घटाना (ghataanaa)
verb
Primarily a math/quantity verb meaning 'to subtract' or 'to reduce, decrease' something; it is the causative partner of घटना (ghatnaa, 'to decrease/happen').
Sense
1
:
to reduce, decrease, lessen (an amount, quantity, speed, etc.)
verb, transitive
Synonyms: कम करना (kam karnaa)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this constantly in bazaar haggling -- daam ghataao (daam ghataao, 'lower the price') is a classic line said to a shopkeeper. It pairs neatly with बढ़ाना (badhaanaa, 'to increase'), its opposite causative.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes use घटना (ghatnaa) here by mistake -- that is the intransitive partner meaning 'to decrease (on its own)', while घटाना (ghataanaa) needs an agent doing the reducing: दाम घटाओ (daam ghataao, 'reduce the price') vs दाम घटे (daam ghate, 'the price decreased').
Sample Sentences:
भाई, थोड़ा दाम घटाओ, बहुत ज़्यादा माँग रहे हो।
Brother, lower the price a bit, you're asking for way too much.
(bhaaii, thodaa daam ghataao, bahut zyaadaa maang rahe ho।)
डॉक्टर ने उसे नमक की मात्रा घटाने की सलाह दी।
The doctor advised him to reduce the amount of salt.
(doktar ne use namak kii maatraa ghataane kii salaah dii।)
मोड़ आने से पहले ड्राइवर गाड़ी की रफ़्तार घटाता है।
The driver reduces the car's speed before the turn comes.
(mod aane se pahle draaivar gaadii kii raftaar ghataataa hai।)
कंपनी अगले महीने से कर्मचारियों की संख्या घटाएगी।
The company will reduce the number of employees starting next month.
(kampnii agle mahiine se karmchaariyon kii sankhyaa ghataaegii।)
सरकार पेट्रोल की कीमत घटा रही है।
The government is reducing the price of petrol.
(sarkaar petrol kii kiimat ghataa rahii hai।)
अगर तुम अपना खर्चा घटाते तो इतना कर्ज़ न होता।
If you had reduced your expenses, there wouldn't be so much debt.
(agar tum apnaa kharchaa ghataate to itnaa karz n hotaa।)
क्या तुम अपनी काम की रफ़्तार घटा सकते हो, थोड़ा आराम कर लो।
Can you reduce the pace of your work, take a bit of rest?
(kyaa tum apnii kaam kii raftaar ghataa sakte ho, thodaa aaraam kar lo।)
यह ज़रूरी है कि हम प्रदूषण घटाएँ।
It is necessary that we reduce pollution.
(yah zaroorii hai ki ham pradooshan ghataaen।)
ब्याज दरें घटाई गई हैं ताकि लोग ज़्यादा कर्ज़ लें।
Interest rates have been reduced so that people take more loans.
(byaaj daren ghataaii gaii hain taaki log zyaadaa karz len।)
उसने अपना वज़न घटाने के लिए रोज़ दौड़ना शुरू किया।
He started running daily to reduce his weight.
(usne apnaa vazan ghataane ke lie roz daudnaa shuroo kiyaa।)
दुकानदार बोला, दाम घटाना मुमकिन नहीं, माल की गुणवत्ता देखो।
The shopkeeper said, reducing the price isn't possible, look at the quality of the goods.
(dukaandaar bolaa, daam ghataanaa mumkin nahiin, maal kii gunvattaa dekho।)
Sense
2
:
to subtract (in arithmetic)
verb, transitive Used with से (se) marking what is subtracted from: दस से पाँच घटाना (das se paanch ghataanaa, 'to subtract five from ten').
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the word every Indian schoolkid learns in maths class alongside जोड़ना (jodnaa, 'to add') -- घटाओ (ghataao) is literally printed as the operation label 'subtraction' in textbooks.
Common Mistakes: 1) Word order can trip learners up: Hindi says X से Y घटाना (X se Y ghataanaa) -- 'from X, subtract Y' -- which is the reverse order of how English often phrases it ('subtract Y from X'), but here the से-marked quantity comes first.
Sample Sentences:
पाँच में से दो घटाओ।
Subtract two from five.
(paanch men se do ghataao।)
मैंने दस से तीन घटाए और जवाब सात आया।
I subtracted three from ten, and the answer came out to seven.
