भाइयो और बहनो
Calling Out to People
Calling out to a group uses a special plural ending, -ओ.
How It Works
When you speak to a group directly, the plural noun takes a calling form ending in -ओ: भाइयो और बहनो! (Brothers and sisters!)
It looks almost like the form before a postposition, but without the nasal dot:
| Noun | Before a postposition | Calling out |
|---|---|---|
| बच्चा | बच्चों को | बच्चो! |
| दोस्त | दोस्तों को | दोस्तो! |
| बहन | बहनों को | बहनो! |
| भाई | भाइयों को | भाइयो! |
| लड़की | लड़कियों को | लड़कियो! |
This form is common in speeches, classrooms and family life: साथियो (colleagues, comrades), दोस्तो, बच्चो. In informal writing you will often see the nasal dot added, as in दोस्तों, but standard Hindi writes it without.
For one person, masculine nouns in -आ can take -ए: लड़के, इधर आओ. In speech, family words often stay as they are: बेटा, भैया, दीदी. Add जी for respect: माताजी.
Words like अरे or ऐ can come before the call to get attention.
Examples (5)
- भाइयो और बहनो, आप सबका स्वागत है।
Brothers and sisters, welcome, all of you.
भाई becomes भाइयो and बहन becomes बहनो.
- बच्चो, इधर आओ!
Children, come here!
बच्चा becomes बच्चो when you call a group.
- दोस्तो, आज हम एक नई जगह चलेंगे।
Friends, today we're going somewhere new.
दोस्त becomes दोस्तो, with no nasal dot.
- लड़कियो, अपनी किताबें खोलो।
Girls, open your books.
लड़की becomes लड़कियो.
- साथियो, हमें मिलकर काम करना है।
Colleagues, we have to work together.
साथी becomes साथियो, common in speeches.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The calling-out plural is close to the plural before postpositions but has no nasal sound.
Related Patterns
Practice भाइयो और बहनो in Bubblegum
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