भौंकना (bhaunknaa)
verb
A single-sense verb meaning 'to bark' (of a dog), with a common figurative extension used for a person who talks nonsense, shouts rudely, or rants -- both senses are covered below.
Sense
1
:
to bark (of a dog)
verb, intransitive
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Every Indian neighborhood has its resident stray dogs, and कुत्ते भौंक रहे हैं (kutte bhaunk rahe hain, 'the dogs are barking') is a stock line in stories about a restless night. The word itself has a slightly harsh, guttural sound in Hindi that mirrors the noise it describes.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes try to use this only for dogs and miss the very common figurative sense below -- in real speech the figurative use is at least as frequent as the literal one. 2) The subject that barks is marked with normal nominative case, not से (se) or को (ko) -- कुत्ता भौंक रहा है (kuttaa bhaunk rahaa hai, 'the dog is barking'), no extra postposition needed.
Sample Sentences:
रात को कुत्ते बहुत भौंक रहे थे।
The dogs were barking a lot at night.
(raat ko kutte bahut bhaunk rahe the।)
गली का कुत्ता हर आने-जाने वाले पर भौंकता है।
The street dog barks at everyone who comes and goes.
(galii kaa kuttaa har aane-jaane vaale par bhaunktaa hai।)
कुत्ते भौंक रहे हैं, शायद कोई बाहर आया है।
The dogs are barking, maybe someone has come outside.
(kutte bhaunk rahe hain, shaayad koii baahar aayaa hai।)
जैसे ही दरवाज़ा खुला, कुत्ता भौंक उठा।
As soon as the door opened, the dog burst out barking.
(jaise hii darvaazaa khulaa, kuttaa bhaunk uthaa।)
अगर कोई अजनबी आएगा तो कुत्ता ज़रूर भौंकेगा।
If a stranger comes, the dog will definitely bark.
(agar koii ajanbii aaegaa to kuttaa zaroor bhaunkegaa।)
मत भौंक, चुप हो जा!
Don't bark, be quiet!
(mat bhaunk, chup ho jaa!)
अगर कुत्ता ना भौंकता तो चोर घर में घुस जाता।
If the dog hadn't barked, the thief would have gotten into the house.
(agar kuttaa naa bhaunktaa to chor ghar men ghus jaataa।)
पूरी रात कुत्ते भौंकते रहे और मुझे नींद नहीं आई।
The dogs kept barking all night and I couldn't sleep.
(poorii raat kutte bhaunkte rahe aur mujhe niind nahiin aaii।)
हो सकता है कुत्ता किसी बिल्ली को देखकर भौंक रहा हो।
It's possible the dog is barking because it saw a cat.
(ho saktaa hai kuttaa kisii billii ko dekhkar bhaunk rahaa ho।)
पड़ोस का कुत्ता इतनी ज़ोर से भौंकता है कि पूरी कॉलोनी जाग जाती है।
The neighbor's dog barks so loudly that the whole colony wakes up.
(pados kaa kuttaa itnii zor se bhaunktaa hai ki poorii kolonii jaag jaatii hai।)
जब तक चोर भाग नहीं गया, कुत्ता भौंकता रहा।
Until the thief ran away, the dog kept barking.
(jab tak chor bhaag nahiin gayaa, kuttaa bhaunktaa rahaa।)
Sense
2
:
to rant, talk nonsense or rudely (figurative, about a person)
verb, intransitive Used dismissively about a person's speech, often in the imperative or in rhetorical questions to shut someone down, e.g. भौंकना बंद कर (bhaunknaa band kar, 'stop yapping').
Synonyms: बकबक करना (bakbak karnaa, to yap/chatter), बड़बड़ाना (badabdaanaa, to mutter/grumble)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Comparing a person's talk to a dog's bark is just as insulting in Hindi as in English, maybe more so -- you'll hear it in heated arguments or from an annoyed elder telling someone to shut up: क्या भौंक रहा है? (kyaa bhaunk rahaa hai?, 'what are you yapping about?'). It's a word you'll understand long before you should use it yourself.