(mainne das se tiin ghataae aur javaab saat aayaa।)
टीचर रोज़ ब्लैकबोर्ड पर बड़ी संख्याओं में से छोटी संख्याएँ घटाती हैं।
The teacher subtracts smaller numbers from bigger numbers on the blackboard every day.
(tiichar roz blaikbord par badii sankhyaaon men se chhotii sankhyaaen ghataatii hain।)
बच्चा अभी कॉपी में बीस से आठ घटा रहा है।
The child is subtracting eight from twenty in his notebook right now.
(bachchaa abhii kopii men biis se aath ghataa rahaa hai।)
अगर तुम कुल रकम से टैक्स घटाओगे, तो बचा हुआ पैसा दिख जाएगा।
If you subtract the tax from the total amount, the remaining money will become visible.
(agar tum kul rakam se taiks ghataaoge, to bachaa huaa paisaa dikh jaaegaa।)
इस सवाल में पहले जोड़ो, फिर हासिल संख्या से पंद्रह घटाओ।
In this problem, first add, then subtract fifteen from the resulting number.
(is savaal men pahle jodo, phir haasil sankhyaa se pandrah ghataao।)
अध्यापिका ने कहा कि हम बड़ी संख्या से छोटी संख्या ही घटाएँ।
The teacher said that we should only subtract the smaller number from the larger one.
(adhyaapikaa ne kahaa ki ham badii sankhyaa se chhotii sankhyaa hii ghataaen।)
काश मैं ठीक से घटाना जानता, तो परीक्षा में यह सवाल ग़लत न होता।
If only I had known how to subtract properly, this question wouldn't have gone wrong in the exam.
(kaash main thiik se ghataanaa jaantaa, to pariikshaa men yah savaal ghalat n hotaa।)
जब दो बराबर संख्याएँ घटाई जाती हैं, तो जवाब शून्य आता है।
When two equal numbers are subtracted, the answer comes to zero.
(jab do baraabar sankhyaaen ghataaii jaatii hain, to javaab shoony aataa hai।)
किताब में हर पेज पर जोड़ और घटाओ के सवाल दिए गए हैं।
In the book, addition and subtraction problems are given on every page.
(kitaab men har pej par jod aur ghataao ke savaal die gae hain।)
पहले कुल खर्च जोड़ो, फिर उससे छूट की रकम घटा दो।
First add up the total expense, then subtract the discount amount from it.
(pahle kul kharch jodo, phir usse chhoot kii rakam ghataa do।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
घटाना
(ghataanaa)
infinitive oblique:
घटाने
(ghataane)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
घटाता
(ghataataa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
घटाते
(ghataate)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
घटाती
(ghataatii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
घटातीं
(ghataatiin)
continuous (sg.m):
घटा रहा
(ghataa rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
घटा रहे
(ghataa rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
घटा रही
(ghataa rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
घटा रहीं
(ghataa rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
घटाया
(ghataayaa)
perfective (pl.m):
घटाए
(ghataae)
perfective (sg.f):
घटाई
(ghataaii)
perfective (pl.f):
घटाईं
(ghataaiin)
imperative (informal):
घटा
(ghataa)
imperative (neutral):
घटाओ
(ghataao)
imperative (formal):
घटाइए
(ghataaie)
future (1sg.m):
घटाऊँगा
(ghataaoongaa)
future (1sg.f):
घटाऊँगी
(ghataaoongii)
future (1pl.m):
घटाएँगे
(ghataaenge)
future (1pl.f):
घटाएँगी
(ghataaengii)
future (2sg.m):
घटाएगा
(ghataaegaa)
future (2sg.f):
घटाएगी
(ghataaegii)
future (2pl.m):
घटाओगे
(ghataaoge)
future (2pl.f):
घटाओगी
(ghataaogii)
future (3sg.m):
घटाएगा
(ghataaegaa)
future (3sg.f):
घटाएगी
(ghataaegii)
future (3pl.m):
घटाएँगे
(ghataaenge)
future (3pl.f):
घटाएँगी
(ghataaengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
घटाऊँ
(ghataaoon)
subjunctive (1pl):
घटाएँ
(ghataaen)
subjunctive (2sg):
घटाए
(ghataae)
subjunctive (2pl):
घटाओ
(ghataao)
subjunctive (3sg):
घटाए
(ghataae)
subjunctive (3pl):
घटाएँ
(ghataaen)