अच्छा (achchhaa)
adjective/interjection/adverb
Primarily the everyday adjective for 'good/nice', but also does heavy duty as a stand-alone interjection meaning 'okay/I see' and as a discourse marker signaling agreement or transition -- learners meet all three constantly in spoken Hindi.
Sense
1
:
good, nice, fine (quality)
adjective
Synonyms: बढ़िया (badhiyaa), उम्दा (umdaa, somewhat formal), शानदार (shaandaar, great/excellent), भला (bhalaa, literary)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is one of the first words every learner picks up, and for good reason -- it is the all-purpose word for approval in Hindi, used for food, people, weather, movies, and moral character alike. Note how flexible it is: अच्छा लड़का (achchhaa ladkaa, 'a good boy') can mean well-behaved, while अच्छा खाना (achchhaa khaanaa, 'good food') just means tasty -- context carries the specific flavor of 'goodness'.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for बहुत अच्छा (bahut achchhaa, 'very good') as a default compliment in every context, when native speakers often prefer बढ़िया (badhiyaa) or मज़ेदार (mazedaar) depending on what exactly is being praised (taste, fun, quality). 2) अच्छा लगना (achchhaa lagnaa) is a dative-subject construction ('to feel/seem good to someone') and is easy to confuse with simply calling a thing अच्छा (achchhaa) -- the two are related but grammatically distinct; the verb sense is covered under लगना (lagnaa).
Sample Sentences:
यह खाना बहुत अच्छा है।
This food is very good.
(yah khaanaa bahut achchhaa hai।)
वह बहुत अच्छा लड़का है, सबकी मदद करता है।
He is a very good boy, he helps everyone.
(vah bahut achchhaa ladkaa hai, sabkii madad kartaa hai।)
कल मौसम बहुत अच्छा था।
The weather was very good yesterday.
(kal mausam bahut achchhaa thaa।)
यह फिल्म उतनी अच्छी नहीं है जितनी लोग कहते हैं।
This movie is not as good as people say.
(yah philm utnii achchhii nahiin hai jitnii log kahte hain।)
अगर तुम अच्छे बच्चे बनोगे, तो सब तुमसे प्यार करेंगे।
If you become good children, everyone will love you.
(agar tum achchhe bachche banoge, to sab tumse pyaar karenge।)
काश उसका स्वास्थ्य अच्छा होता।
I wish his health were good.
(kaash uskaa svaasthy achchhaa hotaa।)
इस कंपनी की सेवाएं वाकई बहुत अच्छी मानी जाती हैं।
This company's services are truly considered very good.
(is kampnii kii sevaaen vaakaii bahut achchhii maanii jaatii hain।)
एक अच्छा इंसान बनना सबसे बड़ी उपलब्धि है।
Becoming a good person is the greatest achievement.
(ek achchhaa insaan bannaa sabse badii uplabdhi hai।)
मुझे उम्मीद है कि तुम्हारे नए घर में सब कुछ अच्छा हो।
I hope everything is good in your new house.
(mujhe ummiid hai ki tumhaare nae ghar men sab kuchh achchhaa ho।)
एक अच्छी किताब पढ़ो, वक्त बर्बाद मत करो।
Read a good book, don't waste time.
(ek achchhii kitaab padho, vakt barbaad mat karo।)
उस रेस्तरां में खाना इतना अच्छा था कि हम दोबारा गए।
The food at that restaurant was so good that we went again.
(us restraan men khaanaa itnaa achchhaa thaa ki ham dobaaraa gae।)
Sense
2
:
okay, I see, alright (acknowledgment)
interjection Used as a one-word reply to register that you have understood or accepted what was just said, often standing entirely alone as a full turn in conversation.
Synonyms: ठीक है (thiik hai, 'okay, fine'), ठीक (thiik)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Listen for this on the phone or at the start of a reply: अच्छा, तो कल मिलते हैं (achchhaa, to kal milte hain, 'okay, so we'll meet tomorrow') -- it's the verbal nod that keeps a conversation moving, much like English 'right' or 'okay' used as filler-agreement rather than literal praise.
