What is Inflection in Hindi?

In my conversational Hindi classes online for kids students often ask, what is inflection in Hindi? Inflection is a fancy word that simply means that the ending of a word changes. For example: ladka and ladki. 

Did you hear and see how the words are identical except for the last sound? That’s called inflection. The root word is ladka and it inflects to ladki. 

Hindi has A LOT of inflection. It’s one of the most inflectional languages in the world. In Hindi you’ll find inflection based on:

• Gender
• Respectful Form
• Quantity

Gender Inflection. We just did a gender example of inflection: ladka and ladki. 
Respectful Form. Dada vs. Dadaji – Adding the “ji” at the end makes it respectful.  
Quantity Inflection. Bacha (1 child) vs. Bachay (children – plural)

Inflection =  the ending of a word changes

Learning inflection in Hindi can be tricky for native English speakers because English doesn’t have a lot of inflection. Changing a word from singular to plural is one of the few examples of inflection in English: crayon vs. crayons.

But don’t worry. Once you understand inflection, it opens the flood gates to understanding and speaking more Hindi. 

Why Is Inflection Important in Hindi? 

Inflection is important in Hindi because it has a direct impact on meaning. For example ladka (boy) vs. ladki (girl) and bacha (child) vs. bachay (children). 

Inflection Quick Tip

Any adjectives that end with an “a” sound inflect.

• Neela (blue)
• Hara (green)
• Pathala (thin/skinny)
• Halka (light)

They have two inflections each. 

a

ee

ay

Adjectives that do not end with an “a” sound do not inflect, for example:

• Narangi
• Bhaari
• Rangeen
• Swaadisht

How Do You Know Which
Inflected Adjective To Use? 

Going back to the adjectives that end with an “a” sound that do inflect, how do you know which one to use? 

That is an excellent question, Padawan!

In Hindi adjectives and nouns go together in the same way that chai and Parle G’s go together. I don’t know about you but when I have chai it feels incomplete without Parle G’s. In the same way nouns and adjectives, in Hindi, are incomplete without each other. 

Side note: Have you tried Parle G Gold? If you haven’t you’re seriously missing out. 

In order to understand which inflected adjective to use, you have to understand nouns in Hindi. I wrote a whole separate article on that which you might want to read. There’s also a video.

Respectful Form Inflection

In Hindi we add “ji” to end of words to show respect. Most commonly this is applied to the titles of relatives:

• Dadaji (Paternal grandfather)
• Dadiji (Paternal grandmother)
• Nanaji (Maternal grandfather)
• Naniji (Maternal grandmother)
• Masiji (Maternal aunt)
• Buaji (Paternal aunt)

And more. 

Another form of inflection in the respectful form is when addressing or referring to elder male relatives.

For example:

My Uncle lives in Los Angeles. 
Mere Mamu Los Angeles mein rehte hain.

Instead of Mamu, what if we were talking about a male friend. Let’s see how the sentence would change:

My friend lives in Los Angeles. 
Mera daust Los Angeles mein rehta hain. 

See how the words: mera and rehta changed to the respectful form mere and rehte when talking about Mamu? 

These nuances are built into the language to reflect Indian culture and society which is very community oriented and hierarchical. For those of us that grew up in the US or other Western countries that takes some getting used to as American society is the opposite – it revolves around the individual and is non-hierarchical.

Speaking of Indian culture and society, you might be wondering, why the respectful form only applies to elder male relatives – what about elder female relatives? Hindi does not  have an inflection for that. The sentence would be the same for your aunt as well your girlfriend:

Meri Masi Los Angeles mein rehti hain.
Meri saheli Los Angeles mein rehti hain.   

The only inflections are to the word “my”: Mera inflected to Meri because the sentence is about a female. And the verb “rehna” (to live) was conjugated to reflect that the sentence is about a female. 

Side note: Verbs inflect but that’s not what it’s called. When a verb changes, that’s called conjugation. 

Plural Inflection 

Nouns inflect in Hindi when changing them from singular to plural. If only it was as simple as it is in English…just add an “s” (for most words). But in Hindi it’s more complicated. The noun’s category and its ending sound determine how to change it from singular to plural. 

If it’s a pul noun that ends with an “a” sound, inflect to an “ay” sound at the end:

ladka becomes ladkay

If it’s a pul noun that does not end with an “a” sound, then inflect to an “o” sound at the end:

bandar becomes bandaro

If it’s a stri noun that ends with an “ee” sound, inflect to “ya” sound at the end:
ladki becomes ladkiyan

If it’s a stri noun that does not end with an “ee” sound, inflect to “ay” sound at the end:

raath becomes raathay. 

There are more details about when to inflect from singular to plural and how to use them in conversational Hindi but we won’t address that here. 

Summary

Inflection means that the ending of a word changes. Hindi has a lot of inflection. Inflection occurs based on gender, respectful form and quantity. In this article we detailed these 3 forms of inflection, how they manifest as well as their impact on meaning when speaking and understanding Hindi.  

I hope this information helps you as you pursue learning Hindi. Dhanyavaad!

Fun Conversational Hindi Classes for Kids and Adults Outside India

We have a number of classes throughout the week and weekend at varying time zones for toddlers to tweens. Use the form below to tell us your child’s age, experience with Hindi, and your time zone.

Have you ever watched a Bollywood movie and everyone else was laughing and…you didn’t understand the joke? Or maybe your grandparents speak to you in Hindi…and your response is a sweet smile and “theek hain” to everything?

That was me too.

Growing up in Orange County, California, I understood Hindi long before I confidently spoke it. But over time, I became curious. Friday nights became “Hindi movie nights” with my mom — parathas, Bollywood movies, and LOTS of questions.

Eventually, I started speaking more Hindi at home.

One of my favorite memories was visiting family in Delhi when my Chachi said: Tumhari Hindi bahut achi hai.

That was a moment for me.

I started Virtual PreSkool to help kids, growing up outside, India build confidence speaking Hindi and feel more connected to their family, culture, and heritage.

And honestly? One of the best parts of teaching is hearing students excitedly share:

• “My Nani cried when I said “pranam”!
• “When we were in India my dad didn’t know how to ask for directions, but I did!”

After graduating from UC Irvine and earning my MBA from USC Marshall, I spent years as an entrepreneur before creating Virtual PreSkool.

When I’m not teaching Hindi, I’m usually exercising, cooking vegan meals, or planning my next trip. I look forward to seeing you in class!