों beeson 'all the twenty,' etc.). Notice that –इयों-iyon is added to numerals दस das or बीस bees to indicate an indefinite large number (e.g., दसियों dasiyon 'several tens,' बीसियों beesiyon 'several scores,' etc.)

The suffix -ओं –om is also added to the nouns signifying duration, measures, weight to indicate large and indefinite number or quantity. (e.g., महीनों maheenon 'a number of months,' बरसों barson 'a number of years,' बोरियों अनाज boriyon anaaj 'sackfulls of grains,' etc.