नेता (netaa)
noun
नेता (netaa) covers two related senses: a general 'leader' (of any group, movement, or team) and, more specifically, a 'politician' -- the second sense often carries a cynical or sarcastic edge in everyday speech.
Sense
1
:
leader (of a group, team, or movement)
noun, masculine
Synonyms: नायक (naayak), मुखिया (mukhiyaa, head of a village or small group), अग्रणी (agrnii, leading figure)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the neutral, respectful sense you hear in phrases like टीम का नेता (tiim kaa netaa, 'the team's leader') or आंदोलन का नेता (aandolan kaa netaa, 'the movement's leader'). It is also the root of the famous honorific नेता जी (netaa jii), used above all for Subhas Chandra Bose.
Common Mistakes: 1) The oblique plural is नेताओं (netaaon), not a regular -आ pattern -- learners sometimes try to inflect it like a normal -आ noun.
Sample Sentences:
हर टीम को एक अच्छे नेता की ज़रूरत होती है।
Every team needs a good leader.
(har tiim ko ek achchhe netaa kii zaroorat hotii hai।)
वह इस आंदोलन का नेता बन गया।
He became the leader of this movement.
(vah is aandolan kaa netaa ban gayaa।)
नेता जी ने हमें आज़ादी की लड़ाई का रास्ता दिखाया।
Netaji showed us the path to the fight for freedom.
(netaa jii ne hamen aazaadii kii ladaaii kaa raastaa dikhaayaa।)
क्या तुम इस समूह के नेता हो?
Are you the leader of this group?
(kyaa tum is samooh ke netaa ho?)
अगर वह हमारा नेता होता, तो हम कभी न हारते।
If he had been our leader, we would never have lost.
(agar vah hamaaraa netaa hotaa, to ham kabhii n haarte।)
समिति ने कल एक नया नेता चुना जाएगा।
A new leader will be chosen by the committee tomorrow.
(samiti ne kal ek nayaa netaa chunaa jaaegaa।)
टीम का नेता बनने के लिए बहुत ज़िम्मेदारी चाहिए।
Becoming the team's leader requires a lot of responsibility.
(tiim kaa netaa banne ke lie bahut zimmedaarii chaahie।)
काश हमारे पास ऐसा नेता होता जो सबकी सुनता!
I wish we had a leader who listened to everyone!
(kaash hamaare paas aisaa netaa hotaa jo sabkii suntaa!)
उस विरोध प्रदर्शन का नेता कौन था?
Who was the leader of that protest?
(us virodh pradarshan kaa netaa kaun thaa?)
तुम अपने ग्रुप का नेता बनो और सबको साथ लेकर चलो।
Be the leader of your group and take everyone along with you.
(tum apne grup kaa netaa bano aur sabko saath lekar chalo।)
नेता वह होता है जो मुश्किल समय में भी रास्ता दिखाए।
A leader is one who shows the way even in difficult times.
(netaa vah hotaa hai jo mushkil samay men bhii raastaa dikhaae।)
Sense
2
:
politician
noun, masculine
Synonyms: राजनेता (raajnetaa), राजनीतिज्ञ (raajniitigy, more formal/neutral, sounds like a textbook term)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Ask almost anyone on a Delhi street what they think of नेता लोग (netaa log) and you will likely get an eye-roll -- this sense of नेता (netaa) is loaded with everyday cynicism about corruption and empty promises, quite unlike the respectful 'leader' sense above.
Common Mistakes: 1) In casual conversation नेता (netaa) almost always means 'politician' rather than 'leader' in general -- context (politics, elections, corruption) usually makes clear which sense is meant. 2) The plural नेता लोग (netaa log, 'politicians as a class') is a very common colloquial way to talk about politicians dismissively, not just 'leaders.'
Sample Sentences:
आजकल के नेता सिर्फ़ वोट माँगने आते हैं।
Nowadays politicians only come around to ask for votes.
(aajkal ke netaa sirf vot maangne aate hain।)
उस नेता ने चुनाव से पहले सड़कें बनवाने का वादा किया था।
That politician had promised to get roads built before the election.
(us netaa ne chunaav se pahle sadken banvaane kaa vaadaa kiyaa thaa।)
नेता लोग तो बस भाषण देना जानते हैं, काम कोई नहीं करता।
Politicians just know how to give speeches -- nobody actually does the work.
(netaa log to bas bhaashan denaa jaante hain, kaam koii nahiin kartaa।)
क्या तुम्हें लगता है कि यह नेता अपनी बात पर टिकेगा?
Do you think this politician will actually stick to his word?
(kyaa tumhen lagtaa hai ki yah netaa apnii baat par tikegaa?)
अगर वह नेता होता, तो शायद अब तक भ्रष्ट हो गया होता।
If he were a politician, he probably would have become corrupt by now.
(agar vah netaa hotaa, to shaayad ab tak bhrasht ho gayaa hotaa।)
उस नेता के ख़िलाफ़ भ्रष्टाचार का मामला दर्ज किया गया।
A corruption case was filed against that politician.
(us netaa ke khilaaf bhrashtaachaar kaa maamlaa darj kiyaa gayaa।)
नेताजी, जनता को अब आपकी बातों पर भरोसा नहीं रहा।
Sir politician, the public no longer trusts your words.
(netaajii, jantaa ko ab aapkii baaton par bharosaa nahiin rahaa।)
मीडिया के सामने नेता कुछ और कहते हैं, पीछे कुछ और करते हैं।
In front of the media, politicians say one thing and do something else behind the scenes.
(miidiyaa ke saamne netaa kuchh aur kahte hain, piichhe kuchh aur karte hain।)
काश कोई ऐसा नेता आए जो सच में जनता के लिए काम करे।
I wish a politician would come who actually works for the people.
(kaash koii aisaa netaa aae jo sach men jantaa ke lie kaam kare।)
नेता बनने से पहले वह एक ईमानदार वकील था।
Before becoming a politician, he was an honest lawyer.
(netaa banne se pahle vah ek iimaandaar vakiil thaa।)
अरे भई, नेता तो नेता ही होते हैं, इनसे उम्मीद ही मत रखो।
Come on, politicians will always be politicians -- don't even bother expecting anything from them.
(are bhaii, netaa to netaa hii hote hain, inse ummiid hii mat rakho।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
नेता
(netaa)
(sg.m.oblique):
नेता
(netaa)
(pl.m.direct):
नेता
(netaa)
(pl.m.oblique):
नेताओं
(netaaon)