कितना / कितनी / कितने

Asking How Much or How Many

Level 1Sounds Like kitanā, kitanī aura kitanē

कितना, कितनी and कितने ask how much or how many.

How It Works

कितना asks how much or how many. It changes like an adjective to match the noun after it.

FormUseExample
कितनाmasculine, oneकितना पानी? (how much water?)
कितनीfeminineकितनी चीनी? कितनी किताबें?
कितनेmasculine, more than oneकितने लोग? (how many people?)

Hindi uses one word where English has two. With a singular noun it usually means how much, and with a plural noun how many.

To ask a price, say यह कितने का है? (How much is this?). Here कितने is the form before का, and का agrees with the item. For a feminine item, say कितने की: यह साड़ी कितने की है? (How much is this sari?)

Another common question is कितने बजे हैं? (What time is it?), which has its own entry.

Examples (5)

  1. बोतल में कितना पानी है?

    How much water is in the bottle?

    पानी is masculine, so कितना.

  2. आपको कितनी चीनी चाहिए?

    How much sugar would you like?

    चीनी is feminine, so कितनी.

  3. कमरे में कितने लोग हैं?

    How many people are in the room?

    लोग is masculine plural, so कितने.

  4. आपके कितने बच्चे हैं?

    How many children do you have?

    बच्चे is masculine plural, so कितने.

  5. यह कितने का है?

    How much is this?

    The usual way to ask a price.

Common Mistakes

  • Using कितना for every noun.

    कितना किताबें हैं?
    कितनी किताबें हैं?

    किताबें is feminine, so the question word is कितनी.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

कितना / कितनी / कितनेLevel 1Asking How Much or How Many

Learn This First

कितना agrees like an adjective and is answered with a number.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

कितना