दो-एक (do-ek)

adjective A fixed compound of दो (do, 'two') and एक (ek, 'one') meaning 'a couple of' or 'a few' -- used to give a vague small quantity, not an exact count.

Sense 1 : a couple of, a few (approximate small number)

adjective Placed before the noun it quantifies, like a regular numeral: दो-एक दिन (do-ek din, 'a couple of days').

Synonyms: एक-दो (ek-do, reversed order, equally common), कुछ (kuchh, less specific), चंद (chand, literary)

Frequency: high

Cultural Note: This is a classic Hindi way of being deliberately vague about small numbers -- similar to how English speakers say 'a couple of' without meaning exactly two. You will hear it constantly in daily chit-chat: दो-एक मिनट रुको (do-ek minat ruko, 'wait a couple of minutes').

Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes treat it as an exact number ('two-one') rather than a vague approximation like 'a couple/few'. 2) It is often confused with एक-दो (ek-do) -- both are correct and interchangeable, so there is no real error in swapping them, just a stylistic habit some speakers have of preferring one order over the other.

Sample Sentences:

दो-एक मिनट रुको, मैं अभी आता हूँ। Wait a couple of minutes, I'm coming right now.

(do-ek minat ruko, main abhii aataa hoon।)

मुझे दो-एक दिन और चाहिए इस काम को पूरा करने के लिए। I need a couple more days to finish this work.

(mujhe do-ek din aur chaahie is kaam ko pooraa karne ke lie।)

पार्टी में दो-एक लोग ही आए थे। Only a couple of people had come to the party.

(paartii men do-ek log hii aae the।)

वह हर हफ्ते दो-एक किताबें पढ़ लेता है। He reads a couple of books every week.

(vah har haphte do-ek kitaaben padh letaa hai।)

अगर दो-एक और लोग मिल जाएँ, तो काम जल्दी हो जाएगा। If we could find a couple more people, the work would get done faster.

(agar do-ek aur log mil jaaen, to kaam jaldii ho jaaegaa।)

अगर उसने दो-एक दिन पहले बता दिया होता, तो मैं तैयार रहता। If he had told me a couple of days earlier, I would have been ready.

(agar usne do-ek din pahle bataa diyaa hotaa, to main taiyaar rahtaa।)

बाजार से दो-एक चीज़ें और लानी हैं। A couple more things need to be brought from the market.

(baajaar se do-ek chiizen aur laanii hain।)

कृपया दो-एक मिनट प्रतीक्षा करें, अधिकारी जल्द ही आएँगे। Please wait a couple of minutes, the officer will arrive shortly.

(kripyaa do-ek minat pratiikshaa karen, adhikaarii jald hii aaenge।)

शायद दो-एक हफ्तों में रिपोर्ट तैयार हो जाए। The report might be ready in a couple of weeks.

(shaayad do-ek haphton men riport taiyaar ho jaae।)

दो-एक बार कोशिश करने से क्या फर्क पड़ता है? What difference does it make to try a couple of times?

(do-ek baar koshish karne se kyaa phark padtaa hai?)

उसने दो-एक सवाल पूछे और चला गया। He asked a couple of questions and left.

(usne do-ek savaal poochhe aur chalaa gayaa।)

Morphology

Adjective (invariant)

invariant: दो-एक ([[दो-एक]])