Gender, plurals and agreement

Every noun is masculine or feminine

Punjabi sorts every noun into masculine or feminine, even things; there is no “it”. ਕਮਰਾ (kamra, room) is masculine, and ਰੋਟੀ (roti) is feminine.

The ending is the best clue. Nouns ending in -a (◌ਾ) are usually masculine, and nouns ending in -i (◌ੀ) are usually feminine. A noun ending in a consonant has to be learned with its gender: ਘਰ (ghar, home) is masculine, and ਕਿਤਾਬ (kitaab, book) is feminine.

• ਮੁੰਡਾ

  munda

  boy

  Masculine.

• ਕੁੜੀ

  kurhi

  girl

  Feminine.

• ਕਮਰਾ

  kamra

  room

  Masculine.

• ਰੋਟੀ

  roti

  roti

  Feminine.

• ਘਰ

  ghar

  home, house

  Masculine.

• ਕਿਤਾਬ

  kitaab

  book

  Feminine.

Plurals

Masculine -a becomes -e: ਮੁੰਡਾ, ਮੁੰਡੇ. Feminine nouns add -an: ਕੁੜੀ, ਕੁੜੀਆਂ, and ਕਿਤਾਬ, ਕਿਤਾਬਾਂ. Most masculine nouns ending in a consonant don’t change at all: one ਘਰ, two ਘਰ.

• ਮੁੰਡੇ

  munde

  boys

• ਕੁੜੀਆਂ

  kurhian

  girls

• ਕਮਰੇ

  kamre

  rooms

• ਰੋਟੀਆਂ

  rotian

  rotis

• ਕਿਤਾਬਾਂ

  kitaban

  books

  The aa is written once now that it isn’t in the last syllable.

• ਦੋ ਘਰ

  do ghar

  two houses

Adjectives agree

An adjective ending in -a changes to match its noun, with the same endings: ਚੰਗਾ (changa) for masculine, ਚੰਗੀ (changi) for feminine, ਚੰਗੇ (change) for masculine plural, and ਚੰਗੀਆਂ (changian) for feminine plural.

Adjectives ending in a consonant never change: ਲਾਲ (laal, red), ਖ਼ੁਸ਼ (khush, happy), ਗਰਮ (garam, hot).

• ਚੰਗਾ ਮੁੰਡਾ

  changa munda

  a good boy

• ਚੰਗੀ ਕੁੜੀ

  changi kurhi

  a good girl

• ਚੰਗੇ ਮੁੰਡੇ

  change munde

  good boys

• ਚੰਗੀਆਂ ਕੁੜੀਆਂ

  changian kurhian

  good girls

• ਲਾਲ ਕਮੀਜ਼

  laal kameez

  a red shirt

  ਕਮੀਜ਼ is feminine, and ਲਾਲ stays the same.

• ਗਰਮ ਚਾਹ

  garam chaa

  hot tea

Verbs agree too

The same endings appear on verbs, so a verb tells you whether the subject is a man or a woman even when the pronoun is just ਉਹ (oh).

• ਮੁੰਡਾ ਆਉਂਦਾ ਹੈ

  Munda aunda hai

  The boy comes

• ਕੁੜੀ ਆਉਂਦੀ ਹੈ

  Kurhi aundi hai

  The girl comes

• ਉਹ ਥੱਕਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈ

  Oh thakkia hoya hai

  He is tired

• ਉਹ ਥੱਕੀ ਹੋਈ ਹੈ

  Oh thakki hoyi hai

  She is tired

Tip: If you are a woman, practice your own forms out loud: main kar sakdi haan, main thakki hoyi haan. Many learners have only ever heard the masculine ones.