बहाना (bahaanaa)
noun/verb
Two distinct lives in one word: as a noun it means 'excuse, pretext' (borrowed sense you will hear constantly), and as a verb it means 'to make (something) flow' -- the causative of बहना (bahnaa, 'to flow').
Sense
1
:
excuse, pretext
noun, masculine
Synonyms: उपाय (upaay, less common in this sense), मिस (mis, colloquial)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: बहाना बनाना (bahaanaa banaanaa, 'to make an excuse') is the phrase you will hear in every household when someone dodges a chore or an invitation -- a mother saying अब क्या बहाना है? (ab kyaa bahaanaa hai?, 'what excuse is it now?') is practically a genre of its own. It also shows up in the idiom बहाने से (bahaane se, 'under the pretext of, on the pretext that'), useful for describing sneaky or roundabout behavior.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often confuse this with माफी (maaphii, 'apology') -- बहाना (bahaanaa) is the excuse or pretext you give, not an apology for wrongdoing. 2) The common verb pairing is बहाना बनाना (bahaanaa banaanaa, 'to make an excuse') -- learners sometimes try to use करना (karnaa) instead, which sounds off here.
Sample Sentences:
वह हमेशा कोई न कोई बहाना बना लेता है।
He always comes up with some excuse or the other.
(vah hameshaa koii n koii bahaanaa banaa letaa hai।)
अब क्या बहाना है?
What excuse is it now?
(ab kyaa bahaanaa hai?)
उसने काम पर न आने का बहाना बनाया।
He made an excuse for not coming to work.
(usne kaam par n aane kaa bahaanaa banaayaa।)
पढ़ाई के बहाने से वह अपने कमरे में छिप जाती थी।
Under the pretext of studying, she used to hide in her room.
(padhaaii ke bahaane se vah apne kamre men chhip jaatii thii।)
कोई बहाना मत बनाओ, सीधे बताओ कि क्या हुआ।
Don't make any excuses, just tell me straight what happened.
(koii bahaanaa mat banaao, siidhe bataao ki kyaa huaa।)
अगर उसे यह बहाना न मिलता, तो वह जरूर आती।
If he hadn't found this excuse, he would definitely have come.
(agar use yah bahaanaa n miltaa, to vah jaroor aatii।)
शायद यह सिर्फ एक बहाना हो, असली वजह कुछ और होगी।
Maybe this is just an excuse, the real reason must be something else.
(shaayad yah sirph ek bahaanaa ho, aslii vajah kuchh aur hogii।)
बीमारी का बहाना बनाकर उसने छुट्टी ले ली।
Making an excuse of being sick, he took the day off.
(biimaarii kaa bahaanaa banaakar usne chhuttii le lii।)
मुझे यह बहाना बिल्कुल भी नहीं जमा।
This excuse didn't sit right with me at all.
(mujhe yah bahaanaa bilkul bhii nahiin jamaa।)
क्या कोई ऐसा बहाना है जो सर को मना सके?
Is there some excuse that could convince sir?
(kyaa koii aisaa bahaanaa hai jo sar ko manaa sake?)
पार्टी में न आने का उसका बहाना बहुत ही कमज़ोर था।
His excuse for not coming to the party was quite weak.
(paartii men n aane kaa uskaa bahaanaa bahut hii kamzor thaa।)
Sense
2
:
to make flow, to shed
verb, transitive Causative of बहना (bahnaa, 'to flow'); takes a direct object that is the thing set flowing, e.g. आँसू बहाना (aansoo bahaanaa, 'to shed tears') or पानी बहाना (paanii bahaanaa, 'to let water flow/waste').
Synonyms: बहा देना (bahaa denaa, compound-verb variant)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This verb frames flowing as something caused by an agent, which is a nice window into how Hindi builds causatives from simple verbs (बहना (bahnaa) becomes बहाना (bahaanaa)) -- the same pattern you will meet again and again elsewhere, like सोना (sonaa)/सुलाना (sulaanaa). खून बहाना (khoon bahaanaa, 'to shed blood') is a common set phrase in news and speeches about violence or sacrifice.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes mix this up with बहना (bahnaa) itself -- बहना (bahnaa) is what the river or the tears do on their own (intransitive), while बहाना (bahaanaa) is what a person does to cause that flowing (transitive).
