फटना (phatnaa)
verb
An intransitive verb meaning 'to tear/rip' or 'to burst/crack' -- used for cloth, paper, skin, clouds, and even loudly for things like bombs or storms; also lives inside a common idiom for extreme fear. Its transitive counterpart 'to tear something' is the causative फाड़ना (phaadnaa), a separate lemma.
Sense
1
:
to tear, rip (of cloth, paper, skin)
verb, intransitive
Synonyms: चिरना (chirnaa, less common)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this constantly about clothes and shoes -- कमीज़ फट गई (kamiiz phat gaii, 'the shirt tore') is the classic complaint of a kid coming home after playing outside. The shirt is treated as the one doing the action (intransitive), not as something acted upon, which is a very Hindi way of framing everyday wear and tear as just happening.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners try to use this transitively with an object, e.g. wanting to say 'I tore the shirt' with फटना (phatnaa) -- but फटना (phatnaa) only describes the shirt tearing on its own; the agentive version is फाड़ना (phaadnaa), as in मैंने कमीज़ फाड़ी (mainne kamiiz phaadii, 'I tore the shirt').
Sample Sentences:
मेरी कमीज़ फट गई।
My shirt tore.
(merii kamiiz phat gaii।)
खेलते-खेलते बच्चों की पैंट फट जाती है।
Kids' pants tear from all that playing around.
(khelte-khelte bachchon kii paint phat jaatii hai।)
देखो, तुम्हारी जुराब फट रही है।
Look, your sock is tearing.
(dekho, tumhaarii juraab phat rahii hai।)
इतनी पुरानी किताब है, कोई भी पन्ना फट सकता है।
The book is so old, any page could tear.
(itnii puraanii kitaab hai, koii bhii pannaa phat saktaa hai।)
अगर तुम इतनी ज़ोर से खींचते तो कागज़ फट जाता।
If you had pulled that hard, the paper would have torn.
(agar tum itnii zor se khiinchte to kaagaz phat jaataa।)
ध्यान से चलो, वरना जूता फट जाएगा।
Walk carefully, or else your shoe will tear.
(dhyaan se chalo, varnaa jootaa phat jaaegaa।)
काँटेदार तार में उलझकर उसकी कमीज़ फट गई थी।
His shirt had torn after getting caught on the barbed wire.
(kaantedaar taar men ulajhkar uskii kamiiz phat gaii thii।)
यह कपड़ा इतना कमज़ोर है कि हाथ लगाते ही फट जाता है।
This fabric is so weak that it tears the moment you touch it.
(yah kapdaa itnaa kamzor hai ki haath lagaate hii phat jaataa hai।)
बच्चे ने रोते हुए कहा, "मेरी कमीज़ फट गई!"
The child said while crying, "My shirt tore!"
(bachche ne rote hue kahaa, "merii kamiiz phat gaii!")
पुरानी होने के कारण चादर जगह-जगह से फटी हुई थी।
Because it was old, the sheet was torn in several places.
(puraanii hone ke kaaran chaadar jagah-jagah se phatii huii thii।)
Sense
2
:
to burst, crack, split open (of surfaces, clouds, containers)
verb, intransitive
Synonyms: टूटना (tootnaa, breaks/shatters rather than splits)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: बादल फटना (baadal phatnaa, 'cloud burst') is the standard news phrase every monsoon for a sudden violent downpour in the hills -- you will see this headline every July-August about flash floods in Uttarakhand or Himachal.
Sample Sentences:
कल रात उत्तराखंड में बादल फट गया।
Last night a cloud burst in Uttarakhand.
(kal raat uttraakhand men baadal phat gayaa।)
हर मानसून में पहाड़ों में कहीं न कहीं बादल फटता है।
Every monsoon, a cloud bursts somewhere or the other in the hills.
(har maansoon men pahaadon men kahiin n kahiin baadal phattaa hai।)
पानी का दबाव इतना बढ़ गया कि पाइप फट गया।
The water pressure increased so much that the pipe burst.
(paanii kaa dabaav itnaa badh gayaa ki paaip phat gayaa।)
गर्मी के मारे धरती जगह-जगह फट गई है।
Because of the heat, the earth has cracked open in many places.
