सोना (sonaa)
verb/noun
Two unrelated senses live in this one spelling: the verb 'to sleep' and the noun 'gold' -- context always makes clear which one is meant.
Sense
1
:
to sleep, to go to bed
verb, intransitive
Synonyms: निद्रा लेना (nidraa lenaa, literary), आराम करना (aaraam karnaa, rest, partial overlap)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Just like नींद आना (niind aanaa), Hindi treats sleep partly as something that happens to you, but सोना (sonaa) itself is a normal, fully agentive verb -- you can command someone with सो जाओ (so jaao, 'go to sleep!'), the classic line a parent uses on a child at bedtime.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for नींद आना (niind aanaa, 'to feel sleepy/to fall asleep') when they mean the ongoing act of sleeping -- सोना (sonaa) is the deliberate act of going to sleep or being asleep, while नींद आना (niind aanaa) describes sleepiness arriving on its own. 2) सो जाना (so jaanaa) (with जाना (jaanaa) added) is extremely common in speech to mean 'fall asleep, go off to sleep' -- plain सोना (sonaa) alone can sound slightly flatter or more general (e.g. habitual sleeping).
Sample Sentences:
मैं रोज़ रात को ग्यारह बजे सोता हूँ।
I sleep at eleven o'clock every night.
(main roz raat ko gyaarah baje sotaa hoon।)
बच्चे अभी सो रहे हैं, ज़रा शांत रहो।
The children are sleeping right now, please be quiet.
(bachche abhii so rahe hain, zaraa shaant raho।)
सो जाओ, कल स्कूल जल्दी जाना है।
Go to sleep, you have to go to school early tomorrow.
(so jaao, kal skool jaldii jaanaa hai।)
कल रात मैं ठीक से नहीं सो पाया।
I wasn't able to sleep properly last night.
(kal raat main thiik se nahiin so paayaa।)
अगर तुम जल्दी सोते तो सुबह इतनी नींद नहीं आती।
If you had slept early, you wouldn't be so sleepy this morning.
(agar tum jaldii sote to subah itnii niind nahiin aatii।)
क्या तुम चाहते हो कि बच्चा अभी सो जाए?
Do you want the child to fall asleep now?
(kyaa tum chaahte ho ki bachchaa abhii so jaae?)
कृपया सोने से पहले अपने दाँत साफ़ करें।
Please brush your teeth before sleeping.
(kripyaa sone se pahle apne daant saaf karen।)
वह सारा दिन काम करने के बाद बिस्तर पर सो गई।
She fell asleep on the bed after working all day.
(vah saaraa din kaam karne ke baad bistar par so gaii।)
हम अगले हफ़्ते नए घर में सोएँगे।
We will sleep in the new house next week.
(ham agle hafte nae ghar men soenge।)
बिल्ली सारा दिन सोफ़े पर सोई रहती है।
The cat stays asleep on the sofa all day.
(billii saaraa din sofe par soii rahtii hai।)
मरीज़ को दवा दी गई ताकि वह चैन से सो सके।
The patient was given medicine so that he could sleep peacefully.
(mariiz ko davaa dii gaii taaki vah chain se so sake।)
Sense
2
:
gold
noun, masculine
Synonyms: स्वर्ण (svarn, literary/formal), कंचन (kanchan, literary)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: सोना (sonaa) is everywhere in Indian life, not just jewelry shops -- gold is bought for weddings, festivals like धनतेरस (dhanteras) and दिवाली (divaalii), and treated as a form of savings. The common saying सोने पे सुहागा (sone pe suhaagaa, 'gilding on gold,' i.e. the icing on the cake) shows how the word carries a sense of something already good becoming even better.
Sample Sentences:
दिवाली पर लोग सोना खरीदना शुभ मानते हैं।
People consider it auspicious to buy gold on Diwali.
(divaalii par log sonaa khariidnaa shubh maante hain।)
मेरी माँ ने धनतेरस पर सोने का एक छोटा सिक्का खरीदा।
My mother bought a small gold coin on Dhanteras.
