ख़त्म (khatm)
adjective/verb
An Urdu-origin loanword meaning 'finished, ended, over'; almost always used with होना (honaa, 'to become finished') or करना (karnaa, 'to finish/end') as a compound predicate rather than as a standalone adjective.
Sense
1
:
finished, over, ended
adjective Almost always paired with होना (honaa) to mean 'to be over/finished' -- खाना ख़त्म हो गया (khaanaa khatm ho gayaa, 'the food got finished') -- rather than used as a standalone attributive adjective before a noun.
Synonyms: समाप्त (samaapt, formal), तमाम (tamaam, literary)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You'll hear this constantly in daily life -- दुकान का सामान ख़त्म हो गया (dukaan kaa saamaan khatm ho gayaa, 'the shop's stock ran out') or मेरा फ़ोन ख़त्म हो गया (meraa fon khatm ho gayaa, 'my phone died') -- Hindi speakers extend 'finished' to running out of things, batteries, patience, and money alike, much like English 'done' or 'out'.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often try to inflect ख़त्म (khatm) like a regular -आ adjective (e.g. adding ी/े for gender/number); it never changes form, no matter what it describes. 2) The nuqta on ख़ (kh) is frequently dropped in casual typing (ख़त्म becomes खत्म (khatm)) -- both are seen, but the dotted form is closer to the original Urdu pronunciation.
Sample Sentences:
फ़िल्म ख़त्म हो गई।
The movie has ended.
(film khatm ho gaii।)
मेरा फ़ोन ख़त्म हो गया, थोड़ी देर बाद कॉल करता हूँ।
My phone died, I'll call in a bit.
(meraa fon khatm ho gayaa, thodii der baad kol kartaa hoon।)
दुकान का सामान ख़त्म हो गया है।
The shop's stock has run out.
(dukaan kaa saamaan khatm ho gayaa hai।)
क्या मीटिंग ख़त्म हो गई है?
Is the meeting over?
(kyaa miiting khatm ho gaii hai?)
जब तक मैं पहुँचा, पार्टी ख़त्म हो चुकी थी।
By the time I arrived, the party was already over.
(jab tak main pahunchaa, paartii khatm ho chukii thii।)
अगर पैसे ख़त्म हो जाते, तो हम सफ़र कैसे पूरा करते?
If the money had run out, how would we have completed the trip?
(agar paise khatm ho jaate, to ham safar kaise pooraa karte?)
उम्मीद है कि यह झगड़ा जल्दी ख़त्म हो जाए।
Hopefully this quarrel ends soon.
(ummiid hai ki yah jhagdaa jaldii khatm ho jaae।)
काम ख़त्म होने से पहले घर मत जाओ।
Don't go home before the work is finished.
(kaam khatm hone se pahle ghar mat jaao।)
मेरा पेशेंस ख़त्म हो चुका है, अब और नहीं सुन सकता।
My patience is finished, I can't listen anymore.
(meraa peshens khatm ho chukaa hai, ab aur nahiin sun saktaa।)
साहब, यह प्रोजेक्ट समय पर ख़त्म हो जाएगा।
Sir, this project will be finished on time.
(saahab, yah projekt samay par khatm ho jaaegaa।)
युद्ध ख़त्म होते ही राज्य में शांति लौट आई।
As soon as the war ended, peace returned to the kingdom.
(yuddh khatm hote hii raajy men shaanti laut aaii।)
Sense
2
:
to finish, use up, destroy (something)
verb, transitive Forms the compound verb ख़त्म करना (khatm karnaa); takes a direct object and behaves as an ordinary transitive verb in the perfective (ने-marked subject).
Synonyms: समाप्त करना (samaapt karnaa, formal), मिटाना (mitaanaa, 'to erase/destroy')
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Parents telling kids खाना ख़त्म करो (khaanaa khatm karo, 'finish your food') is a household staple; the same phrase in a crime-drama headline about 'finishing off' a rival shows how far the same verb stretches in tone.
Common Mistakes: 1) In a harsher register, ख़त्म करना (khatm karnaa) can mean 'to kill/eliminate' someone, not just 'to finish' a task -- context (a person vs. a task) tells you which sense is meant, and learners sometimes miss the darker reading in news or dramatic contexts.
Sample Sentences:
खाना ख़त्म करो, फिर खेलने जाना।
Finish your food, then go play.
(khaanaa khatm karo, phir khelne jaanaa।)
मैंने अपना होमवर्क ख़त्म कर दिया।
I finished my homework.
