Class 10 Hindi comes in two papers, and most families know which one their child sits without knowing how the two differ once the paper is on the desk. They differ more than the shared 80 marks suggest: Course B has one more writing task, a different grammar list, a smaller literature share and its own set of deleted chapters.
Here are both, from the official CBSE curriculum documents for Course A (code 002) and Course B (code 085), session 2026-27. Check every figure against the copy your school has issued; CBSE revises these every year. If the question is which course, that is a separate post.
The two papers in one table
| Section | Course A | Course B |
|---|---|---|
| क Unseen comprehension (अपठित बोध) | 14 | 14 |
| ख Applied grammar (व्यावहारिक व्याकरण) | 16 | 16 |
| ग Textbook and supplementary reader | 30 | 28 |
| घ Creative writing (रचनात्मक लेखन) | 20 | 22 |
| Written paper, three hours | 80 | 80 |
| Internal assessment: periodic tests 5, multiple assessment 5, portfolio 5, listening and speaking 5 | 20 | 20 |
Section क: unseen comprehension, 14 marks
Course A: one prose passage of about 250 words and one poem of about 120 words, seven marks each: three one-mark multiple-choice questions and two two-mark short answers on each. Course B: two prose passages of about 200 words, seven marks each, same question shape, and no poem. The poem is the Course A difference that catches students: a poetry passage needs its own reading method, and it is the part of section क most students practise least.
Section ख: grammar, 16 marks, four topics each
In both courses twenty one-mark questions are set and sixteen answered, five per topic with four to attempt.
| Course A | Course B |
|---|---|
| रचना के आधार पर वाक्य-भेद: sentence types by structure, 4 | पदबंध: phrases, 4 |
| वाच्य: voice, 4 | रचना के आधार पर वाक्य-रूपांतरण: sentence transformation, 4 |
| पद-परिचय: parsing a word in a sentence, 4 | समास: compounds, 4 |
| अलंकार: उपमा, रूपक, उत्प्रेक्षा, अतिशयोक्ति, मानवीकरण, 4 | मुहावरे: idioms, 4 |
Four topics, four marks each, with a spare question in every set. This is the most preparable section on either paper: a student who can parse a word, name the five figures of speech and change a sentence's structure has sixteen marks in hand before the literature begins. Gender is where pad-parichay and sentence transformation both go wrong.
Section ग: the books, and what is deleted
| Course A: Kshitij Part 2, Kritika Part 2 | Course B: Sparsh Part 2, Sanchayan Part 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Prose from the main book | 11: five one-mark MCQs on a passage, three two-mark answers (choose 3 of 4) | 11: the same shape |
| Poetry from the main book | 11: five MCQs on a verse passage, three two-mark answers | 11: the same shape |
| Supplementary reader | Kritika 8: two four-mark answers of 50 to 60 words (choose 2 of 3) | Sanchayan 6: two three-mark answers (choose 2 of 3) |
| Not examined in 2026-27 | क्षितिज: Dev (सवैया, कवित्त), Girijakumar Mathur (छाया मत छूना), Rituraj (कन्यादान), Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi (स्त्री-शिक्षा के विरोधी कुतर्कों का खंडन), Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena (मानवीय करुणा की दिव्य चमक). कृतिका: एही ठैयाँ झुलनी हेरानी हो रामा!, जॉर्ज पंचम की नाक | स्पर्श: Bihari (दोहे), Mahadevi Verma (मधुर-मधुर मेरे दीपक जल), Anton Chekhov (गिरगिट). संचयन: nothing removed |
Everything else in the two books is examinable. The deletions matter twice over: a student who prepares a deleted chapter wastes an evening, and a guidebook printed before the list came out will still carry them. Mark the deleted chapters in the book on day one.
