कामचोर (kaamchor)
noun/adjective
A compound of काम (kaam, 'work') and चोर (chor, 'thief') -- literally 'work-thief.' One sense: a lazy, work-shirking person, used as both noun and adjective.
Sense
1
:
a lazy person, someone who avoids work
noun, masculine/feminine
Synonyms: आलसी (aalsii), निकम्मा (nikammaa, colloquial)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is a classic word every Indian kid has heard from an exasperated mother or teacher -- कितने कामचोर हो तुम! (kitne kaamchor ho tum, 'how lazy/work-shy you are!'). The imagery is vivid: you're not just lazy, you're 'stealing' from the work you owe, which is why it lands harder than सुस्त (sust, 'sluggish') or आलसी (aalsii).
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes translate this too softly as just 'lazy' -- कामचोर (kaamchor) carries a sharper accusatory edge, implying someone actively dodges or steals away from work rather than merely being sluggish by nature. 2) It is commonly used to scold, especially by parents, teachers, or bosses, so tone matters -- calling a stranger this can sound genuinely insulting, not playful.
Sample Sentences:
कितने कामचोर हो तुम!
What a slacker you are!
(kitne kaamchor ho tum!)
वह दफ्तर का सबसे बड़ा कामचोर है, हर काम टालता रहता है।
He is the biggest slacker in the office, he keeps putting off every task.
(vah daphtar kaa sabse badaa kaamchor hai, har kaam taaltaa rahtaa hai।)
मेरा भाई कामचोर नहीं था, बल्कि बहुत मेहनती था।
My brother wasn't a slacker, he was actually very hardworking.
(meraa bhaaii kaamchor nahiin thaa, balki bahut mehantii thaa।)
अगर तू ऐसे कामचोरों के साथ रहेगा, तो तू भी वैसा ही बन जाएगा।
If you keep hanging out with slackers like this, you'll become one too.
(agar too aise kaamchoron ke saath rahegaa, to too bhii vaisaa hii ban jaaegaa।)
अगर वह इतना कामचोर न होता, तो अब तक मैनेजर बन गया होता।
If he weren't such a slacker, he would have become a manager by now.
(agar vah itnaa kaamchor n hotaa, to ab tak mainejar ban gayaa hotaa।)
टीचर ने उसे कामचोर कहकर पूरी क्लास के सामने डांटा।
The teacher scolded him in front of the whole class, calling him a slacker.
(tiichar ne use kaamchor kahkar poorii klaas ke saamne daantaa।)
क्या तुम इस कामचोर पर भरोसा करके यह प्रोजेक्ट सौंपना चाहते हो?
Do you really want to trust this slacker with this project?
(kyaa tum is kaamchor par bharosaa karke yah projekt saumpnaa chaahte ho?)
कामचोर होगा तो होगा, पर काम तो उससे भी करवाना ही पड़ेगा।
He may well be a slacker, but the work still has to be gotten out of him somehow.
(kaamchor hogaa to hogaa, par kaam to usse bhii karvaanaa hii padegaa।)
उन कामचोरों को दफ्तर से निकाल दिया गया।
Those slackers were thrown out of the office.
(un kaamchoron ko daphtar se nikaal diyaa gayaa।)
अरे कामचोर, ज़रा उठ भी जा और अपना कमरा साफ़ कर!
Hey slacker, get up already and clean your room!
(are kaamchor, zaraa uth bhii jaa aur apnaa kamraa saaf kar!)
Sense
2
:
lazy, work-shy (describing a person)
adjective Functions as an invariant adjective describing a person's habitual avoidance of work, e.g. कामचोर आदमी (kaamchor aadmii, 'a lazy man') or कामचोर लड़की (kaamchor ladkii, 'a lazy girl') -- the form itself does not change with gender.
Synonyms: आलसी (aalsii), निकम्मा (nikammaa, colloquial)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Note the related word कामचोरी (kaamchorii), the abstract noun for 'shirking, slacking off,' often heard in workplace complaints like दफ़्तर में बहुत कामचोरी होती है (daftar men bahut kaamchorii hotii hai, 'there's a lot of slacking off in the office').
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners try to inflect it like a regular -आ (aa) adjective (e.g. attempting कामचोरी or कामचोरा for feminine/plural agreement) -- it stays कामचोर (kaamchor) regardless of the noun's gender or number.
Sample Sentences:
वह बहुत कामचोर लड़का है।
He is a very lazy, work-shy boy.
(vah bahut kaamchor ladkaa hai।)
मेरा भाई बहुत कामचोर है, कोई भी काम ठीक से नहीं करता।
My brother is so lazy, he doesn't do any work properly.
(meraa bhaaii bahut kaamchor hai, koii bhii kaam thiik se nahiin kartaa।)
बॉस ने कहा कि यह टीम बहुत कामचोर है।
The boss said that this team is very lazy and work-shy.
(bos ne kahaa ki yah tiim bahut kaamchor hai।)
अगर तुम इतने कामचोर न होते तो अब तक तरक्की मिल गई होती।
If you weren't so lazy, you would have gotten a promotion by now.
(agar tum itne kaamchor n hote to ab tak tarakkii mil gaii hotii।)
इतना कामचोर मत बनो, कुछ काम कर लो।
Don't be so lazy, get some work done.
(itnaa kaamchor mat bano, kuchh kaam kar lo।)
मुझे डर है कि नया कर्मचारी बहुत कामचोर निकलेगा।
I'm afraid the new employee will turn out to be very lazy.
(mujhe dar hai ki nayaa karmchaarii bahut kaamchor niklegaa।)
क्या तुम्हें लगता है कि वह कामचोर है या सिर्फ थका हुआ है?
Do you think he's lazy, or just tired?
(kyaa tumhen lagtaa hai ki vah kaamchor hai yaa sirph thakaa huaa hai?)
आपको इतना कामचोर कर्मचारी नहीं रखना चाहिए।
You shouldn't keep such a lazy employee.
(aapko itnaa kaamchor karmchaarii nahiin rakhnaa chaahie।)
यह कहा जाता है कि सरकारी दफ़्तरों में लोग बहुत कामचोर होते हैं।
It is said that people in government offices tend to be very lazy.
(yah kahaa jaataa hai ki sarkaarii daftron men log bahut kaamchor hote hain।)
पहले वह इतना कामचोर नहीं था, अब पता नहीं क्या हो गया है।
He wasn't this lazy before, I don't know what's happened to him now.
(pahle vah itnaa kaamchor nahiin thaa, ab pataa nahiin kyaa ho gayaa hai।)
दफ़्तर में बहुत कामचोरी होती है, यही सबसे बड़ी शिकायत है।
There's a lot of slacking off in the office, that's the biggest complaint.
(daftar men bahut kaamchorii hotii hai, yahii sabse badii shikaayat hai।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m/f.direct):
कामचोर
(kaamchor)
(sg.m/f.oblique):
कामचोर
(kaamchor)
(pl.m/f.direct):
कामचोरें
(kaamchoren)
(pl.m/f.oblique):
कामचोरों
(kaamchoron)
Adjective (invariant)
invariant:
कामचोर
(kaamchor)