तीसरे पहर (tiisre pahar)

adverb A time-of-day expression meaning 'in the third watch [of the day]', roughly the late afternoon. Built from तीसरा (tiisraa, 'third') in its oblique form plus पहर (pahar), a traditional unit dividing day and night into eight watches of about three hours each.

Sense 1 : in the late afternoon (third watch of the day)

adverb Functions as an adverbial time-phrase, typically placed where a time adverb goes in the sentence; no postposition needed since पहर (pahar) is already in its oblique/locative-like form here.

Synonyms: देर दोपहर (der dopahar, less formal), सायंकाल (saayankaal, literary)

Frequency: low

Cultural Note: This phrase comes from the old system of dividing the day into eight पहर (pahar), each about three hours long, once used for temple bells, guard shifts, and daily routines in traditional Indian life. You will still hear it in older storytelling, folk songs, and rural or historical contexts more than in casual city speech, where लोग अक्सर दोपहर (dopahar) या शाम (shaam) कहते हैं (log aksar dopahar yaa shaam kahte hain, 'people usually just say afternoon or evening instead').

Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes try to add a postposition like में (men) after पहर (pahar), but तीसरे पहर (tiisre pahar) already functions as a complete time adverbial on its own, similar to सुबह (subah) or शाम (shaam).

Sample Sentences:

तीसरे पहर गाँव में मंदिर की घंटी बजती थी। In the late afternoon, the temple bell used to ring in the village.

(tiisre pahar gaanv men mandir kii ghantii bajtii thii।)

राजा तीसरे पहर दरबार में आया। The king came to the court in the late afternoon.

(raajaa tiisre pahar darbaar men aayaa।)

तीसरे पहर तक यात्री विश्राम कर रहे थे। By the late afternoon, the travelers were resting.

(tiisre pahar tak yaatrii vishraam kar rahe the।)

तीसरे पहर पहरेदार बदले जाते थे। The guards used to be changed in the late afternoon.

(tiisre pahar pahredaar badle jaate the।)

कथा में लिखा है कि साधु तीसरे पहर वन से लौटा। The story says that the sage returned from the forest in the late afternoon.

(kathaa men likhaa hai ki saadhu tiisre pahar van se lautaa।)

काश हम तीसरे पहर वहाँ पहुँच पाते। If only we had managed to reach there in the late afternoon.

(kaash ham tiisre pahar vahaan pahunch paate।)

यदि तीसरे पहर बारिश हो, तो यात्रा रुक जाएगी। If it rains in the late afternoon, the journey will stop.

(yadi tiisre pahar baarish ho, to yaatraa ruk jaaegii।)

दादी कहती थीं कि तीसरे पहर सोना अच्छा नहीं होता। Grandmother used to say that sleeping in the late afternoon isn't good.

(daadii kahtii thiin ki tiisre pahar sonaa achchhaa nahiin hotaa।)