Section घ: writing, where the two papers differ most
| Course A, 20 marks | Course B, 22 marks |
|---|---|
| Paragraph, about 120 words, one of three topics, 6 | Paragraph, about 120 words, one of three topics, 5 |
| Letter, formal or informal, about 100 words, 5 | Formal letter, about 100 words, 5 |
| A CV for a job vacancy, or an email, about 80 words, 5 | Notice, about 60 words, 4 |
| Advertisement, or a message for a festival or occasion, about 40 words, 4 | Advertisement, about 40 words, 3 |
| Email, about 80 words, or a short story of about 100 words, 5 |
Every one of these has a fixed format that examiners mark first: the heading of a notice, the salutation and close of a formal letter, the subject line of an email. Format marks are the cheapest on the paper, and the most often lost by students who write good Hindi in the wrong shape.
Where the marks go
The pattern, from marking Class 10 scripts, is in its own post. The short version for the two papers: Course A students lose marks on the poem in section क and on वाच्य; Course B students lose them on पदबंध, which is rarely taught properly, and on the format of the notice and email. Both lose them on word limits, which examiners do apply.
A working plan from September
One chapter a week from the main book, read aloud and turned into the MCQ-and-short-answer shape. The four grammar topics of your course, one a fortnight, from the syllabus list and nothing beyond it. Two writing tasks a week in the exact format. From November, one full past paper a month under time; from January, one a fortnight. Section क needs an unseen passage a week from the start, because it cannot be revised, only practised.
Class 10 Hindi, Course A or B, taught to this syllabus
Ms. Ishita Parikh taught Hindi in Mumbai schools for five years and holds an MA in Sanskrit, from which Hindi grammar is explained rather than memorised. Tuition follows the course the school has chosen, with the deleted chapters marked and past papers marked to the board's scheme.
School Hindi tuition, Classes 1 to 12, online; in Mumbai, in person at Borivali West for Classes 1 to 10. Or book the free first class and bring the last test paper.
Questions people ask
What is the CBSE Class 10 Hindi Course A paper pattern for 2026-27?
An 80-mark paper of three hours: unseen comprehension 14 (a prose passage and a poem, 7 each), applied grammar 16, textbooks 30 (Kshitij prose 11, Kshitij poetry 11, Kritika 8) and creative writing 20, plus 20 marks of internal assessment.
What is the CBSE Class 10 Hindi Course B paper pattern for 2026-27?
Also 80 marks in three hours, weighted a little more towards language: unseen comprehension 14 (two prose passages, 7 each), applied grammar 16, textbooks 28 (Sparsh prose 11, Sparsh poetry 11, Sanchayan 6) and creative writing 22, plus 20 marks of internal assessment.
Which chapters are deleted from Class 10 Hindi in 2026-27?
Course A, Kshitij Part 2: Dev's Savaiya and Kavitt, Girijakumar Mathur's Chhaya Mat Chhuna, Rituraj's Kanyadan, Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi's Stree-Shiksha ke Virodhi Kutarkon ka Khandan, and Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena's Manaviya Karuna ki Divya Chamak; Kritika Part 2: Ehi Thaiyan Jhulni Herani Ho Rama and George Pancham ki Naak. Course B, Sparsh Part 2: Bihari's Dohe, Mahadevi Verma's Madhur-Madhur Mere Deepak Jal, and Chekhov's Girgit; nothing is removed from Sanchayan Part 2.
Which grammar topics come in Class 10 Hindi?
Course A: sentence types by structure, voice, pad-parichay and figures of speech (upama, rupak, utpreksha, atishayokti, manvikaran), four marks each. Course B: padbandh, sentence transformation by structure, samas and muhavare, four marks each. In both, twenty one-mark questions are set and sixteen are to be answered.
What writing tasks are in the Class 10 Hindi paper?
Course A: a paragraph of about 120 words (6), a formal or informal letter of about 100 words (5), a CV for a job vacancy or an email of about 80 words (5), and an advertisement or a message of about 40 words (4). Course B: a paragraph (5), a formal letter (5), a notice of about 60 words (4), an advertisement of about 40 words (3), and an email or a short story (5).