Sample Sentences:
फौजी सरहद पर अपना खून बहाते हैं।
Soldiers shed their blood at the border.
(phaujii sarahad par apnaa khoon bahaate hain।)
इस आंदोलन में कई लोगों ने अपना खून बहाया।
Many people shed their blood in this movement.
(is aandolan men kaii logon ne apnaa khoon bahaayaa।)
नदी का पानी बांध टूटने के बाद खेतों में बहाया गया।
The river's water was made to flow into the fields after the dam broke.
(nadii kaa paanii baandh tootne ke baad kheton men bahaayaa gayaa।)
मज़दूर नाली का गंदा पानी सड़क पर बहा रहा है।
The worker is making the drain's dirty water flow onto the road.
(mazdoor naalii kaa gandaa paanii sadak par bahaa rahaa hai।)
कृपया केमिकल को नदी में मत बहाइए।
Please do not let the chemical flow into the river.
(kripyaa kemikal ko nadii men mat bahaaie।)
अगर वह ज़रा भी सावधान होता, तो इतना पानी न बहाता।
If he had been a little careful, he would not have let so much water flow out.
(agar vah zaraa bhii saavdhaan hotaa, to itnaa paanii n bahaataa।)
नेता ने कहा कि देश की रक्षा के लिए हमें अपना खून बहाना होगा।
The leader said that we will have to shed our blood to protect the country.
(netaa ne kahaa ki desh kii rakshaa ke lie hamen apnaa khoon bahaanaa hogaa।)
शायद वे बांध का पानी जल्दी बहा दें ताकि सूखे खेतों को बचाया जा सके।
Perhaps they will let the dam's water flow out quickly so that the dry fields can be saved.
(shaayad ve baandh kaa paanii jaldii bahaa den taaki sookhe kheton ko bachaayaa jaa sake।)
कवि ने लिखा कि प्रेमियों ने अपने आंसू नदी में बहा दिए।
The poet wrote that the lovers let their tears flow into the river.
(kavi ne likhaa ki premiyon ne apne aansoo nadii men bahaa die।)
युद्ध में दोनों तरफ के सैनिकों ने खून बहाया।
Soldiers from both sides shed blood in the war.
(yuddh men donon taraph ke sainikon ne khoon bahaayaa।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
बहाना
(bahaanaa)
(sg.m.oblique):
बहाने
(bahaane)
(pl.m.direct):
बहाने
(bahaane)
(pl.m.oblique):
बहानों
(bahaanon)
Verb
infinitive:
बहाना
(bahaanaa)
infinitive oblique:
बहाने
(bahaane)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
बहाता
(bahaataa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
बहाते
(bahaate)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
बहाती
(bahaatii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
बहातीं
(bahaatiin)
continuous (sg.m):
बहा रहा
(bahaa rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
बहा रहे
(bahaa rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
बहा रही
(bahaa rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
बहा रहीं
(bahaa rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
बहाया
(bahaayaa)
perfective (pl.m):
बहाए
(bahaae)
perfective (sg.f):
बहाई
(bahaaii)
perfective (pl.f):
बहाईं
(bahaaiin)
imperative (informal):
बहा
(bahaa)
imperative (neutral):
बहाओ
(bahaao)
imperative (formal):
बहाइए
(bahaaie)
future (1sg.m):
बहाऊँगा
(bahaaoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
बहाऊँगी
(bahaaoongii)
future (1pl.m):
बहाएँगे
(bahaaenge)
future (1pl.f):
बहाएँगी
(bahaaengii)
future (2sg.m):
बहाएगा
(bahaaegaa)
future (2sg.f):
बहाएगी
(bahaaegii)
future (2pl.m):
बहाओगे
(bahaaoge)
future (2pl.f):
बहाओगी
(bahaaogii)
future (3sg.m):
बहाएगा
(bahaaegaa)
future (3sg.f):
बहाएगी
(bahaaegii)
future (3pl.m):
बहाएँगे
(bahaaenge)
future (3pl.f):
बहाएँगी
(bahaaengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
बहाऊँ
(bahaaoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
बहाएँ
(bahaaen)
subjunctive (2sg):
बहाए
(bahaae)
subjunctive (2pl):
बहाओ
(bahaao)
subjunctive (3sg):
बहाए
(bahaae)
subjunctive (3pl):
बहाएँ
(bahaaen)