Normally there is only one parameter to specify, e.g. for लड़का (laṛkā, “boy”), on that page:
{{hi-ndecl|<M>}}
which produces
The general format is a lemma followed by angle brackets, within which are declensional properties. The lemma can be omitted when it's the same as the page title, as in the above example.
For almost all nouns, at least the gender needs to be given within angle brackets: M
for masculine, F
for feminine. Some nouns need additional properties, e.g. पिता (pitā, “father”), which follows the "unmarked" declension (i.e. there is no direct masculine ending to be removed; instead, endings are added onto the full lemma):
{{hi-ndecl|<M.unmarked>}}
which produces
Normally, it is enough to specify the gender of a noun, and the declension will be deduced based on the ending. However, there are two cases where the same ending can have two possible declensions:
1. Masculine nouns in -ā. By default the direct plural ends in -ē and the oblique plural in -õ, which is correct for most nouns. However, some nouns, such as पिता (pitā, “father”), have the direct plural in -ā and the oblique plural in -āõ. These "unmarked" nouns need the unmarked
indicator, as described above.
2. Feminine nouns in -iyā. By default, these are treated like any other feminine noun in -ā, with the direct plural in -āẽ and the oblique plural in -āõ. An example of such a noun is कनिया (kaniyā, “girl”). Some such nouns, however, have the direct plural in -iyã and the oblique plural in -iyõ. An example is गुड़िया (guṛiyā, “doll”). These nouns need the iyā
indicator:
{{hi-ndecl|<F.iyā>}}
which produces
You can explicitly specify the term to decline. This allows you, for example, to decline a term on a different page from the page of the term being declined. It is also necessary when more than one part of a term declines (see below), or when one word of a multiword term needs phonetic respelling (see multiword terms below). For example, the above declension of पिता (pitā, “father”) could be specified as follows:
{{hi-ndecl|पिता<M.unmarked>}}
Some terms have nonstandard transliterations. This can be indicated using phonetic respelling, i.e. spell out the word phonetically in Devanagari, using virama to force no a in a given position and *
to force an a in a given position. To specify this, use //
followed by the phonetic respelling, e.g. for अंतराल (antarāl, “interval”):
{{hi-ndecl|//अंत*राल<M>}}
which produces
Here, we use phonetic respelling with a *
in it to force the transliteration antarāl instead of the default antrāl.
You can also specify the transliteration directly after //
, but using respelling is preferred, e.g. the above could be written as
{{hi-ndecl|//antarāl<M>}}
In addition, you can explicitly specify the term to decline along with the respelling, e.g. the above could also be written as
{{hi-ndecl|अंतराल//अंत*राल<M>}}
See the section on explicit terms above.
Use the indicator sg
for singular-only nouns, and pl
for plural-only nouns. An example is मायने (māyne, “meaning(s), nuance(s)”):
{{hi-ndecl|<M.pl>}}
which produces
Multiword terms like अदला-बदला (adlā-badlā, “exchange, swapping”) can be declined by placing <...>
after each word, e.g.:
{{hi-ndecl|अदला<M.sg>-बदला<M.sg>}}
which produces
Words are separated by spaces or hyphens, and <...>
indicators apply to individual words. Words without any indicators following them are assumed to be invariable. For example, the term काली मिर्च (kālī mirc, “black pepper”) would be specified as follows:
{{hi-ndecl|काली मिर्च<F>}}
or simply
{{hi-ndecl|<F>}}
since omitting the term is equivalent to specifying the page name as the term. Both produce the following:
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
direct | काली मिर्च kālī mirc |
काली मिर्चें kālī mircẽ |
oblique | काली मिर्च kālī mirc |
काली मिर्चों kālī mircõ |
vocative | काली मिर्च kālī mirc |
काली मिर्चो kālī mirco |
Phonetic respelling applies to individual words. For example, for बंदी प्रत्यक्षीकरण (bandī pratyakṣīkaraṇ, “habeas corpus”), which requires phonetic respelling of the last word, use the following:
{{hi-ndecl|बंदी प्रत्यक्षीकरण//प्रत्यक्षीक*रण<M>}}
which produces
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
direct | बंदी प्रत्यक्षीकरण bandī pratyakṣīkaraṇ |
बंदी प्रत्यक्षीकरण bandī pratyakṣīkaraṇ |
oblique | बंदी प्रत्यक्षीकरण bandī pratyakṣīkaraṇ |
बंदी प्रत्यक्षीकरणों bandī pratyakṣīkaraṇõ |
vocative | बंदी प्रत्यक्षीकरण bandī pratyakṣīkaraṇ |
बंदी प्रत्यक्षीकरणो bandī pratyakṣīkaraṇo |
Here only the last word is respelled.
