वाला (vaalaa)
adjective
An extremely versatile suffix-word: attached to nouns, infinitives, or oblique phrases it means 'the one who/that (does/has/is related to) X'; it also has an independent use marking imminent action ('about to'). Inflects like an adjective (वाला/वाले/वाली).
Sense
1
:
the one who does/has/relates to (agentive/possessive suffix)
adjective, masculine/feminine Attaches to the oblique form of a noun to mean 'the one associated with that noun': दूध वाला (doodh vaalaa, 'the milkman'), चाय वाली (chaay vaalii, 'the tea-seller woman'). Agrees in gender/number with the person or thing described.
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is one of the most useful words in spoken Hindi -- every neighborhood has its दूध वाला (doodh vaalaa, 'milkman'), सब्ज़ी वाला (sabzii vaalaa, 'vegetable seller'), and अखबार वाला (akhbaar vaalaa, 'newspaperman'), and you'll hear these compounds constantly in daily Delhi life. It's less a formal grammatical suffix in the speaker's mind and more a handy way to instantly turn any noun into 'the person/thing associated with it.'
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners forget that the preceding noun/adjective must be in the oblique form when applicable, e.g. घर वाला (ghar vaalaa) not घरा वाला. 2) वाला (vaalaa) changes form to वाली (vaalii) or वाले (vaale) to agree with the noun it describes, not with the noun it's attached to -- चाय वाला (chaay vaalaa) is masculine even though चाय (chaay) is feminine, because it refers to a male vendor.
Sample Sentences:
दूध वाला हर सुबह आठ बजे आता है।
The milkman comes every morning at eight o'clock.
(doodh vaalaa har subah aath baje aataa hai।)
सब्ज़ी वाली ने आज टमाटर के दाम बढ़ा दिए।
The vegetable seller (woman) raised the price of tomatoes today.
(sabzii vaalii ne aaj tamaatar ke daam badhaa die।)
लाल कमीज़ वाला लड़का कौन है?
Who is the boy with the red shirt?
(laal kamiiz vaalaa ladkaa kaun hai?)
अखबार वाले को अभी तक पैसे नहीं दिए गए।
The newspaperman hasn't been paid yet.
(akhbaar vaale ko abhii tak paise nahiin die gae।)
ऊपर वाले फ्लैट में कोई नया परिवार रहने आया है।
A new family has moved into the flat upstairs.
(oopar vaale phlait men koii nayaa parivaar rahne aayaa hai।)
अगर चाय वाला छुट्टी पर होता, तो हमें खुद चाय बनानी पड़ती।
If the tea seller had been on leave, we would have had to make tea ourselves.
(agar chaay vaalaa chhuttii par hotaa, to hamen khud chaay banaanii padtii।)
क्या आप जानते हैं कि किताबों वाली दुकान कहाँ है?
Do you know where the shop with the books is?
(kyaa aap jaante hain ki kitaabon vaalii dukaan kahaan hai?)
चश्मे वाले सर ने कल क्लास में यह समझाया था।
The teacher with the glasses had explained this in class yesterday.
(chashme vaale sar ne kal klaas men yah samjhaayaa thaa।)
गाड़ी वाले भैया, थोड़ा आगे रोक दीजिए।
Driver (brother with the car), please stop a bit further ahead.
(gaadii vaale bhaiyaa, thodaa aage rok diijie।)
पैसे वाले लोग हमेशा खुश नहीं होते।
People with money aren't always happy.
(paise vaale log hameshaa khush nahiin hote।)
शायद कोई सामान वाला ट्रक रास्ता रोक कर खड़ा हो।
Maybe some goods truck is standing there blocking the road.
(shaayad koii saamaan vaalaa trak raastaa rok kar khadaa ho।)
Sense
2
:
the one who does (habitual doer, attached to verb stem + ने)
adjective, masculine/feminine Attaches to the oblique infinitive (verb stem + ने वाला, e.g. पढ़ने वाला padhne vaalaa, 'the one who reads/studies') to describe someone characterized by an action, often habitually.
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This pattern turns any verb into a describing word for 'the type of person who does that' -- गाने वाला (gaane vaalaa, 'singer, one who sings'), बोलने वाला (bolne vaalaa, 'the one who's talking'). It's a go-to way to avoid needing a separate noun for every profession or habitual role.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners confuse this with the 'about to' sense (below) -- पढ़ने वाला लड़का (padhne vaalaa ladkaa, 'the boy who studies/reads') versus वह पढ़ने वाला है (vah padhne vaalaa hai, 'he is about to study'); context and sentence position disambiguate them. 2) The infinitive must stay in its ने (ne) form; do not use the bare verb stem alone.
Sample Sentences:
गाने वाला आदमी बहुत अच्छा गाता है।
The man who sings sings very well.
(gaane vaalaa aadmii bahut achchhaa gaataa hai।)
पढ़ाने वाली टीचर आज नहीं आईं।
The teacher who teaches didn't come today.
(padhaane vaalii tiichar aaj nahiin aaiin।)
खाना बनाने वाली कल छुट्टी पर रहेगी।
The woman who cooks will be on leave tomorrow.
