Sanskrit Gender and Number: Masculine, Feminine, Neuter and the Three Vachans
Gender and number are two of the most basic concepts in Sanskrit, yet getting them wrong throws off both shabd roop and sentence construction — especially द्विवचन, which Hindi doesn't have at all. This page explains how to identify all three genders and clearly tells apart all three vachans, with examples.
- No direct 2024 PYQ on record — syllabus-based
- Class 6-8 level
- 8 min read
How ling-vachan is asked in REET
There is no REET 2024 question linked to this topic in RajStudy's database yet, so the question style suggested here is not based on any one specific past paper but directly on the official REET syllabus and standard Sanskrit grammar textbooks — it felt important to say that honestly. You're usually asked to identify a word's correct gender, or to choose the correct dual/plural usage in a sentence. Hindi-medium students forget द्विवचन most often of all, so it deserves special attention.
Three genders in Sanskrit
Sanskrit nouns have three genders — पुल्लिंग/masculine (such as राम, बालक, वृक्ष), स्त्रीलिंग/feminine (such as लता, बालिका, नदी) and नपुंसकलिंग/neuter (such as फल, पुस्तक, जल). As in Hindi, there's no single universal rule for assigning gender in Sanskrit — many words simply have to be memorised from the dictionary or from convention.
That said, there is a general tendency worth knowing: most a-ending words are either masculine or neuter, while most aa-ending and ee-ending words are feminine — but this is only a helpful hint, not an absolute rule, so watch out for exceptions.
Representative Words for the Three Genders
| Gender | Identification cue | Example words |
|---|---|---|
| पुल्लिंग (Masculine) | Usually a-ending or i-ending | रामः, बालकः, वृक्षः, हरिः |
| स्त्रीलिंग (Feminine) | Usually aa-ending or ee-ending | लता, बालिका, नदी, माला |
| नपुंसकलिंग (Neuter) | Usually a-ending, but with a special form in प्रथमा-द्वितीया | फलम्, पुस्तकम्, जलम्, वनम् |
Note — 'वृक्षः' (tree) is masculine, matching Hindi's 'पेड़', but 'नदी' (river) is feminine in both Sanskrit and Hindi; gender doesn't always carry across languages the same way, so it's best learned together with the word itself.[Source 2]
The Three Vachans
| Vachan | Meaning | Example (राम, प्रथमा vibhakti) |
|---|---|---|
| एकवचन (Singular) | For one object/person | रामः (one Ram) |
| द्विवचन (Dual) | For exactly two objects/people | रामौ (both Rams) |
| बहुवचन (Plural) | For more than two objects/people | रामाः (many Rams) |
द्विवचन is Sanskrit's distinctive signature — both Hindi and English have only singular and plural, so this concept is both new and important when learning Sanskrit.
How gender and number shape shabd roop
Knowing a noun's gender is the first thing you need before you can build its correct form, because in the same vibhakti, different genders produce completely different forms — प्रथमा singular looks like 'रामः' for masculine, 'लता' for feminine and 'फलम्' for neuter, all in the same vibhakti. Number changes the form too — so the whole shabd roop table really rests on gender and number together, and without understanding both properly, that table stays a memorised list rather than something you actually understand.
A practical tip: whenever you learn a new Sanskrit word, always memorise its gender along with it (not just 'नदी' but 'नदी — स्त्रीलिंग'), and when building sentences, always match the verb's form to the subject's number — because in Sanskrit, the subject and the verb must always agree in number, exactly the way Hindi's 'बच्चे खेलते हैं' agrees in plural for both subject and verb.
One more point worth noting — adjectives also change their form to match the gender, number and vibhakti of the noun they describe, just as Hindi changes an adjective between 'अच्छा लड़का' and 'अच्छी लड़की'. So 'सुन्दरः बालकः' (handsome boy, masculine) and 'सुन्दरा बालिका' (beautiful girl, feminine) show the adjective changing shape — practising examples like these strengthens your grip on gender and number together.
In REET, ling-vachan is rarely tested as a standalone topic on its own — it's almost always tucked inside शब्द रूप, धातु रूप or sentence-construction questions, because picking the correct form always starts with correctly identifying gender and number first. So alongside memorising this topic on its own, keep applying it every time it comes up inside the other grammar topics too.
How to teach this to children
Activity
Have two children stand up and say 'बालकौ', then three or four stand and say 'बालकाः' — showing the number with their own bodies makes the difference between dual and plural a concrete, memorable experience.
Teaching aid
Point at classroom objects (one book, two pens, several chairs) and say the Sanskrit word in all three vachans — tying an abstract vachan concept to something physical makes it easier to grasp.
Common misconception
Hindi-medium students often skip द्विवचन entirely and default straight to बहुवचन because Hindi has no equivalent — repeated practice with a strong emphasis on 'exactly two' is what fixes this.
Assessment
Change the number of objects visible in the classroom and immediately ask for the correct vachan — a quick, effective oral assessment.
Trick to remember
The easiest test for द्विवचन — wherever a sentence's meaning includes 'both', that's द्विवचन. And for gender, always memorise every new word together with its प्रथमा vibhakti singular form (not just 'फल' but 'फलम्'), because the form itself is your clue to the gender.
Practice Questions
Question 1
How many genders (ling) are there in Sanskrit in total?
- Aतीन
- Bदो
- Cचार
- Dपाँच
Explanation
Sanskrit has three genders — masculine, feminine and neuter.
Question 2
The word 'फलम्' is an example of which gender (ling)?
