I wanted to share a funny “Kaala Chashma” moment in class. I was teaching about nouns in Hindi and how nouns impact adjectives in Hindi.
We were learning clothing and accessories vocabulary in Hindi. I asked “why is it kaala chashma and not kaalee or kaalay chashma?”. And the student said, “be…cause it wouldn’t go with the song?”
hahahahahahaha
After I was done laughing, I said, “yep that’s exactly why” And then we watched the video in class and the students had a great time. 🙂
Since I am a Hindi teacher let me tell you how nouns impact adjectives in Hindi.
In Hindi every single noun is assigned into a category. There are two categories: male and female. The male category is called pul and the female category is called stri.
How do you know which category a noun goes into?
Rule 1: If the Hindi word ends with “a” sound then it is a pul (male) noun.
Rule 2: If the Hindi word ends with “ee” sound then it is a stri (female) noun.
Rule 3: If the Hindi word does not end with “a” nor “ee” sound then it is a pul (male) noun.
These rules work for the most part. NOT all the time.
The Noun Category
Impacts the Adjective
When we say how nouns impact adjectives, what we really mean is how the noun category impacts the adjective.
And before we get into that let’s review what an adjective is. An adjective is a word that describes a noun. That means a word or words that communicate information about the noun. And how do we do that? We use the 5 senses to describe nouns.
Adjectives in Hindi
There are two categories of adjectives: the ones that end with the “a” sound and those that do not.
You can see examples of adjectives that end with “a” below, such as bada, chota, and lamba.
Here are examples of adjectives that do not end with “a”.
The adjectives that end with “a” inflect. That means their ending changes as you can see below. Here the nouns are bacha, bachee, and bachay.
All adjectives that end with “a” have 3 inflections:
- a (singular pul nouns)
- ee (singular and plural stri nouns)
- ay (plural pul nouns + mixed gender plural + respectful form)
Adjectives That Do
Not End With “a”
The adjectives that do not end with “a” do not inflect. The noun category has no bearing on the adjective. The adjective does not inflect regardless of the noun.
So that is how nouns impact adjectives in Hindi.
Want to Have Fun
While Learning Hindi?
At Virtual PreSkool, we have funny kaala chashma moments in class all the time. Join us for online classes from the convenience of your home. We have classes for toddlers, tweens and teens, throughout the week, the weekend across time zones.
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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 make learning Hindi accessible to children and adults residing outside India. To build confidence speaking Hindi and feel more connected to their family, culture, and heritage.
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!
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