(khaanaa banaane vaalii kal chhuttii par rahegii।)
बोलने वाला थोड़ा चुप हो जाए तो सबको सुनाई देगा।
If the one who's talking quiets down a bit, everyone will be able to hear.
(bolne vaalaa thodaa chup ho jaae to sabko sunaaii degaa।)
अगर वो नाचने वाली न होती, तो इस शो में जीत नहीं पाती।
If she weren't the one who dances, she wouldn't have been able to win this show.
(agar vo naachne vaalii n hotii, to is sho men jiit nahiin paatii।)
काम करने वालों को यहाँ इज़्ज़त मिलती है।
Those who work get respect here.
(kaam karne vaalon ko yahaan izzat miltii hai।)
साहब, कृपया गाड़ी चलाने वाले को थोड़ा धीरे चलने के लिए कहिए।
Sir, please tell the one driving the car to go a little slower.
(saahab, kripyaa gaadii chalaane vaale ko thodaa dhiire chalne ke lie kahie।)
झूठ बोलने वाले पर किसी को भरोसा नहीं रहता।
No one trusts a person who lies.
(jhooth bolne vaale par kisii ko bharosaa nahiin rahtaa।)
जो लोग मेहनत करने वाले होते हैं, वो कभी असफल नहीं होते।
People who are the type to work hard never fail.
(jo log mehnat karne vaale hote hain, vo kabhii asphal nahiin hote।)
इस दुकान पर सामान बेचने वाले को सब जानते हैं।
Everyone knows the one who sells goods at this shop.
(is dukaan par saamaan bechne vaale ko sab jaante hain।)
मदद करने वाले की हमेशा तारीफ़ की जाती है।
The one who helps is always praised.
(madad karne vaale kii hameshaa taariif kii jaatii hai।)
Sense
3
:
about to (imminent future)
adjective Frame: [subject] + [verb stem]ने वाला/वाली/वाले + है/था etc. -- मैं जाने वाला हूँ (main jaane vaalaa hoon, 'I am about to go'). Expresses an action on the verge of happening, agreeing with the subject.
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the natural Hindi way to say 'just about to' -- ट्रेन छूटने वाली है (tren chhootne vaalii hai, 'the train is about to leave') -- and you'll hear it constantly at railway stations and in everyday urgency. It builds directly on the agentive sense above (an action so imminent it's as if the subject has 'become the one who does it').
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners drop the auxiliary है (hai)/था (thaa) that this construction requires -- वाला (vaalaa) alone doesn't complete the sentence. 2) Tense is carried entirely by the auxiliary (है/था/होगा), not by वाला (vaalaa) itself, so बारिश होने वाली थी (baarish hone vaalii thii, 'it was about to rain') shifts smoothly to the past this way.
Sample Sentences:
ट्रेन छूटने वाली है, जल्दी करो।
The train is about to leave, hurry up.
(tren chhootne vaalii hai, jaldii karo।)
बारिश होने वाली है, छत पर से कपड़े उठा लो।
It is about to rain, take the clothes down from the roof.
(baarish hone vaalii hai, chhat par se kapde uthaa lo।)
फिल्म शुरू होने वाली थी, तभी बिजली चली गई।
The movie was about to start, when suddenly the power went out.
(philm shuroo hone vaalii thii, tabhii bijlii chalii gaii।)
मुझे लगता है बच्चा रोने वाला है।
I think the child is about to cry.
(mujhe lagtaa hai bachchaa rone vaalaa hai।)
अगर तुम समय पर नहीं पहुँचे, तो मीटिंग खत्म होने वाली होगी।
If you don't arrive on time, the meeting will be about to end.
(agar tum samay par nahiin pahunche, to miiting khatm hone vaalii hogii।)
क्या दुकान बंद होने वाली है?
Is the shop about to close?
(kyaa dukaan band hone vaalii hai?)
अगर वह थोड़ी देर और रुकता, तो सच बात बाहर आने वाली थी।
If he had stayed a little longer, the truth would have been about to come out.
(agar vah thodii der aur ruktaa, to sach baat baahar aane vaalii thii।)
यात्रीगण कृपया ध्यान दें, गाड़ी प्लेटफ़ॉर्म नंबर तीन से रवाना होने वाली है।
Attention passengers, the train is about to depart from platform number three.
(yaatriigan kripyaa dhyaan den, gaadii pletform nambar tiin se ravaanaa hone vaalii hai।)
सूरज डूबने वाला है, चलो जल्दी घर चलते हैं।
The sun is about to set, let's hurry home.
(sooraj doobne vaalaa hai, chalo jaldii ghar chalte hain।)
परीक्षा के नतीजे घोषित होने वाले हैं, सब घबराए हुए हैं।
The exam results are about to be announced, everyone is nervous.
(pariikshaa ke natiije ghoshit hone vaale hain, sab ghabraae hue hain।)
उम्मीद है कि तूफ़ान टलने वाला हो, वरना हम फँस जाएँगे।
Hopefully the storm is about to pass, otherwise we'll get stuck.
(ummiid hai ki toofaan talne vaalaa ho, varnaa ham phans jaaenge।)
Morphology
Adjective (variable)
(sg.m):
वाला
(vaalaa)
(pl.m):
वाले
(vaale)
(sg.f):
वाली
(vaalii)
(pl.f):
वाली
(vaalii)