जल्दी (jaldii)
adverb/noun
Covers both the adverb 'quickly/soon' and the noun 'haste, hurry' -- the two senses share a root feel but differ in grammatical role.
Sense
1
:
quickly, soon, early
adverb
Synonyms: तेज़ी से (tezii se), फ़ौरन (fauran, immediately), शीघ्र (shiighr, literary)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is one of the most-used words in daily Hindi -- parents, bosses, and rickshaw drivers alike say जल्दी करो (jaldii karo, 'hurry up') constantly. It captures both 'soon' and 'fast' in a way English splits into two separate words, so pay attention to context.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often confuse जल्दी (jaldii) meaning 'soon/early' with तेज़ (tez) meaning 'fast' -- जल्दी आओ (jaldii aao, 'come quickly/soon') is about timing, not speed of motion. 2) जल्दी (jaldii) can mean both 'quickly' and 'early' depending on context: जल्दी सो जाओ (jaldii so jaao, 'go to sleep early') vs जल्दी करो (jaldii karo, 'hurry up') -- learners sometimes pick the wrong sense in translation.
Sample Sentences:
जल्दी करो, बस छूट जाएगी!
Hurry up, the bus will be missed!
(jaldii karo, bas chhoot jaaegii!)
मैं सुबह जल्दी उठता हूँ।
I wake up early in the morning.
(main subah jaldii uthtaa hoon।)
वह जल्दी ही घर पहुँच गया।
He reached home quite soon.
(vah jaldii hii ghar pahunch gayaa।)
अगर तुम जल्दी निकलते तो ट्रेन पकड़ लेते।
If you had left early, you would have caught the train.
(agar tum jaldii nikalte to tren pakad lete।)
क्या तुम जल्दी आ सकते हो?
Can you come quickly?
(kyaa tum jaldii aa sakte ho?)
काम जल्दी खत्म हो जाना चाहिए।
The work should get finished quickly.
(kaam jaldii khatm ho jaanaa chaahie।)
कृपया अपना जवाब जल्दी भेजें।
Please send your reply soon.
(kripyaa apnaa javaab jaldii bhejen।)
मैं चाहता हूँ कि यह मामला जल्दी सुलझ जाए।
I want this matter to be resolved quickly.
(main chaahtaa hoon ki yah maamlaa jaldii sulajh jaae।)
रिपोर्ट जल्दी तैयार की जा रही है।
The report is being prepared quickly.
(riport jaldii taiyaar kii jaa rahii hai।)
वह जल्दी ही ठीक हो जाएगी, डॉक्टर ने कहा।
She will be fine very soon, the doctor said.
(vah jaldii hii thiik ho jaaegii, doktar ne kahaa।)
बच्चे स्कूल के लिए जल्दी तैयार हो रहे थे।
The children were quickly getting ready for school.
(bachche skool ke lie jaldii taiyaar ho rahe the।)
Sense
2
:
haste, hurry
noun, feminine Commonly used with होना (honaa) in dative-subject constructions: मुझे जल्दी है (mujhe jaldii hai, 'I'm in a hurry').
Synonyms: जल्दबाज़ी (jaldbaazii, emphasizes rushed/hasty behavior), फुर्ती (phurtii, nimbleness/speed rather than hurry)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: मुझे जल्दी है (mujhe jaldii hai, 'I'm in a hurry') is the classic line you hear from someone trying to skip the queue at a Delhi market or cut a chai-stall conversation short -- it's polite but firm, signaling 'let's wrap this up.'
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often say मैं जल्दी हूँ (main jaldii hoon) by analogy with English 'I am in a hurry,' but the correct construction is मुझे जल्दी है (mujhe jaldii hai) -- the hurry belongs to you dative-style, like liking or needing.
Sample Sentences:
मुझे जल्दी है, मैं बाद में बात करता हूँ।
I'm in a hurry, I'll talk later.
(mujhe jaldii hai, main baad men baat kartaa hoon।)
उसे हमेशा इतनी जल्दी क्यों रहती है?
Why is he always in such a hurry?
(use hameshaa itnii jaldii kyon rahtii hai?)
इतनी जल्दी में गाड़ी मत चलाओ, दुर्घटना हो जाएगी।
Don't drive in such a hurry, there will be an accident.
(itnii jaldii men gaadii mat chalaao, durghatnaa ho jaaegii।)
अगर तुझे इतनी जल्दी थी तो पहले बता देता।
If you were in such a hurry, you should have told me earlier.
(agar tujhe itnii jaldii thii to pahle bataa detaa।)
जल्दी में उससे गलती हो गई।
In his haste, he made a mistake.
(jaldii men usse galtii ho gaii।)
साहब को जल्दी है, फाइल जल्दी तैयार कर दीजिए।
Sir is in a hurry, please get the file ready quickly.
(saahab ko jaldii hai, phaail jaldii taiyaar kar diijie।)
क्या आपको कोई जल्दी है? नहीं तो थोड़ी देर बैठिए।
Are you in any hurry? If not, please sit for a while.
(kyaa aapko koii jaldii hai? nahiin to thodii der baithie।)
इतनी जल्दी अच्छी नहीं होती, संभल कर काम करो।
So much haste isn't good, work carefully.
(itnii jaldii achchhii nahiin hotii, sambhal kar kaam karo।)
अगर उसे इतनी जल्दी न होती, तो शायद वह हादसे से बच जाता।
If he hadn't been in such a hurry, he might have avoided the accident.
(agar use itnii jaldii n hotii, to shaayad vah haadse se bach jaataa।)
काउंटर पर खड़ी औरत बोली, "भाई साहब, मुझे जल्दी है, ज़रा जल्दी कर दो।"
The woman standing at the counter said, "Bhai sahab, I'm in a hurry, please hurry up a bit."
(kaauntar par khadii aurat bolii, "bhaaii saahab, mujhe jaldii hai, zaraa jaldii kar do।")
जल्दी-जल्दी में उसने अपना पर्स भी नहीं उठाया।
In all that haste, she didn't even pick up her purse.
(jaldii-jaldii men usne apnaa pars bhii nahiin uthaayaa।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct):
जल्दी
(jaldii)
(sg.f.oblique):
जल्दी
(jaldii)
(pl.f.direct):
जल्दियाँ
(jaldiyaan)
(pl.f.oblique):
जल्दियों
(jaldiyon)