ग़ायब (ghaayab)
adjective
An adjective meaning 'absent, disappeared, missing' -- used constantly in everyday speech about people, objects, and even abstract things like signal or electricity going away.
Sense
1
:
disappeared, vanished, missing
adjective Almost always used with होना (honaa) or हो जाना (ho jaanaa) -- 'ग़ायब होना' (ghaayab honaa, 'to disappear') is the default construction; used with कर देना (kar denaa) it becomes causative, 'to make disappear.'
Synonyms: लापता (laaptaa, used mainly for missing people), अदृश्य (adrishy, literary)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This word is a great example of everyday Urdu vocabulary fully absorbed into spoken Hindi -- you will hear ग़ायब (ghaayab) in Delhi markets, homes, and offices just as often as in Bollywood dialogue, usually with a note of mild exasperation: 'बिजली फिर ग़ायब हो गई' (bijlii phir ghaayab ho gaii, 'the power's gone again'). It pairs naturally with जादू से ग़ायब होना (jaadoo se ghaayab honaa, 'to disappear as if by magic'), the phrase kids use for magic tricks.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for अदृश्य (adrishy) to say something 'disappeared,' but that word is bookish and describes invisibility as a state, not the everyday act of vanishing -- ग़ायब (ghaayab) is what people actually say when keys, electricity, or a friend go missing. 2) The nuqta on ग़ (gh) is often dropped in casual writing (गायब), which is common and acceptable, but the correct pronunciation has a voiced velar fricative, closer to Urdu 'gh' than a plain 'g'.
Sample Sentences:
मेरा फ़ोन कहीं ग़ायब हो गया है।
My phone has gone missing somewhere.
(meraa fon kahiin ghaayab ho gayaa hai।)
बिजली फिर ग़ायब हो गई।
The power's gone again.
(bijlii phir ghaayab ho gaii।)
जादूगर ने रूमाल हवा में लहराया और वह जादू से ग़ायब हो गया।
The magician waved the handkerchief in the air and it vanished as if by magic.
(jaadoogar ne roomaal havaa men lahraayaa aur vah jaadoo se ghaayab ho gayaa।)
बच्चे हमेशा पूछते हैं कि जादूगर की चीज़ें जादू से ग़ायब कैसे हो जाती हैं।
Kids always ask how the magician's things disappear as if by magic.
(bachche hameshaa poochhte hain ki jaadoogar kii chiizen jaadoo se ghaayab kaise ho jaatii hain।)
अगर तुम अभी ग़ायब हो गए, तो मीटिंग में सबको पता चल जाएगा।
If you disappear now, everyone will find out in the meeting.
(agar tum abhii ghaayab ho gae, to miiting men sabko pataa chal jaaegaa।)
अगर मैं वहाँ नहीं होता, तो शायद फ़ाइल ग़ायब ही रहती।
If I hadn't been there, the file probably would have stayed missing.
(agar main vahaan nahiin hotaa, to shaayad faail ghaayab hii rahtii।)
पूरी रिपोर्ट अलमारी से ग़ायब की गई थी।
The entire report had been made to disappear from the cupboard.
(poorii riport almaarii se ghaayab kii gaii thii।)
देखना, दस मिनट में सारा नाश्ता ग़ायब हो जाएगा।
Just watch, the whole breakfast will vanish in ten minutes.
(dekhnaa, das minat men saaraa naashtaa ghaayab ho jaaegaa।)
तुम अचानक ग़ायब मत हो जाना, वरना मैं परेशान हो जाऊँगी।
Don't suddenly disappear, or I'll get worried.
(tum achaanak ghaayab mat ho jaanaa, varnaa main pareshaan ho jaaoongii।)
हो सकता है वह जानबूझकर ग़ायब हो गया हो।
It's possible he disappeared on purpose.
(ho saktaa hai vah jaanboojhkar ghaayab ho gayaa ho।)
कुहासे में पहाड़ की चोटी पूरी तरह ग़ायब हो गई थी।
The mountain peak had completely vanished into the fog.
(kuhaase men pahaad kii chotii poorii tarah ghaayab ho gaii thii।)
Morphology
Adjective (invariant)
invariant:
ग़ायब
(ghaayab)