छोड़कर (chhodkar)
postposition/conjunction
The conjunctive participle form of छोड़ना (chhodnaa, 'to leave/let go'), used mainly to mean 'except/apart from' and to describe leaving a place or doing one thing before another.
Sense
1
:
except, apart from
postposition Follows the noun it excludes, often in the frame X को छोड़कर (X ko chhodkar) meaning 'except for X'.
Synonyms: सिवाय (sivaay), के अलावा (ke alaavaa)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is probably the most common way to say 'except' in everyday Hindi -- you will hear it constantly in sentences like सबको छोड़कर (sabko chhodkar, 'except everyone') or इसे छोड़कर (ise chhodkar, 'except this'). It grew naturally out of the verb छोड़ना (chhodnaa) -- think of it as 'setting aside' something before talking about the rest.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often forget the को (ko) before छोड़कर (chhodkar) when excluding a noun -- राम को छोड़कर (raam ko chhodkar, 'except for Ram') is the natural pattern, not just राम छोड़कर (raam chhodkar). 2) Confusing this exclusive sense with the literal 'having left' sense of the same word can lead to ambiguity, but context (a list of items vs. a place) usually clears it up.
Sample Sentences:
मुझे छोड़कर सब लोग पार्टी में गए थे।
Except for me, everyone went to the party.
(mujhe chhodkar sab log paartii men gae the।)
इस कमरे को छोड़कर बाकी सब कमरे खाली हैं।
Except for this room, all the other rooms are empty.
(is kamre ko chhodkar baakii sab kamre khaalii hain।)
रवि को छोड़कर कोई भी समय पर नहीं आता।
Except for Ravi, nobody comes on time.
(ravi ko chhodkar koii bhii samay par nahiin aataa।)
इतवार को छोड़कर मैं हर दिन दफ़्तर जाऊँगा।
Except for Sunday, I will go to the office every day.
(itvaar ko chhodkar main har din daftar jaaoongaa।)
सबको छोड़कर सिर्फ़ वही परीक्षा में पास हुई।
Except for everyone else, only she passed the exam.
(sabko chhodkar sirf vahii pariikshaa men paas huii।)
इसे छोड़कर बाकी सारा सामान बेच दिया गया।
Except for this, all the rest of the stuff was sold off.
(ise chhodkar baakii saaraa saamaan bech diyaa gayaa।)
अगर मेहमानों को छोड़कर कोई और यहाँ रहता, तो मुझे अच्छा लगता।
If someone other than the guests lived here, I would be happy about it.
(agar mehmaanon ko chhodkar koii aur yahaan rahtaa, to mujhe achchhaa lagtaa।)
काम को छोड़कर बाकी सब बातें बाद में करना।
Except for the work, discuss everything else later.
(kaam ko chhodkar baakii sab baaten baad men karnaa।)
हो सकता है कि इस मुद्दे को छोड़कर बाकी सब पर सहमति बन जाए।
It's possible that, except for this issue, agreement will be reached on everything else.
(ho saktaa hai ki is mudde ko chhodkar baakii sab par sahamti ban jaae।)
प्रधानमंत्री को छोड़कर सभी मंत्रियों ने बैठक में भाग लिया।
Except for the Prime Minister, all the ministers took part in the meeting.
(pradhaanmantrii ko chhodkar sabhii mantriyon ne baithak men bhaag liyaa।)
दिल्ली को छोड़कर बाकी सारे शहरों में गर्मी कम है।
Except for Delhi, the heat is less in all the other cities.
(dillii ko chhodkar baakii saare shahron men garmii kam hai।)
Sense
2
:
having left, after leaving (sequential action)
conjunction Functions as a conjunctive participle: 'X छोड़कर, Y' means 'having left/quit X, (subject did) Y' -- links two actions by the same subject in sequence.
Synonyms: छोड़के (chhodke, colloquial variant)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this in real-life stories all the time -- घर छोड़कर (ghar chhodkar, 'having left home') शहर आ गया (shahar aa gayaa, 'came to the city') is the classic shape of a migration story in Hindi conversation. It is the same verb root as sense 1, just used in its literal, physical meaning of departure rather than the abstract 'except' meaning.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes translate this too literally as 'leaving' in every context, but with abstract nouns like नौकरी (naukrii, 'job') or आदत (aadat, 'habit') it means 'having given up/quit', not physically walking away.
Sample Sentences:
वह अपना गाँव छोड़कर शहर आ गया।
He left his village and came to the city.
(vah apnaa gaanv chhodkar shahar aa gayaa।)
घर छोड़कर वह दिल्ली में नौकरी करने लगी।
Having left home, she started working in Delhi.
(ghar chhodkar vah dillii men naukrii karne lagii।)
बच्चे स्कूल छोड़कर सीधे घर जाते हैं।
The children leave school and go straight home.
(bachche skool chhodkar siidhe ghar jaate hain।)
कमरा छोड़कर बाहर आ जाओ, यहाँ बहुत गर्मी है।
Leave the room and come outside, it's very hot in here.
(kamraa chhodkar baahar aa jaao, yahaan bahut garmii hai।)
नौकरी छोड़कर वह अपना काम शुरू करेगा।
Leaving his job, he will start his own business.
(naukrii chhodkar vah apnaa kaam shuroo karegaa।)
अगर वह अपना पुराना घर छोड़कर न आता, तो यह मौका उसे कभी न मिलता।
If he hadn't left his old home and come here, he would never have gotten this chance.
(agar vah apnaa puraanaa ghar chhodkar n aataa, to yah maukaa use kabhii n miltaa।)
मुझे डर है कि वह सब कुछ छोड़कर वापस लौट न जाए।
I'm afraid that he might leave everything and go back.
(mujhe dar hai ki vah sab kuchh chhodkar vaapas laut n jaae।)
पति अपनी पत्नी को छोड़कर विदेश चला गया।
The husband left his wife behind and went abroad.
(pati apnii patnii ko chhodkar videsh chalaa gayaa।)
इस गाँव के अधिकतर लोग खेती छोड़कर शहरों की ओर चले गए हैं।
Most people from this village have left farming and moved toward the cities.
(is gaanv ke adhiktar log khetii chhodkar shahron kii or chale gae hain।)
जब मैं अपना देश छोड़कर आया था, तब मुझे कुछ नहीं पता था।
When I had left my country and come here, I knew nothing.
(jab main apnaa desh chhodkar aayaa thaa, tab mujhe kuchh nahiin pataa thaa।)
माता-पिता को छोड़कर उस मंज़िल की ओर बढ़ना आसान नहीं था।
Leaving one's parents behind and moving toward that destination was not easy.
(maataa-pitaa ko chhodkar us manzil kii or badhnaa aasaan nahiin thaa।)