Genitive Case
संबंध कारक (Genitive Case)
The genitive shows a possessive or close 'of' relationship between two nouns — Hindi's का/की/के also changes with the gender of the possessed noun, just like German, but German runs the word order in reverse.
Grammar Comparison
व्याकरण तुलना
The genitive articles: des, der, des, der
das Auto des Mannes (the man's car)
आदमी की गाड़ी
The genitive articles are: masculine der → des, feminine die → der, neuter das → des, plural die → der. Hindi's का/की/के also changes based on the gender of the possessed thing (आदमी की गाड़ी — गाड़ी is feminine, so 'की'; आदमी का घर — घर is masculine, so 'का'), just like German's article. But notice: in Hindi's "आदमी की गाड़ी", the owner (आदमी) comes first, just like English "the man's car". German reverses this: das Auto des Mannes (literally 'the car of-the man') — the possessed thing first, the owner second. This word order is an equal trap for Hindi and English speakers alike.
Masculine and neuter nouns add -s or -es
die Farbe des Autos (the car's color)
गाड़ी का रंग
In Hindi, the noun itself never changes (गाड़ी stays गाड़ी, whoever owns it). In German, masculine and neuter nouns also take an ending in the genitive singular. Multi-syllable nouns usually just add -s (des Autos, des Lehrers); one-syllable nouns and those ending in -s, -ß, -x, -z usually add -es (des Mannes, des Hauses, des Kindes). Feminine and plural nouns take no extra ending — only the article changes (der Frau, der Kinder).
Spoken German often avoids the genitive with von
das Auto von dem Mann (spoken) / das Auto des Mannes (written)
आदमी की गाड़ी
Spoken German often replaces the genitive with von + dative: das Auto von dem Mann (often contracted to das Auto vom Mann in speech) sounds natural in conversation, while das Auto des Mannes belongs to a formal or written register. Actual names behave differently: they simply add -s without any article, just like English's -'s — Peters Auto ('Peter's car'), Annas Buch ('Anna's book').
Vocabulary
शब्दावली
| German | Pronunciation | Hindi | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| das Auto des Mannes | dahs OW-toh des MAHN-es | आदमी की गाड़ीādmī kī gāṛī | the man's car |
| die Tasche der Frau | dee TAH-sheh dair frow | औरत का बैगaurat kā baig | the woman's bag |
| der Anfang des Jahres | dair AHN-fahng des YAH-res | साल की शुरुआतsāl kī śuruāt | the beginning of the year |
| das Ende der Woche | dahs EN-deh dair VOKH-eh | हफ़्ते का अंतhafte kā ant | the end of the week |
| die Meinung der Leute | dee MY-noong dair LOY-teh | लोगों की रायlogoñ kī rāy | the opinion of the people |
| der Name des Kindes | dair NAH-meh des KIN-des | बच्चे का नामbacce kā nām | the child's name |
| wessen | VES-en | किसकाkiskā | whose |
| Peters Auto | PAY-ters OW-toh | पीटर की गाड़ीpīṭar kī gāṛī | Peter's car |
| die Farbe des Himmels | dee FAR-beh des HIM-els | आसमान का रंगāsmān kā raṅg | the color of the sky |
| das Haus meiner Eltern | dahs house MY-ner EL-tern | मेरे माता-पिता का घरmere mātā-pitā kā ghar | my parents' house |
| der Titel des Buches | dair TEE-tel des BOOKH-es | किताब का शीर्षकkitāb kā śīrṣak | the title of the book |