घटना (ghatnaa)
noun/verb
Two related but distinct senses: as a verb, 'to happen/occur' or 'to decrease/reduce'; as a noun, 'an event/incident'. The noun and the 'happen' verb sense share a root idea -- something that occurs.
Sense
1
:
event, incident
noun, feminine
Synonyms: वाकया (vaakyaa), हादसा (haadsaa, often implies mishap/accident), वाक्या (vaakyaa, variant spelling)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this constantly on the news -- ताज़ा घटना (taazaa ghatnaa, 'breaking incident') or यह घटना कब हुई (yah ghatnaa kab huii, 'when did this event happen') -- it's the default word reporters and police use for 'incident.'
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes confuse this with दुर्घटना (durghatnaa), which specifically means 'accident' -- घटना (ghatnaa) itself is neutral and can refer to any event, good or bad.
Sample Sentences:
कल रात एक अजीब घटना हुई।
A strange incident happened last night.
(kal raat ek ajiib ghatnaa huii।)
यह घटना कब हुई थी?
When did this event happen?
(yah ghatnaa kab huii thii?)
पुलिस ताज़ा घटना की जानकारी दे रही है।
The police are giving information about the latest incident.
(pulis taazaa ghatnaa kii jaankaarii de rahii hai।)
इस तरह की घटनाएँ रोज़ अख़बार में छपती हैं।
This kind of incident gets printed in the newspaper every day.
(is tarah kii ghatnaaen roz akhbaar men chhaptii hain।)
अगर वह घटना नहीं होती, तो आज सब ठीक होता।
If that incident hadn't happened, everything would be fine today.
(agar vah ghatnaa nahiin hotii, to aaj sab thiik hotaa।)
उस घटना का पूरा विवरण रिपोर्ट में दर्ज किया गया है।
The complete details of that event have been recorded in the report.
(us ghatnaa kaa pooraa vivran riport men darj kiyaa gayaa hai।)
कृपया घटना का विवरण संक्षेप में लिखें।
Please write the details of the incident briefly.
(kripyaa ghatnaa kaa vivran sankshep men likhen।)
शायद यह घटना किसी साज़िश का हिस्सा हो।
Perhaps this incident is part of some conspiracy.
(shaayad yah ghatnaa kisii saazish kaa hissaa ho।)
उस घटना ने पूरे शहर को हिला दिया था।
That incident had shaken the entire city.
(us ghatnaa ne poore shahar ko hilaa diyaa thaa।)
जब तक जाँच पूरी नहीं होगी, घटना के बारे में कुछ भी नहीं कहा जाएगा।
Nothing will be said about the incident until the investigation is complete.
(jab tak jaanch poorii nahiin hogii, ghatnaa ke baare men kuchh bhii nahiin kahaa jaaegaa।)
यह घटना इतिहास के पन्नों में हमेशा याद रखी जाएगी।
This event will always be remembered in the pages of history.
(yah ghatnaa itihaas ke pannon men hameshaa yaad rakhii jaaegii।)
Sense
2
:
to happen, occur
verb, intransitive Used almost always in third person, describing events rather than actions of people; the subject is typically the event itself (e.g. दुर्घटना घटी, durghatnaa ghatii, 'the accident happened').
Synonyms: होना (honaa), वाकया होना (vaakyaa honaa)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This sense feels a notch more literary or journalistic than होना (honaa) -- you'd read it in a newspaper report more than hear it in casual chat, but it's still well within everyday comprehension.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often default to होना (honaa) for 'happen' and forget घटना (ghatnaa) exists as a more formal/written alternative, especially common in news reports and narration.
Sample Sentences:
कल रात यहाँ एक अजीब घटना घटी।
Last night a strange incident happened here.
(kal raat yahaan ek ajiib ghatnaa ghatii।)
यह सब कैसे घट गया, किसी को समझ नहीं आया।
No one understood how all this happened.
(yah sab kaise ghat gayaa, kisii ko samajh nahiin aayaa।)
ऐसी घटनाएँ रोज़ नहीं घटती हैं।
Events like this do not happen every day.
(aisii ghatnaaen roz nahiin ghattii hain।)
अगर सावधानी न रखी जाए, तो दुर्घटना घट सकती है।
If caution is not exercised, an accident could happen.
(agar saavdhaanii n rakhii jaae, to durghatnaa ghat saktii hai।)
संवाददाता ने बताया कि यह घटना सुबह दस बजे घटी।
The correspondent reported that this incident occurred at ten in the morning.
(sanvaaddaataa ne bataayaa ki yah ghatnaa subah das baje ghatii।)
यदि परिस्थितियाँ अलग होतीं, तो शायद यह हादसा न घटता।
If circumstances had been different, perhaps this mishap would not have happened.
(yadi paristhitiyaan alag hotiin, to shaayad yah haadsaa n ghattaa।)
शहर में इस समय क्या घट रहा है, यह कोई नहीं जानता।
No one knows what is happening in the city right now.
