के चारों ओर (ke chaaron or)

postposition A compound postposition meaning 'around, on all sides of' -- built from चारों (chaaron, 'all four') plus ओर (or, 'direction/side'), governed by के (ke).
Sense 1 : around, surrounding
postposition Takes the oblique/genitive के before it, attaching to the noun being surrounded: शहर के चारों ओर (shahar ke chaaron or, 'around the city').
Synonyms: के आस-पास (ke aas-paas, nearby/around, more casual), के इर्द-गिर्द (ke ird-gird)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Picture a chowk (chauk) or a park in Delhi -- if you say पार्क के चारों ओर पेड़ हैं (paark ke chaaron or ped hain, 'there are trees all around the park'), you're invoking that full-circle, 360-degree sense baked into चारों (chaaron). It's a common phrase in descriptions of scenery, crowds gathering, or armies surrounding a fort in old stories.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes drop चारों (chaaron) and just say के ओर (ke or), which instead means 'toward' or 'in the direction of' -- the opposite spatial idea of surrounding something. 2) चारों (chaaron) literally references 'four' (as in four directions), but it is fixed in this phrase and never changes for number or gender, so learners should not try to inflect it.
Sample Sentences:
पार्क के चारों ओर ऊँचे पेड़ हैं। There are tall trees all around the park.
(paark ke chaaron or oonche ped hain।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
बच्चे मेज़ के चारों ओर बैठे थे। The children were sitting around the table.
(bachche mez ke chaaron or baithe the।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
सेना ने किले के चारों ओर घेरा डाल दिया। The army laid siege all around the fort.
(senaa ne kile ke chaaron or gheraa daal diyaa।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
मूर्ति के चारों ओर भीड़ जमा हो रही थी। A crowd was gathering all around the statue.
(moorti ke chaaron or bhiid jamaa ho rahii thii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
घर के चारों ओर एक ऊँची दीवार बनवा लो, वरना कोई भी अंदर घुस आएगा। Get a high wall built all around the house, otherwise anyone will just walk in.
(ghar ke chaaron or ek oonchii diivaar banvaa lo, varnaa koii bhii andar ghus aaegaa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
अगर मंदिर के चारों ओर बगीचा होता, तो जगह और सुंदर लगती। If there were a garden all around the temple, the place would look even more beautiful.
(agar mandir ke chaaron or bagiichaa hotaa, to jagah aur sundar lagtii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
चौक के चारों ओर दुकानें ही दुकानें हैं। Around the chowk, it's shops upon shops.
(chauk ke chaaron or dukaanen hii dukaanen hain।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
क्या आप चाहेंगे कि इमारत के चारों ओर सुरक्षा गार्ड तैनात किए जाएँ? Would you like security guards to be posted all around the building?
(kyaa aap chaahenge ki imaarat ke chaaron or surakshaa gaard tainaat kie jaaen?)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
गाँव के चारों ओर खेत फैले हुए थे। Fields stretched out all around the village.
(gaanv ke chaaron or khet phaile hue the।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
पूरे परिसर के चारों ओर कैमरे लगाए गए हैं। Cameras have been installed all around the entire premises.
(poore parisar ke chaaron or kaimre lagaae gae hain।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
आग की लपटें झोपड़ी के चारों ओर फैल गईं। The flames spread all around the hut.
(aag kii lapten jhopdii ke chaaron or phail gaiin।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active