Cardinal numbers, written as Hindi ordinals
Ordinals express order — first, second, third — and in Hindi they behave like adjectives, agreeing in gender and case with the noun they describe. The first six are partly irregular, and the rest are built by adding a suffix to the cardinal. This tool produces the correct ordinal for any number, in the form your sentence needs.
How it works
The first six ordinals (पहला, दूसरा, तीसरा, चौथा, पाँचवाँ, छठा) are stored directly with their masculine, feminine, and oblique variants, because they do not all follow a single rule. From seven onward the ordinal is regular: the cardinal is spelled out with the Indian scale and the suffix is added to the final word:
7th = सातवाँ
125th = एक सौ पच्चीसवाँThe suffix you get depends on agreement — -वाँ for masculine direct, -वीं for feminine, and -वें for masculine oblique or plural — mirroring how a Hindi adjective inflects.
Tips and notes
Match the form to the noun: a feminine noun like बार (time/occasion) takes -वीं (पाँचवीं बार), while a masculine noun before a postposition takes the oblique -वें (पाँचवें दिन से). Remember छठा is the irregular sixth — not छहवाँ. For a plain cardinal in words rather than an ordinal, use the Hindi Number to Words tool.
The irregular first six: a closer look
The irregularity of the first six ordinals reflects both Sanskrit inheritance and natural sound change over time. Here is a summary of all three agreement forms for each:
| Number | Masc. direct | Feminine | Masc. oblique/plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | पहला | पहली | पहले |
| 2nd | दूसरा | दूसरी | दूसरे |
| 3rd | तीसरा | तीसरी | तीसरे |
| 4th | चौथा | चौथी | चौथे |
| 5th | पाँचवाँ | पाँचवीं | पाँचवें |
| 6th | छठा | छठी | छठे |
Notice that 1st through 4th follow the classic Hindi adjective -ā / -ī / -e pattern even though they are suppletive forms (the stem does not come from the cardinal). Fifth (पाँचवाँ) already uses the regular -वाँ / -वीं / -वें suffix system. Sixth (छठा) has a shortened stem — it is not छहवाँ.
From 7th onward every ordinal is predictably cardinal + वाँ/वीं/वें, which means once you can spell out any Hindi cardinal, you can form its ordinal with this suffix.
Oblique case: when to use the -वें form
The oblique case in Hindi appears before postpositions — words like से (from), को (to/for), में (in), पर (on), and many others. When an ordinal precedes a postposition, it must be in the oblique form:
- पहले दिन से — from the first day (-ले instead of -ला)
- सातवें घर में — in the seventh house (-वें instead of -वाँ)
- दूसरे छात्र को — to the second student (-रे instead of -रा)
Forgetting the case shift is the most common error when writing ordinals in Hindi prose, because it is easy to think of the ordinal as fixed and forget that it inflects like any other adjective.