(shahar men is samay kyaa ghat rahaa hai, yah koii nahiin jaantaa।)
आगे जो कुछ घटेगा, उसकी ज़िम्मेदारी सरकार की होगी।
Whatever happens next, the responsibility will lie with the government.
(aage jo kuchh ghategaa, uskii zimmedaarii sarkaar kii hogii।)
इतिहास में ऐसी घटनाएँ बार-बार घटती रही हैं।
Such events have kept happening again and again throughout history.
(itihaas men aisii ghatnaaen baar-baar ghattii rahii hain।)
जो कुछ भी घटे, तुम शांत रहना।
Whatever happens, you stay calm.
(jo kuchh bhii ghate, tum shaant rahnaa।)
Sense
3
:
to decrease, reduce (intransitive)
verb, intransitive Intransitive; describes a quantity or degree going down on its own (price, weight, speed, etc.). Its transitive causative counterpart is घटाना (ghataanaa, 'to reduce/subtract'), a separate lemma.
Synonyms: कम होना (kam honaa)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: You'll hear this in everyday contexts like बुखार घट गया (bukhaar ghat gayaa, 'the fever went down') or दाम घट गए (daam ghat gae, 'the prices dropped') -- very practical, market-and-health kind of vocabulary.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes reach for घटाना (ghataanaa) when they actually mean the thing decreased by itself -- if there's no one doing the reducing, घटना (ghatnaa) is correct, not its causative.
Sample Sentences:
बुखार घट गया है।
The fever has gone down.
(bukhaar ghat gayaa hai।)
इस महीने पेट्रोल के दाम घट गए।
Petrol prices dropped this month.
(is mahiine petrol ke daam ghat gae।)
सर्दियों में दिन की रोशनी घटती जाती है।
Daylight keeps decreasing during winter.
(sardiyon men din kii roshnii ghattii jaatii hai।)
उसका वज़न धीरे-धीरे घट रहा है।
His weight is gradually decreasing.
(uskaa vazan dhiire-dhiire ghat rahaa hai।)
अगर मांग कम हो तो दाम घट जाएँगे।
If demand decreases, prices will go down.
(agar maang kam ho to daam ghat jaaenge।)
काश उसका बुखार जल्दी घट जाता।
I wish his fever would go down quickly.
(kaash uskaa bukhaar jaldii ghat jaataa।)
अगर वह रोज़ कसरत करता तो उसका वज़न घटता।
If he exercised daily, his weight would decrease.
(agar vah roz kasrat kartaa to uskaa vazan ghattaa।)
पिछले साल आबादी में वृद्धि घटी थी।
Population growth had decreased last year.
(pichhle saal aabaadii men vriddhi ghatii thii।)
सरकार चाहती है कि महंगाई घटे।
The government wants inflation to decrease.
(sarkaar chaahtii hai ki mahangaaii ghate।)
जैसे-जैसे उम्र बढ़ती है, ताक़त घटती जाती है।
As age increases, strength keeps decreasing.
(jaise-jaise umr badhtii hai, taaqat ghattii jaatii hai।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct):
घटना
(ghatnaa)
(sg.f.oblique):
घटना
(ghatnaa)
(pl.f.direct):
घटनाएँ
(ghatnaaen)
(pl.f.oblique):
घटनाओं
(ghatnaaon)
Verb
infinitive:
घटना
(ghatnaa)
infinitive oblique:
घटने
(ghatne)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
घटता
(ghattaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
घटते
(ghatte)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
घटती
(ghattii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
घटतीं
(ghattiin)
continuous (sg.m):
घट रहा
(ghat rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
घट रहे
(ghat rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
घट रही
(ghat rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
घट रहीं
(ghat rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
घटा
(ghataa)
perfective (pl.m):
घटे
(ghate)
perfective (sg.f):
घटी
(ghatii)
perfective (pl.f):
घटीं
(ghatiin)
imperative (informal):
घट
(ghat)
imperative (neutral):
घटो
(ghato)
imperative (formal):
घटिए
(ghatie)
future (1sg.m):
घटूँगा
(ghatoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
घटूँगी
(ghatoongii)
future (1pl.m):
घटेंगे
(ghatenge)
future (1pl.f):
घटेंगी
(ghatengii)
future (2sg.m):
घटेगा
(ghategaa)
future (2sg.f):
घटेगी
(ghategii)
future (2pl.m):
घटोगे
(ghatoge)
future (2pl.f):
घटोगी
(ghatogii)
future (3sg.m):
घटेगा
(ghategaa)
future (3sg.f):
घटेगी
(ghategii)
future (3pl.m):
घटेंगे
(ghatenge)
future (3pl.f):
घटेंगी
(ghatengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
घटूँ
(ghatoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
घटें
(ghaten)
subjunctive (2sg):
घटे
(ghate)
subjunctive (2pl):
घटो
(ghato)
subjunctive (3sg):
घटे
(ghate)
subjunctive (3pl):
घटें
(ghaten)