(garmii ke maare dhartii jagah-jagah phat gaii hai।)
अगर तुमने बैग में इतना सामान भरा तो वह फट जाएगा।
If you stuff that much stuff into the bag, it will burst.
(agar tumne baig men itnaa saamaan bharaa to vah phat jaaegaa।)
देखो, कहीं गुब्बारा फट न जाए, इतनी हवा मत भरो।
Watch out, don't fill it with so much air, or the balloon might burst.
(dekho, kahiin gubbaaraa phat n jaae, itnii havaa mat bharo।)
अगर बांध कमज़ोर होता तो कब का फट जाता।
If the dam had been weak, it would have burst long ago.
(agar baandh kamzor hotaa to kab kaa phat jaataa।)
समाचारों में कहा गया कि बादल फटने से कई गाँव बह गए।
It was reported in the news that many villages were washed away due to the cloudburst.
(samaachaaron men kahaa gayaa ki baadal phatne se kaii gaanv bah gae।)
बहुत ठंड पड़ने से उसके होंठ फट गए हैं।
Because of the extreme cold, his lips have cracked.
(bahut thand padne se uske honth phat gae hain।)
Sense
3
:
to explode loudly (bomb, firecracker, tire)
verb, intransitive
Synonyms: फूटना (phootnaa, overlaps closely, often interchangeable for bombs/crackers)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: During Diwali you will hear पटाखे फट रहे हैं (pataakhe phat rahe hain, 'firecrackers are going off') everywhere in the evening -- this is probably the single most common real-world context where a learner will actually hear this sense used live.
Sample Sentences:
दिवाली पर हर तरफ पटाखे फट रहे हैं।
On Diwali, firecrackers are going off everywhere.
(divaalii par har taraph pataakhe phat rahe hain।)
कल रात पास वाली फैक्ट्री में एक बॉयलर फट गया।
Last night a boiler exploded in the nearby factory.
(kal raat paas vaalii phaiktrii men ek boylar phat gayaa।)
गाड़ी का टायर अचानक फट जाता है तो ड्राइवर घबरा जाता है।
When a car's tire suddenly bursts, the driver gets startled.
(gaadii kaa taayar achaanak phat jaataa hai to draaivar ghabraa jaataa hai।)
अगर बम फट जाए तो पूरी इमारत हिल जाएगी।
If a bomb were to explode, the entire building would shake.
(agar bam phat jaae to poorii imaarat hil jaaegii।)
अगर वो पटाखा सही से बना होता तो इतनी जल्दी न फटता।
If that firecracker had been made properly, it wouldn't have burst so quickly.
(agar vo pataakhaa sahii se banaa hotaa to itnii jaldii n phattaa।)
बच्चों, दूर रहो, नहीं तो पटाखा फटते ही चोट लग जाएगी।
Kids, stay away, otherwise the moment the firecracker goes off you'll get hurt.
(bachchon, door raho, nahiin to pataakhaa phatte hii chot lag jaaegii।)
पुलिस के मुताबिक बम रिमोट से फटाया गया था।
According to the police, the bomb was detonated remotely.
(pulis ke mutaabik bam rimot se phataayaa gayaa thaa।)
इतनी तेज़ पटाखा मत फोड़ो, वरना कान का पर्दा फट जाएगा।
Don't set off such a loud firecracker, or your eardrum will burst.
(itnii tez pataakhaa mat phodo, varnaa kaan kaa pardaa phat jaaegaa।)
गैस सिलिंडर फटने से पूरा घर धू-धू कर जल उठा।
Because the gas cylinder exploded, the whole house burst into flames.
(gais silindar phatne se pooraa ghar dhoo-dhoo kar jal uthaa।)
मुझे डर है कि यह पुराना पंप कभी भी फट सकता है।
I'm afraid this old pump could explode at any time.
(mujhe dar hai ki yah puraanaa pamp kabhii bhii phat saktaa hai।)
Sense
4
:
to be extremely frightened (idiomatic, 'heart bursts')
verb, intransitive Occurs almost exclusively in the fixed idiom दिल फटना / फटने लगना (dil phatnaa, 'heart to burst [from fear]'), often as दिल फट गया (dil phat gayaa, 'my heart nearly burst').
