Plurals in English and Hindi: -s, -es and the Hindi Plural Patterns

English plurals mostly add -s, with a few surprises. Hindi has several patterns depending on the noun's ending and gender.

English plurals

Rule	Example
Add -s	book → books
Add -es after s, x, z, ch, sh	box → boxes, church → churches
Consonant + y → -ies	city → cities
Irregular	child → children, man → men, woman → women, foot → feet, mouse → mice
Same form	sheep → sheep, fish → fish

Hindi plural patterns

Type	Singular	Plural
masculine -ा	लड़का	लड़के
masculine (other)	घर	घर (unchanged)
feminine -ी	लड़की	लड़कियाँ
feminine (consonant)	किताब	किताबें
feminine (consonant)	बहन	बहनें

Notice that masculine nouns not ending in -ा stay the same: एक घर, दो घर.

The oblique plural

When a noun is followed by a postposition (में, पर, से, को, etc.), the plural changes to end in -ों:

• लड़कों को — to the boys
• किताबों में — in the books
• घरों में — in the houses

Translation tips

• English adds -s, Hindi changes the ending.
• When translating a Hindi plural, decide whether the English noun is countable.
• Uncountable English nouns (information, advice, furniture) have no plural, even though the Hindi equivalents may look plural.

Practice

• two boys — दो लड़के
• two girls — दो लड़कियाँ
• many books — बहुत सारी किताबें
• in the houses — घरों में

Tips

1. Learn plurals with nouns.
2. Practise the oblique plural with में and पर.
3. Look up irregular English plurals in the dictionary.

Look up any word with English Hindi Dictionary →