Hindi grammar basics
Five ideas unlock most of everyday Hindi: the verb goes last, nouns have gender, "prepositions" come after the noun, the verb होना ("to be") is everywhere, and there are three words for "you". Here is each, with clear examples.
Hindi grammar looks daunting from a distance, but the structure is remarkably regular once you see the pattern. The biggest adjustment for English speakers is simply where things go in a sentence — and once that flips into place, the rest follows. This page assumes you can read a little Devanagari; if not, start with the alphabet and vowels first. Every example below pairs Hindi with romanization and a word-for-word English gloss.
1. Word order: Subject–Object–Verb
English is SVO — Subject, Verb, Object: "I eat an apple." Hindi is SOV — the verb lands at the end. So the same sentence is literally "I apple eat am":
| Hindi | Roman | Literal / meaning |
|---|---|---|
| मैं सेब खाता हूँ। | main seb khaata hoon | "I apple eat am" → I eat an apple |
| वह हिंदी सीखती है। | vah hindi seekhti hai | "She Hindi learns is" → She learns Hindi |
| हम चाय पीते हैं। | ham chaai peete hain | "We tea drink are" → We drink tea |
2. Gender: masculine and feminine
Every Hindi noun has a gender — masculine or feminine — and this is true even of lifeless objects. A useful rule of thumb: many masculine nouns end in ा (-aa) and many feminine ones end in ी (-ee), though there are plenty of exceptions to memorise. What matters is agreement: adjectives and verbs change their endings to match the noun's gender.
| Hindi | Roman | English |
|---|---|---|
| अच्छा लड़का | achchha ladka | a good boy (masculine) |
| अच्छी लड़की | achchhi ladki | a good girl (feminine) |
| बड़ा घर | bada ghar | a big house (masculine) |
| बड़ी किताब | badi kitaab | a big book (feminine) |
Notice अच्छा → अच्छी and बड़ा → बड़ी. The verb agrees too: a man says मैं जाता हूँ (main jaata hoon) and a woman says मैं जाती हूँ (main jaati hoon) for the same "I go".
3. Postpositions, not prepositions
English puts little words like "in", "on" and "from" before the noun. Hindi puts them after — they are postpositions. "In the house" is घर में (ghar mein), literally "house in".
| Postposition | Roman | Meaning / example |
|---|---|---|
| में | mein | in → घर में (in the house) |
| पर | par | on / at → मेज़ पर (on the table) |
| से | se | from / with / by → दिल्ली से (from Delhi) |
| को | ko | to / marks the object → मुझको (to me) |
| ने | ne | marks the subject of a past transitive verb |
The last two need a word of warning. को (ko) marks a definite or animate object — "I saw the boy" uses it. ने (ne) is the famous "ergative" marker, attached to the subject when the verb is past and transitive: मैंने खाया (maine khaaya, "I ate"). Both are advanced points — for now, just know that these little words follow the noun.
4. The verb होना ("to be")
The single most useful verb is होना (hona, "to be"). Its present-tense forms change with the subject:
| Pronoun | Form | Roman | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| मैं main | हूँ | hoon | I am |
| तू tu | है | hai | you (intimate) are |
| तुम tum | हो | ho | you (informal) are |
| यह / वह yah / vah | है | hai | this/that, he/she/it is |
| आप aap | हैं | hain | you (formal) are |
| हम / वे ham / ve | हैं | hain | we / they are |
So मैं ठीक हूँ (main theek hoon) is "I am fine", and आप कैसे हैं? (aap kaise hain?) is "How are you?" — a phrase you will use daily. See it in context on the greetings page.
5. Pronouns and the three "you"s
The core pronouns are मैं (main, I), हम (ham, we), यह (yah, this / he-she nearby), वह (vah, that / he-she at a distance), and the plural वे (ve, they). The point that needs care is "you", which comes in three registers:
| Word | Roman | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| आप | aap | Formal, respectful — elders, strangers, anyone you would address politely |
| तुम | tum | Informal — friends, peers, younger people you know |
| तू | tu | Intimate — very close friends, children, or in prayer; can sound rude if misused |
Putting it together
With these five pieces you can already form simple, correct sentences: subject first, object next, verb last; adjectives agreeing in gender; postpositions trailing their nouns; होना doing the work of "is/am/are"; and the right level of "you". Build your vocabulary alongside the grammar with the numbers page and a structured start in Hindi for beginners.
Translate your own text
Write a short English sentence below and see how Hindi reorders it, with the verb dropping to the end.