Consonant Nouns

All nouns that end in a consonant use a single set of endings. The difference between the different consonant nouns, then, is that they use different strong and weak stems.

Neuter nouns, though, have some strange behavior. Plural neuter nouns, when they are in case 1, case 2, or case 8, have a nasal sound inserted after their last vowel, and the last vowel becomes long. All of the neuter nouns below, with the exception of the "-at, -mat, and -vat" noun, show this behavior.

The first three groups of nouns have irregular forms in the masculine case 1 singular. They also have no feminine declension. The letter -ī is added to the end of these nouns to make them feminine, and the result is declined like nadī. For example, we have bhagavatī and yoginī.

However, the -at nouns (notthe -mat and -vat nouns), which are participles, use -antī for their feminine stem; for example, we have gacchantī.

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• -an, -man, -van nouns
• -at, -mat, -vat nouns
• -in, -min, -vin nouns
• Other nouns

-an, -man, -van nouns

The -an, -man, and -van nouns have the same strong and weak stems. But the weak stem of -an nouns contracts to just -n when the noun ending starts with a vowel. Otherwise, the weak stem stays the same.

-at, -mat, -vat nouns

The -at, -mat, and -vat nouns have the same strong and weak stems. But the masculine singular of -at nouns is -an instead of -ān.

-in, -min, -vin nouns

The -in, -min, and -vin nouns have the same strong and weak stems. The strong stem is used in front of vowels, and the weak stem is used everywhere else.

Other nouns

Masculine and Feminine

These nouns use the ordinary endings.

Neuter

These nouns use the ordinary endings. A complex example is shown below.

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This page was last edited on December 30, 2020.