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.