Common Mistakes: 1) This is a rude, insulting way to describe someone's talking -- do not use it about a person you actually respect, even jokingly, unless you're very sure of the relationship. 2) It's typically used to dismiss what someone says as nonsense or noise, not just to mean 'talk loudly.'
Sample Sentences:
क्या भौंक रहा है?
What are you yapping about?
(kyaa bhaunk rahaa hai?)
बस भौंकता रहता है, कभी काम की बात नहीं करता।
He just keeps yapping, never says anything useful.
(bas bhaunktaa rahtaa hai, kabhii kaam kii baat nahiin kartaa।)
पूरी मीटिंग में वह बेवजह भौंकता रहा।
He kept yapping nonsense throughout the whole meeting.
(poorii miiting men vah bevjah bhaunktaa rahaa।)
ज्यादा मत भौंक, चुपचाप अपना काम कर।
Don't yap so much, just quietly do your work.
(jyaadaa mat bhaunk, chupchaap apnaa kaam kar।)
नशे में वह जो भी भौंके, उस पर ध्यान मत दो।
Whatever rubbish he yaps when he's drunk, don't pay attention to it.
(nashe men vah jo bhii bhaunke, us par dhyaan mat do।)
अगर वह इतना न भौंकता तो लोग उसकी बात भी सुनते।
If he didn't yap so much nonsense, people might actually listen to him too.
(agar vah itnaa n bhaunktaa to log uskii baat bhii sunte।)
अरे यह क्या भौंक रहा है, इसे बाहर निकालो।
Hey, what is this guy yapping about, throw him out.
(are yah kyaa bhaunk rahaa hai, ise baahar nikaalo।)
शराब पीकर वह गली में जाकर भौंकने लगा।
After drinking, he went out into the lane and started ranting like a madman.
(sharaab piikar vah galii men jaakar bhaunkne lagaa।)
नेता टीवी पर जो चाहे भौंकते रहेंगे, इससे कुछ नहीं बदलेगा।
The politicians will keep yapping whatever they want on TV, none of it will change anything.
(netaa tiivii par jo chaahe bhaunkte rahenge, isse kuchh nahiin badlegaa।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
भौंकना
(bhaunknaa)
infinitive oblique:
भौंकने
(bhaunkne)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
भौंकता
(bhaunktaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
भौंकते
(bhaunkte)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
भौंकती
(bhaunktii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
भौंकतीं
(bhaunktiin)
continuous (sg.m):
भौंक रहा
(bhaunk rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
भौंक रहे
(bhaunk rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
भौंक रही
(bhaunk rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
भौंक रहीं
(bhaunk rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
भौंका
(bhaunkaa)
perfective (pl.m):
भौंके
(bhaunke)
perfective (sg.f):
भौंकी
(bhaunkii)
perfective (pl.f):
भौंकीं
(bhaunkiin)
imperative (informal):
भौंक
(bhaunk)
imperative (neutral):
भौंको
(bhaunko)
imperative (formal):
भौंकिए
(bhaunkie)
future (1sg.m):
भौंकूँगा
(bhaunkoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
भौंकूँगी
(bhaunkoongii)
future (1pl.m):
भौंकेंगे
(bhaunkenge)
future (1pl.f):
भौंकेंगी
(bhaunkengii)
future (2sg.m):
भौंकेगा
(bhaunkegaa)
future (2sg.f):
भौंकेगी
(bhaunkegii)
future (2pl.m):
भौंकोगे
(bhaunkoge)
future (2pl.f):
भौंकोगी
(bhaunkogii)
future (3sg.m):
भौंकेगा
(bhaunkegaa)
future (3sg.f):
भौंकेगी
(bhaunkegii)
future (3pl.m):
भौंकेंगे
(bhaunkenge)
future (3pl.f):
भौंकेंगी
(bhaunkengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
भौंकूँ
(bhaunkoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
भौंकें
(bhaunken)
subjunctive (2sg):
भौंके
(bhaunke)
subjunctive (2pl):
भौंको
(bhaunko)
subjunctive (3sg):
भौंके
(bhaunke)
subjunctive (3pl):
भौंकें
(bhaunken)