(mainne apnaa homvark khatm kar diyaa।)
वह हर महीने अपनी सारी सैलरी ख़त्म कर देता है।
He uses up his entire salary every month.
(vah har mahiine apnii saarii sailrii khatm kar detaa hai।)
पुलिस उस गैंग को ख़त्म करने की कोशिश कर रही है।
The police are trying to destroy that gang.
(pulis us gaing ko khatm karne kii koshish kar rahii hai।)
सुपारी लेकर उसने रातों-रात अपने दुश्मन को ख़त्म कर दिया।
Taking the contract, he finished off his enemy overnight.
(supaarii lekar usne raaton-raat apne dushman ko khatm kar diyaa।)
अगर वह चाहे तो एक ही रात में सारा स्टॉक ख़त्म कर सकता है।
If he wants, he can use up the entire stock in a single night.
(agar vah chaahe to ek hii raat men saaraa stok khatm kar saktaa hai।)
काश मैं यह प्रोजेक्ट पहले ही ख़त्म कर देता।
I wish I had finished this project already.
(kaash main yah projekt pahle hii khatm kar detaa।)
सरकार ने आदेश दिया कि यह योजना ख़त्म कर दी जाए।
The government ordered that this scheme be terminated.
(sarkaar ne aadesh diyaa ki yah yojnaa khatm kar dii jaae।)
भ्रष्टाचार को ख़त्म करने के लिए कड़े कानून बनाए जाएंगे।
Strict laws will be made to eliminate corruption.
(bhrashtaachaar ko khatm karne ke lie kade kaanoon banaae jaaenge।)
यह मिशन आतंकवाद को जड़ से ख़त्म करने के लिए शुरू किया गया था।
This mission was launched to wipe out terrorism from its roots.
(yah mishan aatankvaad ko jad se khatm karne ke lie shuroo kiyaa gayaa thaa।)
कृपया बचा हुआ खाना ख़त्म कर दें, बर्बाद मत कीजिए।
Please finish the leftover food, don't waste it.
(kripyaa bachaa huaa khaanaa khatm kar den, barbaad mat kiijie।)
Morphology
Adjective (invariant)
invariant:
ख़त्म
(khatm)
Verb
infinitive:
ख़त्म
(khatm)
infinitive oblique:
ख़त्ने
(khatne)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
ख़त्ता
(khattaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
ख़त्ते
(khatte)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
ख़त्ती
(khattii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
ख़त्तीं
(khattiin)
continuous (sg.m):
ख़त् रहा
(khat rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
ख़त् रहे
(khat rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
ख़त् रही
(khat rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
ख़त् रहीं
(khat rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
ख़त्ा
([[ख़त्ा]])
perfective (pl.m):
ख़त्े
([[ख़त्े]])
perfective (sg.f):
ख़त्ी
([[ख़त्ी]])
perfective (pl.f):
ख़त्ीं
([[ख़त्ीं]])
imperative (informal):
ख़त्
(khat)
imperative (neutral):
ख़त्ो
([[ख़त्ो]])
imperative (formal):
ख़त्िए
([[ख़त्िए]])
future (1sg.m):
ख़त्ूँगा
([[ख़त्ूँगा]])
future (1sg.f):
ख़त्ूँगी
([[ख़त्ूँगी]])
future (1pl.m):
ख़त्ेंगे
([[ख़त्ेंगे]])
future (1pl.f):
ख़त्ेंगी
([[ख़त्ेंगी]])
future (2sg.m):
ख़त्ेगा
([[ख़त्ेगा]])
future (2sg.f):
ख़त्ेगी
([[ख़त्ेगी]])
future (2pl.m):
ख़त्ोगे
([[ख़त्ोगे]])
future (2pl.f):
ख़त्ोगी
([[ख़त्ोगी]])
future (3sg.m):
ख़त्ेगा
([[ख़त्ेगा]])
future (3sg.f):
ख़त्ेगी
([[ख़त्ेगी]])
future (3pl.m):
ख़त्ेंगे
([[ख़त्ेंगे]])
future (3pl.f):
ख़त्ेंगी
([[ख़त्ेंगी]])
subjunctive (1sg):
ख़त्ूँ
([[ख़त्ूँ]])
subjunctive (1pl):
ख़त्ें
([[ख़त्ें]])
subjunctive (2sg):
ख़त्े
([[ख़त्े]])
subjunctive (2pl):
ख़त्ो
([[ख़त्ो]])
subjunctive (3sg):
ख़त्े
([[ख़त्े]])
subjunctive (3pl):
ख़त्ें
([[ख़त्ें]])