लाल / सुंदर
Adjectives That Do Not Change
Adjectives that do not end in -आ, such as लाल and सुंदर, keep one form with every noun.
How It Works
Hindi adjectives come in two groups. Adjectives that end in -आ change with the noun: अच्छा, अच्छी, अच्छे. All other adjectives keep one form for every noun.
| Noun | Changes (-आ) | Never changes |
|---|---|---|
| कमरा (masculine) | अच्छा कमरा | सुंदर कमरा |
| किताब (feminine) | अच्छी किताब | सुंदर किताब |
| कमरे (plural) | अच्छे कमरे | सुंदर कमरे |
Common adjectives that never change include लाल (red), सफ़ेद (white), सुंदर (beautiful), साफ़ (clean), गरम (hot), ख़ुश (happy), आसान (easy), मुश्किल (hard) and ख़राब (bad). They also stay the same before a postposition: लाल घर में, सुंदर लड़की को.
A few words that end in -आ also stay the same, such as बढ़िया (great) and ज़्यादा (more). Learn those one by one.
The noun still has its gender even when the adjective does not show it. In लाल किताब नई है, लाल stays the same, but नई shows that किताब is feminine.
Examples (5)
- लाल फूल सुंदर है।
The red flower is beautiful.
लाल and सुंदर keep their form with the masculine noun फूल.
- लाल किताब नई है।
The red book is new.
लाल stays the same with feminine किताब, but नया changes to नई.
- ये फूल बहुत सुंदर हैं।
These flowers are very beautiful.
सुंदर stays the same with a plural noun.
- कमरे बड़े और साफ़ हैं।
The rooms are big and clean.
बड़ा changes to बड़े, but साफ़ does not change.
- रीमा बहुत ख़ुश है।
Reema is very happy.
ख़ुश is the same for a woman and a man: अमित बहुत ख़ुश है.
Common Mistakes
Adding -ई to an adjective that never changes.
मेरी बहन बहुत सुंदरी है।मेरी बहन बहुत सुंदर है।सुंदर does not end in -आ, so it keeps one form. सुंदरी is a separate noun meaning a beautiful woman.
Leaving an -आ adjective unchanged.
यह अच्छा किताब है।यह अच्छी किताब है।अच्छा ends in -आ, so it becomes अच्छी before the feminine noun किताब.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Unchanging adjectives are the exception to -आ agreement, so they come after it.
Related Patterns
- Noun Gender
The noun keeps its gender even when the adjective does not show it.
Foundations - Nouns Before Postpositions
Before a postposition the noun may change, but an adjective like लाल still does not.
Foundations - बहुत / थोड़ाA Lot and a Little
बहुत is another describing word that never changes, while थोड़ा does.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.