Common Mistakes: 1) Said with a rising, drawn-out intonation, अच्छा (achchhaa) can mean 'oh really?' or mild surprise rather than plain agreement -- learners who use a flat tone can miss this nuance, since the same word covers both 'okay' and 'oh, is that so.' 2) This use is distinct from the adjective sense; it doesn't inflect or agree with anything since it's functioning as a fixed exclamation, not describing a noun.
Sample Sentences:
अच्छा, तो कल मिलते हैं।
Okay, so we'll meet tomorrow.
(achchhaa, to kal milte hain।)
अच्छा, समझ गया।
Okay, I get it.
(achchhaa, samajh gayaa।)
अच्छा? फिर क्या हुआ?
Oh really? Then what happened?
(achchhaa? phir kyaa huaa?)
अच्छा, अब मैं चलता हूँ।
Okay, I'll be off now.
(achchhaa, ab main chaltaa hoon।)
अच्छा जी, जैसी आपकी मर्ज़ी।
Alright then, as you wish.
(achchhaa jii, jaisii aapkii marzii।)
अच्छा, तुमने उससे बात कर ली?
Okay, did you talk to him already?
(achchhaa, tumne usse baat kar lii?)
अच्छा, यह बात पहले क्यों नहीं बताई?
I see -- why didn't you say this before?
(achchhaa, yah baat pahle kyon nahiin bataaii?)
अच्छा, चलो देखते हैं क्या होता है।
Okay, let's see what happens.
(achchhaa, chalo dekhte hain kyaa hotaa hai।)
अच्छा साहब, आपकी बात मान ली।
Alright sir, I accept what you say.
(achchhaa saahab, aapkii baat maan lii।)
अच्छा, अगर ऐसा होता तो मैं पहले ही बता देता।
I see -- if that were the case, I would have told you already.
(achchhaa, agar aisaa hotaa to main pahle hii bataa detaa।)
अच्छा, तो यह राज़ है!
Ah, so that's the secret!
(achchhaa, to yah raaz hai!)
Sense
3
:
well (manner)
adverb Functions adverbially mainly in fixed collocations like अच्छा लगना (achchhaa lagnaa, 'to seem/feel good') and अच्छा बोलना (achchhaa bolnaa, 'to speak well'), rather than freely modifying any verb the way ठीक से (thiik se) does.
Synonyms: बढ़िया से (badhiyaa se), ठीक से (thiik se)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This adverbial flavor overlaps closely with the adjective sense -- Hindi doesn't always mark the adjective/adverb boundary as sharply as English does, so अच्छा (achchhaa) can slide between 'a good X' and 'X well' depending on the verb it sits next to.
Sample Sentences:
वह अच्छा गाता है।
He sings well.
(vah achchhaa gaataa hai।)
वह अच्छा खेल रही है।
She's playing well.
(vah achchhaa khel rahii hai।)
उसने कल परीक्षा में अच्छा लिखा।
He wrote well in the exam yesterday.
(usne kal pariikshaa men achchhaa likhaa।)
अच्छा बोलो, ताकि सब समझ सकें।
Speak well, so that everyone can understand.
(achchhaa bolo, taaki sab samajh saken।)
अगर वह अच्छा गाता तो उसे यह मौका मिल जाता।
If he sang well, he would have gotten this chance.
(agar vah achchhaa gaataa to use yah maukaa mil jaataa।)
मुझे उम्मीद है कि वह इस बार अच्छा खेले।
I hope he plays well this time.
(mujhe ummiid hai ki vah is baar achchhaa khele।)
वह हमेशा अच्छा व्यवहार करता है।
He always behaves well.
(vah hameshaa achchhaa vyavahaar kartaa hai।)
यह काम अच्छा किया गया है।
This work has been done well.
(yah kaam achchhaa kiyaa gayaa hai।)
अगली बार वह ज़रूर अच्छा प्रदर्शन करेगा।
Next time he will definitely perform well.
(aglii baar vah zaroor achchhaa pradarshan karegaa।)
आप कृपया थोड़ा और अच्छा समझाइए, मुझे अभी भी शक है।
Please explain a bit better, I still have doubts.
(aap kripyaa thodaa aur achchhaa samjhaaie, mujhe abhii bhii shak hai।)
Morphology
Adjective (variable)
(sg.m):
अच्छा
(achchhaa)
(pl.m):
अच्छे
(achchhe)
(sg.f):
अच्छी
(achchhii)
(pl.f):
अच्छी
(achchhii)