(merii maan ne dhanteras par sone kaa ek chhotaa sikkaa khariidaa।)
शादी में दुल्हन सोने के गहनों से लदी हुई थी।
At the wedding, the bride was laden with gold jewelry.
(shaadii men dulhan sone ke gahnon se ladii huii thii।)
अगर उसे प्रमोशन के साथ बोनस भी मिल जाए, तो यह सोने पे सुहागा होगा।
If he gets a bonus along with the promotion, that would be the icing on the cake.
(agar use pramoshan ke saath bonas bhii mil jaae, to yah sone pe suhaagaa hogaa।)
सोने के दाम रोज़ बढ़ते जा रहे हैं।
The price of gold keeps rising every day.
(sone ke daam roz badhte jaa rahe hain।)
कृपया लॉकर में सोना और नकदी दोनों सुरक्षित रखिए।
Please keep both the gold and cash safely in the locker.
(kripyaa lokar men sonaa aur nakdii donon surakshit rakhie।)
यह हार शुद्ध सोने से बना है।
This necklace is made of pure gold.
(yah haar shuddh sone se banaa hai।)
काश मेरे पास इतना सोना होता जितना राजा के खजाने में था।
I wish I had as much gold as there was in the king's treasury.
(kaash mere paas itnaa sonaa hotaa jitnaa raajaa ke khajaane men thaa।)
अगर सोने के दाम गिरे होते, तो हम और गहने बनवाते।
If the price of gold had fallen, we would have had more jewelry made.
(agar sone ke daam gire hote, to ham aur gahne banvaate।)
प्राचीन काल में सोने का उपयोग सिक्के बनाने के लिए किया जाता था।
In ancient times, gold used to be used for making coins.
(praachiin kaal men sone kaa upyog sikke banaane ke lie kiyaa jaataa thaa।)
सर, क्या आप कृपया मुझे इस सोने की शुद्धता बता सकते हैं?
Sir, could you please tell me the purity of this gold?
(sar, kyaa aap kripyaa mujhe is sone kii shuddhtaa bataa sakte hain?)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
सोना
(sonaa)
infinitive oblique:
सोने
(sone)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
सोता
(sotaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
सोते
(sote)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
सोती
(sotii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
सोतीं
(sotiin)
continuous (sg.m):
सो रहा
(so rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
सो रहे
(so rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
सो रही
(so rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
सो रहीं
(so rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
सोया
(soyaa)
perfective (pl.m):
सोए
(soe)
perfective (sg.f):
सोई
(soii)
perfective (pl.f):
सोईं
(soiin)
imperative (informal):
सो
(so)
imperative (neutral):
सोओ
(soo)
imperative (formal):
सोइए
(soie)
future (1sg.m):
सोऊँगा
(sooongaa)
future (1sg.f):
सोऊँगी
(sooongii)
future (1pl.m):
सोएँगे
(soenge)
future (1pl.f):
सोएँगी
(soengii)
future (2sg.m):
सोएगा
(soegaa)
future (2sg.f):
सोएगी
(soegii)
future (2pl.m):
सोओगे
(sooge)
future (2pl.f):
सोओगी
(soogii)
future (3sg.m):
सोएगा
(soegaa)
future (3sg.f):
सोएगी
(soegii)
future (3pl.m):
सोएँगे
(soenge)
future (3pl.f):
सोएँगी
(soengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
सोऊँ
(sooon)
subjunctive (1pl):
सोएँ
(soen)
subjunctive (2sg):
सोए
(soe)
subjunctive (2pl):
सोओ
(soo)
subjunctive (3sg):
सोए
(soe)
subjunctive (3pl):
सोएँ
(soen)
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
सोना
(sonaa)
(sg.m.oblique):
सोने
(sone)
(pl.m.direct):
सोने
(sone)
(pl.m.oblique):
सोनों
(sonon)