प्रेमी (premii)
noun/adjective
Two related senses: as a noun, प्रेमी (premii) means 'boyfriend/lover' (the feminine counterpart is a separate lemma, प्रेमिका premikaa); as an adjective, it's a compound suffix meaning '-loving' or 'fond of', as in संगीत-प्रेमी (sangiit-premii, 'music lover').
Sense
1
:
boyfriend, male romantic lover
noun, masculine
Synonyms: आशिक़ (aashiq), माशूक (maashook, literary), बॉयफ्रेंड (boyaphrend, colloquial)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the word that shows up constantly in Bollywood song lyrics and dialogues -- प्रेमी (premii) and प्रेमिका (premikaa) are the classic 'hero and heroine' pairing in romantic storytelling. In real-life conversation among friends, though, English loans like बॉयफ्रेंड (boyaphrend) or गर्लफ्रेंड (garlaphrend) are just as common, especially in urban Delhi speech.
Common Mistakes: 1) प्रेमी (premii) is grammatically masculine and refers to a male partner; for a female partner use the separate word प्रेमिका (premikaa), not a feminine-inflected form of प्रेमी (premii). 2) In everyday casual talk about modern relationships, especially among younger speakers, बॉयफ्रेंड (boyaphrend) is often more natural than प्रेमी (premii), which can sound slightly formal or filmy.
Sample Sentences:
उसका प्रेमी उससे बहुत प्यार करता है।
Her lover loves her very much.
(uskaa premii usse bahut pyaar kartaa hai।)
फिल्म में प्रेमी और प्रेमिका बारिश में मिलते हैं।
In the movie, the lover and the beloved meet in the rain.
(philm men premii aur premikaa baarish men milte hain।)
उसने अपने प्रेमी को कल फोन किया।
She called her boyfriend yesterday.
(usne apne premii ko kal phon kiyaa।)
क्या तुम्हारा कोई प्रेमी है?
Do you have a boyfriend?
(kyaa tumhaaraa koii premii hai?)
अगर वह मेरा प्रेमी होता, तो मुझे इतना इंतज़ार नहीं करना पड़ता।
If he were my boyfriend, I wouldn't have to wait so much.
(agar vah meraa premii hotaa, to mujhe itnaa intzaar nahiin karnaa padtaa।)
गाने में प्रेमी अपनी प्रेमिका को याद करते हुए तड़प रहा है।
In the song, the lover is pining, remembering his beloved.
(gaane men premii apnii premikaa ko yaad karte hue tadap rahaa hai।)
उसके प्रेमी ने उसके लिए गाना भी लिखा था।
Her lover had even written a song for her.
(uske premii ne uske lie gaanaa bhii likhaa thaa।)
उसे उम्मीद है कि उसका प्रेमी उससे शादी करे।
She hopes that her boyfriend will marry her.
(use ummiid hai ki uskaa premii usse shaadii kare।)
पुरानी कहानियों में प्रेमी अपनी जान भी दे देते थे।
In old stories, lovers would even give up their lives.
(puraanii kahaaniyon men premii apnii jaan bhii de dete the।)
उसके सारे दोस्तों को उसका प्रेमी पसंद है।
All her friends like her boyfriend.
(uske saare doston ko uskaa premii pasand hai।)
वह अपने प्रेमी से मिलने पार्क में गई थी।
She had gone to the park to meet her boyfriend.
(vah apne premii se milne paark men gaii thii।)
Sense
2
:
fond of, having deep affection for (as a compound suffix meaning '-loving')
adjective Used productively as the second half of a compound noun+प्रेमी (premii) combination: पुस्तक-प्रेमी (pustak-premii, 'book lover'), पशु-प्रेमी (pashu-premii, 'animal lover'), संगीत-प्रेमी (sangiit-premii, 'music lover'). It does not stand alone to mean 'fond of' -- it needs the attached noun.
Synonyms: अनुरागी (anuraagii, literary)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: You'll see this suffix everywhere in Indian civic and media language -- प्रकृति-प्रेमी (prakriti-premii, 'nature lover'), देश-प्रेमी (desh-premii, 'patriot', literally 'country-lover'). It's a handy Sanskrit-style building block for turning almost any noun into 'a lover/enthusiast of ___'.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes try to say 'X प्रेमी है' (X premii hai) to mean 'X is fond of it', but this sense only works glued onto the thing being loved as a compound (e.g. फ़िल्म-प्रेमी film-premii, not just प्रेमी premii on its own with a separate object).
Sample Sentences:
मेरे पड़ोसी बहुत प्रकृति-प्रेमी हैं, वे हर हफ्ते ट्रेकिंग पर जाते हैं।
My neighbors are great nature lovers, they go trekking every week.
(mere padosii bahut prakriti-premii hain, ve har haphte treking par jaate hain।)
एक सच्चा देश-प्रेमी कभी अपने देश से गद्दारी नहीं करता।
A true patriot never betrays his country.
(ek sachchaa desh-premii kabhii apne desh se gaddaarii nahiin kartaa।)
वह हमेशा से किताबों-प्रेमी रही है, उसका कमरा किताबों से भरा है।
She has always been a book lover, her room is full of books.
(vah hameshaa se kitaabon-premii rahii hai, uskaa kamraa kitaabon se bharaa hai।)
अगर तुम सचमुच पशु-प्रेमी होते, तो इतनी बेरहमी से यह मजाक नहीं करते।
If you were really an animal lover, you wouldn't joke about it so cruelly.
(agar tum sachmuch pashu-premii hote, to itnii berahmii se yah majaak nahiin karte।)
सरकार चाहती है कि युवा पीढ़ी अधिक कला-प्रेमी बने।
The government wants the young generation to become more art-loving.
(sarkaar chaahtii hai ki yuvaa piidhii adhik kalaa-premii bane।)
इस शहर में शांति-प्रेमी लोगों की कोई कमी नहीं है।
There is no shortage of peace-loving people in this city.
(is shahar men shaanti-premii logon kii koii kamii nahiin hai।)
स्वतंत्रता-प्रेमी नागरिकों ने इस कानून का जोरदार विरोध किया।
Freedom-loving citizens strongly opposed this law.
(svatantrtaa-premii naagrikon ne is kaanoon kaa jordaar virodh kiyaa।)
संगीत-प्रेमी बनो, इससे मन को बहुत सुकून मिलता है।
Become a music lover, it brings great peace to the mind.
(sangiit-premii bano, isse man ko bahut sukoon miltaa hai।)
यह क्षेत्र पर्यटन-प्रेमी विदेशियों द्वारा बहुत पसंद किया जाता है।
This region is greatly liked by tourism-loving foreigners.
(yah kshetr parytan-premii videshiyon dvaaraa bahut pasand kiyaa jaataa hai।)
जो व्यक्ति सत्य-प्रेमी हो, उसे कभी झूठ का सहारा नहीं लेना चाहिए।
Whoever is truth-loving should never resort to lies.
(jo vyakti saty-premii ho, use kabhii jhooth kaa sahaaraa nahiin lenaa chaahie।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
प्रेमी
(premii)
(sg.m.oblique):
प्रेमी
(premii)
(pl.m.direct):
प्रेमी
(premii)
(pl.m.oblique):
प्रेमीयों
(premiiyon)
Adjective (invariant)
invariant:
प्रेमी
(premii)