छीलना (chhiilnaa)
verb
A concrete kitchen/craft verb meaning to peel or pare off an outer layer -- vegetables, fruit, skin, wood, pencils -- with a knife or similar tool. One core sense, used very literally.
Sense
1
:
to peel, pare, scrape off the outer skin/layer
verb, transitive
Synonyms: उतारना (utaarnaa, 'skin/layer removed', broader use)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Picture a mother in the kitchen with a thaali of आलू (aaloo) and a छुरी (chhurii, knife), छील-छील (chhiil-chhiil) कर सब्ज़ी बनाना -- peeling vegetables is one of the most everyday domestic images this word evokes. It also extends naturally to pencils (पेंसिल छीलना, pensil chhiilnaa, 'to sharpen a pencil' in casual speech) and to skinning fruit like आम (aam) or संतरा (santraa).
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes reach for खुरचना (khurachnaa) or उतारना (utaarnaa) when छीलना (chhiilnaa) is the natural word specifically for peeling skins -- potatoes, apples, cucumbers -- with a knife or peeler. 2) The object taking ने-marking in the perfective (उसने आलू छीले, usne aaloo chhiile, 'she peeled the potatoes') is standard transitive behavior, not an exception -- just flagging it since the peeled object agrees with the verb.
Sample Sentences:
माँ रोज़ सुबह आलू छीलती है।
Mother peels potatoes every morning.
(maan roz subah aaloo chhiiltii hai।)
क्या तुम ज़रा यह संतरा छील दोगे?
Will you peel this orange for me?
(kyaa tum zaraa yah santraa chhiil doge?)
छुरी से आलू छीलो, बहुत आसान है।
Peel the potatoes with the knife, it's very easy.
(chhurii se aaloo chhiilo, bahut aasaan hai।)
उसने आम इतनी सफ़ाई से छीला कि एक भी टुकड़ा बर्बाद नहीं हुआ।
He peeled the mango so cleanly that not a single piece was wasted.
(usne aam itnii safaaii se chhiilaa ki ek bhii tukdaa barbaad nahiin huaa।)
मैं शाम की सब्ज़ी के लिए आलू छील रही हूँ।
I am peeling potatoes for the evening's vegetable dish.
(main shaam kii sabzii ke lie aaloo chhiil rahii hoon।)
पेंसिल छील दो, नोक टूट गई है।
Sharpen the pencil, the tip has broken.
(pensil chhiil do, nok toot gaii hai।)
यदि सब्ज़ियाँ पहले से छील दी जातीं, तो खाना बनाने में इतना वक़्त न लगता।
If the vegetables had been peeled in advance, cooking wouldn't have taken so long.
(yadi sabziyaan pahle se chhiil dii jaatiin, to khaanaa banaane men itnaa vaqt n lagtaa।)
आम को छीलने से पहले उसे अच्छी तरह धो लीजिए।
Before peeling the mango, please wash it thoroughly.
(aam ko chhiilne se pahle use achchhii tarah dho liijie।)
बाज़ार में एक ठेले वाला संतरे छील-छीलकर बेच रहा था।
In the market, a vendor was peeling and selling oranges one after another.
(baazaar men ek thele vaalaa santre chhiil-chhiilkar bech rahaa thaa।)
आलू ऐसे छीले जाते हैं कि छिलका बहुत पतला निकले।
Potatoes are peeled in such a way that the skin comes off very thin.
(aaloo aise chhiile jaate hain ki chhilkaa bahut patlaa nikle।)
शायद उसने जल्दी में गाजर ठीक से न छीली हो।
Perhaps she didn't peel the carrot properly in her haste.
(shaayad usne jaldii men gaajar thiik se n chhiilii ho।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
छीलना
(chhiilnaa)
infinitive oblique:
छीलने
(chhiilne)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
छीलता
(chhiiltaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
छीलते
(chhiilte)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
छीलती
(chhiiltii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
छीलतीं
(chhiiltiin)
continuous (sg.m):
छील रहा
(chhiil rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
छील रहे
(chhiil rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
छील रही
(chhiil rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
छील रहीं
(chhiil rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
छीला
(chhiilaa)
perfective (pl.m):
छीले
(chhiile)
perfective (sg.f):
छीली
(chhiilii)
perfective (pl.f):
छीलीं
(chhiiliin)
imperative (informal):
छील
(chhiil)
imperative (neutral):
छीलो
(chhiilo)
imperative (formal):
छीलिए
(chhiilie)
future (1sg.m):
छीलूँगा
(chhiiloongaa)
future (1sg.f):
छीलूँगी
(chhiiloongii)
future (1pl.m):
छीलेंगे
(chhiilenge)
future (1pl.f):
छीलेंगी
(chhiilengii)
future (2sg.m):
छीलेगा
(chhiilegaa)
future (2sg.f):
छीलेगी
(chhiilegii)
future (2pl.m):
छीलोगे
(chhiiloge)
future (2pl.f):
छीलोगी
(chhiilogii)
future (3sg.m):
छीलेगा
(chhiilegaa)
future (3sg.f):
छीलेगी
(chhiilegii)
future (3pl.m):
छीलेंगे
(chhiilenge)
future (3pl.f):
छीलेंगी
(chhiilengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
छीलूँ
(chhiiloon)
subjunctive (1pl):
छीलें
(chhiilen)
subjunctive (2sg):
छीले
(chhiile)
subjunctive (2pl):
छीलो
(chhiilo)
subjunctive (3sg):
छीले
(chhiile)
subjunctive (3pl):
छीलें
(chhiilen)