2.3 Adjectives and Agreement

Understanding Adjectives in Urdu

In this chapter you will learn how Urdu adjectives work, and how they change according to gender and number. You will see how a small change at the end of an adjective can change its form to match the noun.

We will focus only on the basic agreement patterns that beginners need, with many examples that you can copy and adapt.

What is an Adjective in Urdu?

An adjective is a word that describes a noun, for example:

• big house
• small car
• good boy
• beautiful girl

In Urdu, adjectives also describe nouns, and they usually come before the noun:

• بڑا گھر
  baṛa ghar
  “big house”
• چھوٹی گاڑی
  choṭī gāṛī
  “small car”
• اچھا لڑکا
  achchā laṛkā
  “good boy”
• اچھی لڑکی
  achchī laṛkī
  “good girl”

You can already see something important. The endings of the adjectives are changing:

• بڑا, بڑی, بڑے
  baṛa, baṛī, baṛe
• اچھا, اچھی, اچھے
  achchā, achchī, achchē

These changes are the heart of adjective agreement.

Two Main Types of Adjectives

For beginners, it is very useful to divide Urdu adjectives into two broad types.

1. Variable adjectives

These adjectives change their ending to agree with the noun in gender and number.

Common patterns:

• masculine singular: often ends in ا -ā
• feminine singular: often ends in ی -ī
• plural (for both masculine and mixed groups): often ends in ے -e

Examples:

You will practice these in detail below.

2. Invariable adjectives

These adjectives do not change. The same form is used with masculine, feminine, singular, and plural nouns.

Common invariable adjectives:

For this chapter, focus on the classic variable pattern (ا / ی / ے) and understand that some adjectives do not or do not always follow it at this level.

Gender and Adjective Endings

You already know that Urdu has masculine and feminine nouns. Here we see what that means for adjectives.

Basic pattern with masculine singular nouns

With a masculine singular noun, many adjectives end in ا -ā.

Examples:

Notice the pattern:

• اچھا, بڑا, نیا, لمبا, چھوٹا all end in -ā for masculine singular.

Basic pattern with feminine singular nouns

With a feminine singular noun, the same adjectives often end in ی -ī.

Examples:

Remembering common gender patterns of nouns

You will study gender separately, but some very common patterns help here:

When you know the gender of the noun, you can choose the correct adjective ending.

Plural Nouns and Adjective Agreement

Now add number. Nouns can be singular or plural. Adjectives must agree with both gender and number.

Plural with masculine nouns

With masculine plural nouns, the adjective usually ends in ے -e.

First, see some masculine plural nouns:

Now combine them with adjectives:

Again, all adjectives end in ے -e.

Plural with feminine nouns

For feminine plural, the situation is easier. Many feminine plural nouns end in یں -ẽ, but the adjective usually stays in the feminine form ending in ی -ī.

Examples:

Now add adjectives:

Notice:

Summary Table of Agreement Patterns

Here is a compact overview of the most common pattern for variable adjectives:

This is the basic model you should practice until it feels automatic.

Adjectives with Nouns You Already Know

It is useful to combine adjectives with common vocabulary you may already have or will soon learn: family members, objects in a house, and people.

Family members

Assume these genders:

• باپ bāp father (m.)
• ماں mā̃ mother (f.)
• بیٹا beṭā son (m.)
• بیٹی beṭī daughter (f.)
• بھائی bhāī brother (m.)
• بہن behan sister (f.)

Now build phrases:

Objects and places

Some common nouns and their gender:

Now add adjectives:

Note that خوبصورت khūbsūrat does not change here. It stays the same form.

Adjective Position in the Sentence

Adjectives usually stand directly before the noun they describe.

Basic pattern:

$$
\text{[adjective]} + \text{[noun]}
$$

Later you will also see structures like:

• گھر بڑا ہے
  ghar baṛā hai
  “The house is big.”

