Number (Vachan) — Patwari Notes
This page gives the definition of vachan (number), the rules for forming the plural (unmarked, case-marked, and vocative forms), words that are always singular or always plural, and the honorific plural.
- Class 1–8 level
- 7 min read
What is Vachan (number)?
The form of a noun or pronoun that indicates its number (one or many) is called vachan (grammatical number). Hindi has two numbers — singular (ekvachan: लड़का, नदी, पुस्तक) and plural (bahuvachan: लड़के, नदियाँ, पुस्तकें). Sanskrit has three numbers — singular, dual, and plural; Hindi has no dual.
Number affects not just the noun but the whole sentence — the adjective and verb change too: 'अच्छा लड़का खेलता है' ('a good boy plays') becomes 'अच्छे लड़के खेलते हैं' ('good boys play'). So for words whose form doesn't change (घर — house, मनुष्य — person, बालक — child, हाथी — elephant), identify their number from the verb: 'मनुष्य आया' (singular — 'the person came'), 'मनुष्य आए' (plural — 'the people came').
Rules for forming the plural (unmarked form)
| Rule | Singular → Plural |
|---|---|
| Masculine ending in 'आ': 'आ' → 'ए' | लड़का → लड़के (boy → boys), कमरा → कमरे (room → rooms), घोड़ा → घोड़े (horse → horses), बेटा → बेटे (son → sons) |
| Exception: relational words and some tatsam words ending in 'आ' don't change | पिता, चाचा, दादा, राजा, नेता, योद्धा (father, uncle, grandfather, king, leader, warrior) — 'पिता आए', 'राजा आए' |
| Feminine ending in 'अ': 'अ' → 'एँ' | बहन → बहनें (sister → sisters), पुस्तक → पुस्तकें (book → books), आँख → आँखें (eye → eyes), रात → रातें (night → nights) |
| Feminine ending in 'आ': 'एँ' after 'आ' | माता → माताएँ (mother → mothers), लता → लताएँ (vine → vines), कथा → कथाएँ (story → stories), सुविधा → सुविधाएँ (facility → facilities) |
| Feminine ending in 'इ'/'ई': → 'इयाँ' | नदी → नदियाँ (river → rivers), तिथि → तिथियाँ (date → dates), संस्कृति → संस्कृतियाँ (culture → cultures), रोटी → रोटियाँ (bread → breads) |
| Feminine words ending in 'इया': 'या' → 'याँ' | चिड़िया → चिड़ियाँ (bird → birds), गुड़िया → गुड़ियाँ (doll → dolls), डिबिया → डिबियाँ (small box → small boxes) |
| Feminine ending in उ, ऊ, औ: → 'एँ' ('ऊ' shortens) | वस्तु → वस्तुएँ (thing → things), बहू → बहुएँ (daughter-in-law → daughters-in-law), गौ → गौएँ (cow → cows) |
| Masculine not ending in 'आ': form doesn't change | घर, बालक, मनुष्य, हाथी, साधु, डाकू (house, child, person, elephant, sage, bandit) — 'दो हाथी आए' ('two elephants came') |
Words like गण, वर्ग, जन, वृंद, दल (group, class, people, cluster, troop) are also added to indicate number: छात्रगण (students), गुरुजन (teachers), अध्यापक वर्ग (teaching staff), मित्रवृंद (circle of friends).
Case-marked and vocative forms
| Situation | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| With a case marker (ने, को, से, में, पर) | The word ends in 'ओं'; words ending in ई/इ take 'इयों' | लड़कों ने (the boys), घरों में (in the houses), पुस्तकों को (to the books), नदियों का (of the rivers), पूँजीपतियों को (to the capitalists), साधुओं से (from the sages) |
| Vocative plural | Ends in 'ओ' — no anusvara/chandrabindu is added | भाइयो और बहनो! (brothers and sisters!), बच्चो! (children!), साथियो! (comrades!) |
'भाइयों और बहनों!' is incorrect in the vocative; the correct form is 'भाइयो और बहनो!' This comes up again and again in sentence-correction questions.
