मैला (mailaa)
adjective/noun
Mainly an adjective meaning 'dirty, soiled, grimy'; also has a noun sense referring to filth/excrement, most familiar to learners through the term मैला ढोना (mailaa dhonaa, 'to carry night-soil'), tied to the caste-based practice of manual scavenging.
Sense
1
:
dirty, soiled
adjective
Synonyms: गंदा (gandaa), मलिन (malin, literary), अशुद्ध (ashuddh, formal)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Think of a shirt collar gone grey with sweat and dust, or hands smudged after fieldwork -- that visible, textured griminess is the heart of मैला (mailaa), distinct from the broader, more abstract गंदा (gandaa).
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for गंदा (gandaa) by default; मैला (mailaa) leans specifically toward clothes, cloth, or skin that look grimy or unwashed rather than general filth like garbage or a dirty room, where गंदा (gandaa) is more natural.
Sample Sentences:
उसकी कमीज़ का कॉलर मैला हो गया है।
His shirt collar has gotten dirty.
(uskii kamiiz kaa kolar mailaa ho gayaa hai।)
खेत में काम करते-करते उसके कपड़े मैले हो गए।
His clothes got dirty from working in the field.
(khet men kaam karte-karte uske kapde maile ho gae।)
यह तौलिया बहुत मैला लग रहा है, इसे धो दो।
This towel looks very dirty, wash it.
(yah tauliyaa bahut mailaa lag rahaa hai, ise dho do।)
बच्चे रोज़ खेल-खेलकर अपने कपड़े मैले कर लेते हैं।
The children make their clothes dirty every day from playing.
(bachche roz khel-khelkar apne kapde maile kar lete hain।)
अगर तुम बारिश में निकलोगे तो तुम्हारे जूते मैले हो जाएँगे।
If you go out in the rain, your shoes will get dirty.
(agar tum baarish men nikloge to tumhaare joote maile ho jaaenge।)
काश उसके हाथ इतने मैले न होते तो वह खाना बना सकती।
If only her hands weren't so dirty, she could have cooked the food.
(kaash uske haath itne maile n hote to vah khaanaa banaa saktii।)
इतने मैले हाथों से खाना मत छुओ।
Don't touch the food with such dirty hands.
(itne maile haathon se khaanaa mat chhuo।)
दीवार पर लगे मैले निशान साफ करना मुश्किल था।
The dirty marks on the wall were hard to clean.
(diivaar par lage maile nishaan saaph karnaa mushkil thaa।)
मुझे डर है कि यह चादर बच्चों के हाथों से मैली न हो जाए।
I'm afraid this bedsheet might get dirty from the children's hands.
(mujhe dar hai ki yah chaadar bachchon ke haathon se mailii n ho jaae।)
उसका मैला कुर्ता देखकर माँ ने उसे तुरंत डाँटा।
Seeing his dirty kurta, mother scolded him at once.
(uskaa mailaa kurtaa dekhkar maan ne use turant daantaa।)
मैले कपड़ों में दफ्तर मत जाओ, लोग क्या सोचेंगे।
Don't go to the office in dirty clothes, what will people think.
(maile kapdon men daphtar mat jaao, log kyaa sochenge।)
मैले हाथों वाला दर्पण भी मुझे अपना ही चेहरा दिखाता है।
Even a mirror smudged by dirty hands shows me only my own face.
(maile haathon vaalaa darpan bhii mujhe apnaa hii chehraa dikhaataa hai।)
Sense
2
:
filth, excrement
noun, masculine Almost always encountered inside the fixed phrase मैला ढोना (mailaa dhonaa, 'to carry night-soil').
Synonyms: गंदगी (gandgii)
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: मैला ढोना (mailaa dhonaa, 'to carry night-soil') names the historical, caste-linked practice of manually removing human waste -- a grim reality now legally banned in India but still invoked in discussions of caste discrimination and Dalit rights, so the phrase carries real social weight, not just a literal cleaning task.
Common Mistakes: 1) This noun sense is narrow and mostly survives inside मैला ढोना (mailaa dhonaa); learners should not use it as a general word for 'trash' or 'dirt' -- that is कचरा (kachraa) or गंदगी (gandgii).
Sample Sentences:
इस देश में मैला ढोने की प्रथा अब कानूनन प्रतिबंधित है।
In this country, the practice of carrying night-soil is now legally banned.
(is desh men mailaa dhone kii prathaa ab kaanoonan pratibandhit hai।)
सदियों तक कुछ जातियों को जबरन मैला ढोने के लिए मजबूर किया जाता था।
For centuries, certain castes were forced to carry night-soil.
(sadiyon tak kuchh jaatiyon ko jabran mailaa dhone ke lie majboor kiyaa jaataa thaa।)
मैला ढोने की प्रथा को खत्म करने के लिए सरकार ने कानून बनाया।
The government made a law to end the practice of carrying night-soil.
(mailaa dhone kii prathaa ko khatm karne ke lie sarkaar ne kaanoon banaayaa।)
गली में पड़ा मैला देखकर बच्चे उल्टी करने लगे।
Seeing the filth lying in the lane, the children started retching.
(galii men padaa mailaa dekhkar bachche ultii karne lage।)
अगर सफाई कर्मचारी न होते, तो शहर का मैला कौन उठाता?
If there were no sanitation workers, who would have removed the city's filth?
(agar saphaaii karmchaarii n hote, to shahar kaa mailaa kaun uthaataa?)
नाले का मैला सीधे नदी में बहाया जा रहा है।
The drain's filth is being flushed straight into the river.
(naale kaa mailaa siidhe nadii men bahaayaa jaa rahaa hai।)
मैला ढोने वालों के दर्द को कभी ठीक से सुना नहीं गया।
The pain of those who carried night-soil was never properly listened to.
(mailaa dhone vaalon ke dard ko kabhii thiik se sunaa nahiin gayaa।)
क्या यह मुमकिन है कि अभी भी कहीं मैला हाथ से साफ किया जाता हो?
Is it possible that filth is still being cleaned by hand somewhere even now?
(kyaa yah mumkin hai ki abhii bhii kahiin mailaa haath se saaph kiyaa jaataa ho?)
Morphology
Adjective (variable)
(sg.m):
मैला
(mailaa)
(pl.m):
मैले
(maile)
(sg.f):
मैली
(mailii)
(pl.f):
मैली
(mailii)
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
मैला
(mailaa)
(sg.m.oblique):
मैले
(maile)
(pl.m.direct):
मैले
(maile)
(pl.m.oblique):
मैलों
(mailon)