- Aनपुंसकलिंग
- Bपुल्लिंग
- Cस्त्रीलिंग
- Dकोई भी नहीं
Explanation
'फलम्' is a neuter word, as its 'म्'-ending प्रथमा singular form indicates.
Question 3
'रामौ' is an example of which vachan (number)?
- Aद्विवचन
- Bएकवचन
- Cबहुवचन
- Dइनमें से कोई नहीं
Explanation
'रामौ' means 'both Rams', which marks the dual (द्विवचन) number.
Question 4
When is dwivachan used?
- Aठीक दो वस्तुओं/व्यक्तियों के लिए
- Bएक वस्तु के लिए
- Cदो से अधिक वस्तुओं के लिए
- Dअनिश्चित संख्या के लिए
Explanation
द्विवचन is used specifically for exactly two objects or people — the same word cannot be used for one or for more than two.
Question 5
Which vachan (number), found in Sanskrit, is not found in Hindi and English?
- Aद्विवचन
- Bएकवचन
- Cबहुवचन
- Dसभी पाए जाते हैं
Explanation
Both Hindi and English only have singular and plural; द्विवचन is a feature unique to Sanskrit (and a few other ancient languages).
Question 6
The word 'लता' is a representative form of which gender (ling)?
- Aआकारांत स्त्रीलिंग
- Bअकारांत पुल्लिंग
- Cअकारांत नपुंसकलिंग
- Dइकारांत पुल्लिंग
Explanation
'लता' is the representative form for aa-ending feminine words.
Question 7
What is the special identifying feature of napunsakling (neuter) words?
- Aप्रथमा और द्वितीया विभक्ति के तीनों वचन समान होते हैं
- Bइनकी कोई विभक्ति नहीं होती
- Cइनमें केवल एकवचन होता है
- Dइनका कोई द्विवचन नहीं होता
Explanation
Neuter words keep all three vachans of प्रथमा and द्वितीया vibhakti identical — as in 'फलम्, फले, फलानि'.
Question 8
Is there any complete/universal rule for determining gender (ling) in Sanskrit?
- Aनहीं, केवल सामान्य प्रवृत्तियाँ हैं, अपवाद भी हैं
- Bहाँ, अकारांत हमेशा पुल्लिंग होता है
- Cहाँ, आकारांत हमेशा नपुंसकलिंग होता है
- Dहाँ, सभी शब्द एक ही लिंग के होते हैं
Explanation
There is no complete or universal rule for gender in Sanskrit; only general tendencies exist, and there are plenty of exceptions.
Question 9
What is the most effective approach in class when teaching dwivachan?
- Aबच्चों को शारीरिक रूप से खड़ा कर संख्या दिखाना और संबंधित रूप बुलवाना
- Bकेवल परिभाषा रटवाना
- Cद्विवचन को पाठ्यक्रम से छोड़ देना
- Dकेवल लिखित अभ्यास कराना
Explanation
Learning by physically showing the number with their bodies makes a new concept like द्विवचन experience-based and easy for children to remember.
Question 10
The word 'रामाः' denotes which vachan (number)?
- Aबहुवचन
- Bएकवचन
- Cद्विवचन
- Dइनमें से कोई नहीं
Explanation
'रामाः' means 'many Rams' (more than two), which marks the plural (बहुवचन).
Frequently Asked Questions
How many genders does Sanskrit have?+
Sanskrit has three genders — masculine, feminine and neuter. Hindi has only two (masculine, feminine), so neuter is a distinctive Sanskrit concept.
What is द्विवचन and why is it special?+
The vachan used for exactly two objects or people is called द्विवचन. It's special because neither Hindi nor English has this grammatical number at all.
Is there a fixed rule for determining gender in Sanskrit?+
There's no complete rule; a-ending/i-ending words are usually masculine and aa-ending/ee-ending words are usually feminine, but there are plenty of exceptions, so it's best to learn every word's gender along with its form.
What's the single biggest feature of neuter nouns?+
In neuter nouns, all three vachans of प्रथमा and द्वितीया vibhakti are always identical — as in 'फलम्, फले, फलानि'.
Must the subject and verb always agree in number?+
Yes — this is a basic rule of Sanskrit sentence construction: whatever vachan (एक/द्वि/बहु) the subject is in, the verb's form must match it, as in 'बालकौ पठतः' ('both boys read'), where both the subject and the verb are dual.
Does the same object always have the same gender in Sanskrit and Hindi?+
No, not necessarily. Every language assigns gender independently, so when learning Sanskrit, it's best to memorise each word's gender on its own terms rather than assuming it matches Hindi.
Why does an adjective's form change to match its noun?+
In Sanskrit, an adjective agrees with the noun it describes (its विशेष्य) in gender, number and vibhakti all at once, which is why 'सुन्दरः बालकः' takes the masculine form and 'सुन्दरा बालिका' takes the feminine form.
How does knowledge of gender and number help with sentence construction?+
To build a correct sentence, the subject, adjective and verb all need to agree in gender and number; if the subject is feminine dual, the adjective and verb must match that too, or the sentence is considered grammatically incorrect.
Read next
Karak and Vibhakti
Revise the karak-vibhakti relationship before ling-vachan.
Unseen Passage (Comprehension)
Build your comprehension skills after ling-vachan.
REET Syllabus
The complete official REET Level 1 and Level 2 syllabus in one place.
REET 2024 Paper with Solutions
All REET 2024 questions with solutions and explanations.
Official Sources
Change Log
- 17 September 2026 — English page published — mirrors the fact-checked Hindi page, independently bilingual-accuracy checked