Words always used in singular and always used in plural
| Always plural | Always singular |
|---|---|
| लोग — 'लोग आए हैं' ('people have come'), 'हम लोग' ('we people') | जनता — 'जनता जाग गई है' ('the public has woken up') |
| प्राण — 'उसके प्राण निकल गए' ('his life left him') | Mass nouns (dravyavachak): पानी, दूध, घी, सोना, चाँदी, तेल (water, milk, ghee, gold, silver, oil) |
| दर्शन — 'आपके दर्शन हुए' ('I had the honour of seeing you') | Abstract nouns (bhaavvachak): प्रेम, क्रोध, आनंद, दया, सत्य (love, anger, joy, mercy, truth) |
| हस्ताक्षर — 'उसके हस्ताक्षर नहीं मिले' ('his signature wasn't found') | सामग्री, सामान, भोजन, आकाश, वर्षा (material, goods, food, sky, rain) |
| आँसू — 'आँसू बहने लगे' ('tears began to flow') | Collective nouns treated as one unit (samoohvachak): सेना, भीड़, कक्षा (army, crowd, class) — 'भीड़ जमा हो गई' ('a crowd gathered') |
| होश — 'उसके होश उड़ गए' ('he was stunned') | सभ्यता, संस्कृति (in general usage) (civilisation, culture) — 'भारतीय संस्कृति प्राचीन है' ('Indian culture is ancient') |
| समाचार (in the sense of 'news') — 'क्या समाचार हैं?' ('what's the news?') | To express a plural sense for these, other words are added instead: पानी की बूँदें (drops of water), सोने के गहने (gold ornaments) |
Abstract nouns and words like संस्कृति (culture) can also appear in the plural when indicating different kinds — 'विश्व की विभिन्न संस्कृतियाँ' ('the world's different cultures'). So if asked for the plural of 'संस्कृति', 'संस्कृतियाँ' is correct.
The honorific plural and points to note
To show respect, a plural verb is used even for one person: 'पिताजी आ रहे हैं' ('Father is coming'), 'गुरुजी पढ़ा रहे हैं' ('the teacher is teaching'), 'आप कहाँ जा रहे हैं?' ('where are you going?'). Here there is only one person, but the grammatical usage is plural. Out of pride or formality, 'हम' ('we') is also sometimes used in place of 'मैं' ('I').
Some words change number depending on meaning. 'बाल' is singular for a single strand of hair ('बाल टूट गया' — 'a hair broke') and plural for a head of hair ('उसके बाल सुंदर हैं' — 'her hair is beautiful'). Masculine words ending in a consonant, like 'मनुष्य', 'किसान', 'बालक' (person, farmer, child), stay the same in both numbers in their unmarked form — on this same basis 'मनुष्य' stays the same in both numbers, while 'घोड़ा' changes (घोड़े), and 'यह' is a pronoun.
Also remember the plural forms of pronouns: मैं (I) → हम (we), तू (you, informal) → तुम (you), यह (this) → ये (these), वह (that) → वे (those). 'ये' and 'वे' are plural; in standard written Hindi, use 'यह' and 'वह' for the singular.
Memory trick / exam tip
'लोग प्राण दर्शन हस्ताक्षर आँसू होश' — six words, always plural; remember the mnemonic sentence: 'लोगों के दर्शन से आँसू आए, होश उड़े, प्राण बचे, हस्ताक्षर हुए' ('seeing the people brought tears, startled me, saved my life, and got the signatures done'). And if सामग्री, भोजन, जनता, आनंद, पानी (material, food, public, joy, water) appear among the options, these are always singular — rule them out first.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many numbers (vachan) does Hindi have?+
Hindi has two numbers — singular and plural. Sanskrit has three, including the dual.
Which words are always used in the plural?+
लोग, प्राण, दर्शन, हस्ताक्षर, आँसू, होश, समाचार (in the sense of news) are the main ones.
Why is there no anusvara in 'भाइयो और बहनो'?+
In the vocative plural, the word ends only in 'ओ', with no anusvara — so 'भाइयो, बहनो, बच्चो' are the correct forms.
What is the plural of 'नदी'?+
The unmarked plural form is 'नदियाँ', and the case-marked form is 'नदियों' (as in नदियों में — 'in the rivers').