Respelling can be used on words without indicators, for example in पंचायती राज (pañcāytī rāj, “village council”), where the first word is invariable and needs respelling:
{{hi-ndecl|पंचायती//पंचाय*ती राज<M>}}
which produces
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
direct | पंचायती राज pañcāyatī rāj |
पंचायती राज pañcāyatī rāj |
oblique | पंचायती राज pañcāyatī rāj |
पंचायती राजों pañcāyatī rājõ |
vocative | पंचायती राज pañcāyatī rāj |
पंचायती राजो pañcāyatī rājo |
Use <+>
after a word to indicate that it should be declined as an adjective. This is particularly useful in adjective-noun multiword terms such as कच्चा लोहा (kaccā lohā, “pig iron”):
{{hi-ndecl|कच्चा<+> लोहा<M>}}
which produces
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
direct | कच्चा लोहा kaccā lohā |
कच्चे लोहे kacce lohe |
oblique | कच्चे लोहे kacce lohe |
कच्चे लोहों kacce lohõ |
vocative | कच्चे लोहे kacce lohe |
कच्चे लोहो kacce loho |
You can use the same notation even with an adjective-noun combination is written as a single word, e.g. कालाधन (kālādhan, “black money”):
{{hi-ndecl|काला<+>धन<M>}}
which produces
Some nouns have more than one possible declension. An example is ख़लीफ़ा (xalīfā, “caliph”), which can be declined either as an "unmarked" noun in -ā (direct plural ख़लीफ़ा, oblique plural ख़लीफ़ाओं) or a regular noun in -ā (direct plural ख़लीफ़े, oblique plural ख़लीफ़ों). To specify this, use the following notation:
{{hi-ndecl|((<M.unmarked>,<M>))}}
which produces
The general syntax is comma-separated alternatives inside of double parentheses.
There are almost no restrictions on what can be used as an alternative. The genders do not have to agree; for example, to decline the word टिकट (ṭikaṭ, “ticket”), which can be either masculine or feminine, use the following:
{{hi-ndecl|((<M>,<F>))}}
which produces
It is even allowed to include a multiword term as an alternative. An example where this is useful is कीड़ा-मकोड़ा (kīṛā-makoṛā, “insect, creepy-crawly”), where the first part can either decline or be used invariably:
{{hi-ndecl|((कीड़ा<M>-मकोड़ा<M>,<M>))}}
which produces
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
direct | कीड़ा-मकोड़ा kīṛā-makoṛā |
कीड़े-मकोड़े, कीड़ा-मकोड़े kīṛe-makoṛe, kīṛā-makoṛe |
oblique | कीड़े-मकोड़े, कीड़ा-मकोड़े kīṛe-makoṛe, kīṛā-makoṛe |
कीड़ों-मकोड़ों, कीड़ा-मकोड़ों kīṛõ-makoṛõ, kīṛā-makoṛõ |
vocative | कीड़े-मकोड़े, कीड़ा-मकोड़े kīṛe-makoṛe, kīṛā-makoṛe |
कीड़ो-मकोड़ो, कीड़ा-मकोड़ो kīṛo-makoṛo, kīṛā-makoṛo |
Some words are irregular in some of their forms. Syntax is provided to override the plural stem as well as individual forms.
Several words of Persian and/or Arabic origin have irregular plurals, which often function alongside regular plurals. An example is तारीख़ (tārīx, “history, date, era”), with direct plural either तवारीख़ (tavārīx) or तारीख़ (tārīx). This would be indicated as follows:
{{hi-ndecl|((<M.plstem:तवारीख़>,<M>))}}
which produces