थोड़ा-बहुत (thodaa-bahut)
adjective/adverb
A reduplicated pair of थोड़ा (thodaa, 'a little') and बहुत (bahut, 'a lot') that together mean 'a little bit, some small amount' -- softer and more casual than थोड़ा (thodaa) alone. Used as both an adjective (modifying a noun) and an adverb (modifying a verb/degree).
Sense
1
:
a small amount of (something)
adjective
Synonyms: कुछ (kuchh), ज़रा सा (zaraa saa)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this constantly when someone is being modest about their skills: थोड़ी-बहुत अंग्रेज़ी आती है (thodii-bahut angrezii aatii hai, 'I know a little English') is the classic humble-brag reply. It softens a claim in the same way 'a bit of' does in English, and native speakers reach for it instead of plain थोड़ा (thodaa) whenever they want to sound unassuming.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often try to inflect बहुत (bahut) separately for gender/number the way they would with थोड़ा (thodaa) alone; in this fixed pair, बहुत (bahut) stays as is while only थोड़ा (thodaa) agrees with the noun, e.g. थोड़ी-बहुत हिंदी (thodii-bahut hindii, 'a little bit of Hindi').
Sample Sentences:
मुझे थोड़ी-बहुत अंग्रेज़ी आती है।
I know a little bit of English.
(mujhe thodii-bahut angrezii aatii hai।)
उसे थोड़ा-बहुत हिंदी भी समझ आती है।
He understands a little bit of Hindi too.
(use thodaa-bahut hindii bhii samajh aatii hai।)
घर में थोड़ा-बहुत आटा रखा है, बाकी सामान कल आएगा।
There is a little bit of flour kept at home; the rest of the stuff will come tomorrow.
(ghar men thodaa-bahut aataa rakhaa hai, baakii saamaan kal aaegaa।)
थोड़ा-बहुत पैसा बचा लो, बुढ़ापे में काम आएगा।
Save a little bit of money; it'll come in handy in old age.
(thodaa-bahut paisaa bachaa lo, budhaape men kaam aaegaa।)
अगर थोड़ा-बहुत समय मिलता, तो मैं यह किताब पूरी पढ़ लेता।
If I had gotten a little bit of time, I would have finished reading this whole book.
(agar thodaa-bahut samay miltaa, to main yah kitaab poorii padh letaa।)
शायद उसके पास थोड़ा-बहुत अनुभव हो इस काम का।
Maybe he has a little bit of experience in this work.
(shaayad uske paas thodaa-bahut anubhav ho is kaam kaa।)
मैंने थोड़ा-बहुत खाना बना लिया था मेहमानों के लिए।
I had made a little bit of food for the guests.
(mainne thodaa-bahut khaanaa banaa liyaa thaa mehmaanon ke lie।)
आपको इस विषय पर थोड़ा-बहुत ज्ञान अवश्य होना चाहिए।
You should certainly have at least a little bit of knowledge on this subject.
(aapko is vishay par thodaa-bahut gyaan avashy honaa chaahie।)
थोड़ा-बहुत काम अभी भी बचा हुआ है।
A little bit of work still remains.
(thodaa-bahut kaam abhii bhii bachaa huaa hai।)
थोड़ा-बहुत फ़र्क़ हर रिश्ते में देखा जाता है।
A little bit of difference is seen in every relationship.
(thodaa-bahut farq har rishte men dekhaa jaataa hai।)
वह थोड़ा-बहुत गिटार बजा लेती है, कोई ख़ास ट्रेनिंग नहीं ली।
She plays a little bit of guitar; she hasn't taken any special training.
(vah thodaa-bahut gitaar bajaa letii hai, koii khaas trening nahiin lii।)
Sense
2
:
to a small extent, somewhat
adverb
Synonyms: कुछ कुछ (kuchh kuchh), ज़रा (zaraa)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: As an adverb this pair carries the same modest, hedging tone -- थोड़ा-बहुत समझ जाता हूँ (thodaa-bahut samajh jaataa hoon, 'I understand a little bit') is a very natural way to underplay one's ability without denying it outright, a common conversational move in Hindi.
Sample Sentences:
मैं हिंदी थोड़ा-बहुत समझ जाता हूँ।
I understand Hindi a little bit.
(main hindii thodaa-bahut samajh jaataa hoon।)
वह अंग्रेज़ी थोड़ा-बहुत बोल लेती है।
She can speak English a little bit.
(vah angrezii thodaa-bahut bol letii hai।)
उसने थोड़ा-बहुत काम कर लिया था।
He had gotten a little bit of the work done.
(usne thodaa-bahut kaam kar liyaa thaa।)
मुझे संगीत की थोड़ी-बहुत समझ है।
I have a bit of an understanding of music.
(mujhe sangiit kii thodii-bahut samajh hai।)
अगर तुम थोड़ा-बहुत मान जाते तो झगड़ा नहीं होता।
If you had given in just a little bit, there would not have been a fight.
(agar tum thodaa-bahut maan jaate to jhagdaa nahiin hotaa।)
थोड़ा-बहुत ही झुक जाओ, बड़ी बात नहीं है।
Just bend a little bit, it's not a big deal.
(thodaa-bahut hii jhuk jaao, badii baat nahiin hai।)
शायद वह थोड़ा-बहुत समझ जाए।
Maybe he'll understand it a little bit.
(shaayad vah thodaa-bahut samajh jaae।)
यह भाषण सबको थोड़ा-बहुत प्रभावित कर गया।
This speech influenced everyone to a small extent.
(yah bhaashan sabko thodaa-bahut prabhaavit kar gayaa।)
मेरी बात से उसका मन थोड़ा-बहुत बदला जा सकता है।
His mind can be changed a little bit by what I say.
(merii baat se uskaa man thodaa-bahut badlaa jaa saktaa hai।)
हम दोनों की सोच थोड़ी-बहुत मिलती-जुलती है।
Our two ways of thinking are somewhat similar.
(ham donon kii soch thodii-bahut miltii-jultii hai।)
Morphology
Adjective (variable)
Morphology could not be generated (hyphen-joined variable adjective 'थोड़ा-बहुत').