गला बैठना (galaa baithnaa)
verb
A body-idiom pairing गला (galaa, throat) with बैठना (baithnaa, to sit) to mean the voice going hoarse or croaky, usually from a cold, shouting, or overuse.
Sense
1
:
for the voice to become hoarse
verb, intransitive गला (galaa) is the grammatical subject and takes intransitive agreement; the person affected is marked with का (kaa) or की/के as needed to show possession, e.g. मेरा गला बैठ गया है (meraa galaa baith gayaa hai, 'my voice has gone hoarse') -- not with को (ko) as one might expect from other body-state idioms.
Synonyms: आवाज़ बैठना (aavaaz baithnaa, same idea, using voice instead of throat), गला ख़राब होना (galaa kharaab honaa, broader: sore/unwell throat)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this constantly in winter, when Delhi's dry cold and pollution make गला बैठना (galaa baithnaa) a near-daily complaint -- often followed by home remedies like गर्म पानी (garm paanii, 'warm water') with नमक (namak, 'salt') or हल्दी वाला दूध (haldii vaalaa doodh, 'turmeric milk'). The image is of the throat 'sitting down,' i.e. losing its usual lift or resonance, much as legs 'sit' when tired.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for को (ko) as with लगना-type constructions (e.g. मुझे गला बैठ गया, incorrect) -- this idiom instead uses a possessive: मेरा गला बैठ गया (meraa galaa baith gayaa). 2) Confusing this with गला ख़राब होना (galaa kharaab honaa), which covers general throat trouble (soreness, infection) rather than specifically the voice becoming hoarse/croaky. 3) The compound verb बैठ जाना (baith jaanaa) is far more common in speech than the bare बैठना (baithnaa) for this sense -- learners who only use बैठना alone sound slightly incomplete here.
Sample Sentences:
सर्दियों में अक्सर मेरा गला बैठ जाता है।
In winter my voice often goes hoarse.
(sardiyon men aksar meraa galaa baith jaataa hai।)
कल रातभर बारिश में भीगने से उसका गला बैठ गया।
From getting soaked in the rain all night, his voice went hoarse yesterday.
(kal raatbhar baarish men bhiigne se uskaa galaa baith gayaa।)
मेरा गला बैठा हुआ है, इसलिए मैं ठीक से बोल नहीं पा रही।
My voice is hoarse, so I'm not able to speak properly.
(meraa galaa baithaa huaa hai, islie main thiik se bol nahiin paa rahii।)
अगर तुम इतना चिल्लाओगे तो तुम्हारा गला बैठ जाएगा।
If you shout so much, your voice will go hoarse.
(agar tum itnaa chillaaoge to tumhaaraa galaa baith jaaegaa।)
गर्म पानी में नमक डालकर गरारे करो, नहीं तो गला बैठ जाएगा।
Gargle with salt in warm water, otherwise your voice will go hoarse.
(garm paanii men namak daalkar garaare karo, nahiin to galaa baith jaaegaa।)
अगर उसने रातभर गाना गाया होता, तो उसका गला ज़रूर बैठ जाता।
If he had sung all night, his voice would definitely have gone hoarse.
(agar usne raatbhar gaanaa gaayaa hotaa, to uskaa galaa zaroor baith jaataa।)
डॉक्टर ने कहा कि प्रदूषण की वजह से बहुत लोगों का गला बैठ रहा है।
The doctor said that because of the pollution, many people's voices are going hoarse.
(doktar ne kahaa ki pradooshan kii vajah se bahut logon kaa galaa baith rahaa hai।)
शायद उसका गला बैठ गया हो, इसलिए वो फ़ोन पर बात नहीं कर रहा।
Maybe his voice has gone hoarse, that's why he isn't talking on the phone.
(shaayad uskaa galaa baith gayaa ho, islie vo fon par baat nahiin kar rahaa।)
गला बैठने पर हल्दी वाला दूध पीने से बहुत आराम मिलता है।
When your voice goes hoarse, drinking turmeric milk gives a lot of relief.
(galaa baithne par haldii vaalaa doodh piine se bahut aaraam miltaa hai।)
पूरे कॉन्सर्ट में चिल्लाते-चिल्लाते सबका गला बैठ गया था।
From shouting throughout the whole concert, everyone's voice had gone hoarse.
(poore konsart men chillaate-chillaate sabkaa galaa baith gayaa thaa।)
इस बार सर्दी में मेरा गला इतना बैठ गया कि मैं सिर्फ़ फुसफुसा सकता था।
This winter my voice got so hoarse that I could only whisper.
(is baar sardii men meraa galaa itnaa baith gayaa ki main sirf phusphusaa saktaa thaa।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
गला बैठना
(galaa baithnaa)
infinitive oblique:
गला बैठने
(galaa baithne)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
गला बैठता
(galaa baithtaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
गला बैठते
(galaa baithte)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
गला बैठती
(galaa baithtii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
गला बैठतीं
(galaa baithtiin)
continuous (sg.m):
गला बैठ रहा
(galaa baith rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
गला बैठ रहे
(galaa baith rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
गला बैठ रही
(galaa baith rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
गला बैठ रहीं
(galaa baith rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
गला बैठा
(galaa baithaa)
perfective (pl.m):
गला बैठे
(galaa baithe)
perfective (sg.f):
गला बैठी
(galaa baithii)
perfective (pl.f):
गला बैठीं
(galaa baithiin)
imperative (informal):
गला बैठ
(galaa baith)
imperative (neutral):
गला बैठो
(galaa baitho)
imperative (formal):
गला बैठिए
(galaa baithie)
future (1sg.m):
गला बैठूँगा
(galaa baithoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
गला बैठूँगी
(galaa baithoongii)
future (1pl.m):
गला बैठेंगे
(galaa baithenge)
future (1pl.f):
गला बैठेंगी
(galaa baithengii)
future (2sg.m):
गला बैठेगा
(galaa baithegaa)
future (2sg.f):
गला बैठेगी
(galaa baithegii)
future (2pl.m):
गला बैठोगे
(galaa baithoge)
future (2pl.f):
गला बैठोगी
(galaa baithogii)
future (3sg.m):
गला बैठेगा
(galaa baithegaa)
future (3sg.f):
गला बैठेगी
(galaa baithegii)
future (3pl.m):
गला बैठेंगे
(galaa baithenge)
future (3pl.f):
गला बैठेंगी
(galaa baithengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
गला बैठूँ
(galaa baithoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
गला बैठें
(galaa baithen)
subjunctive (2sg):
गला बैठे
(galaa baithe)
subjunctive (2pl):
गला बैठो
(galaa baitho)
subjunctive (3sg):
गला बैठे
(galaa baithe)
subjunctive (3pl):
गला बैठें
(galaa baithen)