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3.1 Nouns: masculine and Feminine |
Urdu nouns are either masculine or feminine. The
gender of each noun is given in the vocabulary list. For each gender
there are two types of nouns, as shown below: |
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Examples: |
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لڑکا ، کڑا ، بوندا ، سنترا ، روپے |
Masculine nouns: Type 1
Ending in ا |
پھل ، بندر ، ہاتھی ، آدمی ، ہار ، گھر ، آلو |
Masculine nouns: Type 2
Not ending inآ(all the rest) |
لڑکی ، سبزی ، پوری ، چوڑی ، روٹی ، لوکی ، چابی |
Feminine nouns: Type 1
Ending inیِ |
ماتا ، عورت ،بس ، دوکان |
Feminine nouns: Type 2
Not ending inیِ(all the rest) |
Masculine nouns: Type 1
Ending in ا |
کمرہ |
سنترا |
بندہ |
کڑا |
لڑکا |
room |
orange |
ear ring |
bracelet |
boy |
Type 2 Masculine Nouns: all the rest (not ending in ا (Alif)) |
گھر |
آلو |
ہار |
آدمی |
بندر |
پھل |
home |
potato |
necklace |
man |
monkey |
fruit |
Type 1 Feminine Nouns: ending in ی |
چابی |
روٹی |
چوڑی |
پوری |
سبزی |
لڑکی |
key |
bread |
bangle |
all |
vegetable |
girl |
Type 2 Feminine Nouns: all the rest (not ending in ی ) |
کار |
دوا |
دوکان |
بس |
عورت |
car |
medicine |
shop |
bus |
woman |
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Why do you need to know the gender of each noun? Remember, in Urdu, verb conjugations must agree with the subject's gender, and you will see that adjectives and possessives also agree with the gender of their nouns. You also must know the gender of a noun in order to form its plural correctly (see GR 3.2).
The vast majority of nouns ending in ا (Alif) are masculine, and the vast majority of nouns ending in ی are feminine. There are, however, a few exceptions. Here are three examples of masculine nouns that look like feminine nouns: |
ہاتھی |
آدمی |
پانی |
elephant |
man |
water |
And here are some feminine nouns that look like masculine nouns:
ادا |
دعا |
دوا |
style |
prayer |
medicine |
You just have to memorize which is which.
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