Synonyms: डर जाना (dar jaanaa, plain equivalent without the vivid imagery)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: जान फटना (jaan phatnaa, 'life/spirit bursting') and दिल फटना (dil phatnaa) both paint fear as something physically rupturing inside you, the same body-as-agent logic behind दिल टूटना (dil tootnaa, 'heart breaking' for heartbreak) -- Hindi loves letting the heart do the emoting while the person just watches it happen.
Common Mistakes: 1) This only works with दिल (dil) or जान (jaan) as the grammatical subject, not with a person directly -- you can't say मैं फट गया (main phat gayaa) to mean 'I got scared.'
Sample Sentences:
उसे देखकर मेरी जान फट गई।
I was terrified when I saw him.
(use dekhkar merii jaan phat gaii।)
इतनी ऊँचाई से नीचे देखकर उसका दिल फट गया।
Looking down from that height, his heart nearly burst with fear.
(itnii oonchaaii se niiche dekhkar uskaa dil phat gayaa।)
अचानक बिजली गिरने की आवाज़ से सबकी जान फट गई।
Everyone was terrified by the sudden sound of the lightning strike.
(achaanak bijlii girne kii aavaaz se sabkii jaan phat gaii।)
अगर वह अचानक चिल्ला दे, तो मेरी जान फट जाए।
If he suddenly yells, I would be terrified.
(agar vah achaanak chillaa de, to merii jaan phat jaae।)
भूतों की कहानियाँ सुनते-सुनते बच्चों की जान फटने लगती है।
Listening to ghost stories, children start getting terrified.
(bhooton kii kahaaniyaan sunte-sunte bachchon kii jaan phatne lagtii hai।)
अगर सच में भूत होता, तो सबकी जान फट जाती।
If ghosts were real, everyone would be terrified.
(agar sach men bhoot hotaa, to sabkii jaan phat jaatii।)
पुलिस की गाड़ी देखते ही चोर की जान फट गई।
The thief was terrified the moment he saw the police van.
(pulis kii gaadii dekhte hii chor kii jaan phat gaii।)
इस तरह मत डराओ, किसी की जान फट जाएगी।
Don't scare people like that, someone will be terrified out of their wits.
(is tarah mat daraao, kisii kii jaan phat jaaegii।)
जब उसने बताया कि परीक्षा आज ही है, मेरी तो जान ही फट गई।
When she told me the exam was today, I was absolutely terrified.
(jab usne bataayaa ki pariikshaa aaj hii hai, merii to jaan hii phat gaii।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
फटना
(phatnaa)
infinitive oblique:
फटने
(phatne)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
फटता
(phattaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
फटते
(phatte)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
फटती
(phattii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
फटतीं
(phattiin)
continuous (sg.m):
फट रहा
(phat rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
फट रहे
(phat rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
फट रही
(phat rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
फट रहीं
(phat rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
फटा
(phataa)
perfective (pl.m):
फटे
(phate)
perfective (sg.f):
फटी
(phatii)
perfective (pl.f):
फटीं
(phatiin)
imperative (informal):
फट
(phat)
imperative (neutral):
फटो
(phato)
imperative (formal):
फटिए
(phatie)
future (1sg.m):
फटूँगा
(phatoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
फटूँगी
(phatoongii)
future (1pl.m):
फटेंगे
(phatenge)
future (1pl.f):
फटेंगी
(phatengii)
future (2sg.m):
फटेगा
(phategaa)
future (2sg.f):
फटेगी
(phategii)
future (2pl.m):
फटोगे
(phatoge)
future (2pl.f):
फटोगी
(phatogii)
future (3sg.m):
फटेगा
(phategaa)
future (3sg.f):
फटेगी
(phategii)
future (3pl.m):
फटेंगे
(phatenge)
future (3pl.f):
फटेंगी
(phatengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
फटूँ
(phatoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
फटें
(phaten)
subjunctive (2sg):
फटे
(phate)
subjunctive (2pl):
फटो
(phato)
subjunctive (3sg):
फटे
(phate)
subjunctive (3pl):
फटें
(phaten)