Here بڑا comes after گھر, in the predicate. For this chapter, concentrate on the attributive use, the adjective before the noun:

• بڑا گھر baṛā ghar
• اچھی کتاب achchī kitāb

You can put multiple adjectives before one noun:

• بڑی اچھی کتاب
  baṛī achchī kitāb
  “a very good book / such a good book”
• نیا بڑا گھر
  nayā baṛā ghar
  “a new big house”

Both adjectives must agree with the noun.

Common Variable Adjectives and Their Forms

Here is a list of useful variable adjectives in all three main forms:

Notice صاف sāf does not change, but others follow the pattern.

Practice combining them with nouns:

• سستا کمرہ sastā kamrā cheap room
• سستی کتاب sastī kitāb cheap book
• سستے کمرے saste kamre cheap rooms
• سستی کتابیں sastī kitābẽ cheap books
• مہنگا ہوٹل mehangā hoṭal expensive hotel
• مہنگی گاڑی mehangī gāṛī expensive car
• مہنگے ہوٹل mehnge hoṭal expensive hotels
• مہنگی گاڑیاں mehangī gāṛiyā̃ expensive cars

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Adjectives with People: Describing Appearance and Personality

These basic adjectives are very useful when talking about people.

Some adjectives:

Examples:

Notice again that some adjectives, like خوبصورت and ہوشیار, do not change form with gender or number.

Combining Quantity Words and Adjectives

You can use words of quantity together with adjectives. At this level, keep the structure simple:

$$
\text{[quantity word]} + \text{[adjective]} + \text{[noun]}
$$

Some useful quantity words:

Examples:

• بہت اچھا لڑکا
  bahut achchā laṛkā
  “a very good boy”
• بہت اچھی لڑکی
  bahut achchī laṛkī
  “a very good girl”
• بہت بڑے گھر
  bahut baṛe ghar
  “very big houses”
• کچھ نئی کتابیں
  kuchh nayī kitābẽ
  “some new books”

Here only the adjective changes with gender and number, not the quantity word بہت bahut.

Practice Patterns

To help your memory, practice this pattern with different adjectives and nouns:

1. Start with masculine singular:
• اچھا دوست achchā dost good (male) friend
• بڑا گھر baṛā ghar big house
2. Change to feminine singular:
• اچھی دوست achchī dost good (female) friend
• بڑی گاڑی baṛī gāṛī big car
3. Change to masculine plural:
• اچھے دوست achchē dost good friends (m./mixed)
• بڑے گھر baṛe ghar big houses
4. Change to feminine plural:
• اچھی سہیلیاں achchī sahēliyā̃ good (female) friends
• بڑی گاڑیاں baṛī gāṛiyā̃ big cars

Repeat with other adjectives: نیا / نئی / نئے, چھوٹا / چھوٹی / چھوٹے, پرانا / پرانی / پرانے, etc.

Short Drills (Mentally or on Paper)

You can test yourself by converting one phrase into others:

1. Start:
   بڑا کمرہ baṛā kamrā big room (m. sg.)
• feminine singular: بڑی ___?
  → بڑی کرسی baṛī kursī “big chair”
• masculine plural: بڑے ___?
  → بڑے کمرے baṛe kamre “big rooms”
• feminine plural: بڑی ___?
  → بڑی کرسیاں baṛī kursiyā̃ “big chairs”
2. Start:
   نیا دوست nayā dost new (male) friend
• feminine singular: نئی دوست nayī dost new (female) friend
• masculine plural: نئے دوست naye dost new friends (m./mixed)
• feminine plural: نئی سہیلیاں nayī sahēliyā̃ new (female) friends

You do not need to say these sentences aloud perfectly; just thinking through the changes helps you learn the patterns.

Key Points to Remember

If you keep these four points in mind and practice with many nouns, agreement will become natural.

Vocabulary List for This Chapter

Below is a list of useful new words that appeared in this chapter. Some may repeat from other chapters, but here you see them together.

Use these words to create your own short noun phrases with adjectives, and always check the endings against the gender and number of the noun.