गूँगा (goongaa)
adjective/noun
Primarily an adjective/noun meaning 'mute, dumb (unable to speak)'; also used figuratively for someone silent or tongue-tied, and lives inside a well-known idiom about a mute person's experience being inexpressible.
Sense
1
:
unable to speak, mute
adjective
Synonyms: मूक (mook, formal)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This word inflects like an ordinary -आ (aa) adjective, so you will meet गूँगी (goongii) for a woman/girl and गूँगे (goonge) in the plural or oblique. It pairs constantly with बहरा (bahraa, 'deaf') in the fixed phrase गूँगा-बहरा (goongaa-bahraa) describing someone who is both.
Common Mistakes: 1) गूँगा (goongaa) is now considered an insensitive/blunt term in polite or clinical contexts; बोलने में असमर्थ (bolne men asmarth, 'unable to speak') or गूँगा-बहरा (goongaa-bahraa, 'deaf-mute') is often preferred when describing a real disability respectfully, similar to the shift away from 'dumb' in English.
Sample Sentences:
वह बच्चा जन्म से गूँगा है।
That child has been mute since birth.
(vah bachchaa janm se goongaa hai।)
मेरी पड़ोसी की बेटी गूँगी है, पर वह इशारों में सब समझ लेती है।
My neighbor's daughter is mute, but she understands everything through gestures.
(merii padosii kii betii goongii hai, par vah ishaaron men sab samajh letii hai।)
दुर्घटना के बाद वह कई महीनों तक गूँगा रहा।
After the accident, he remained mute for several months.
(durghatnaa ke baad vah kaii mahiinon tak goongaa rahaa।)
अगर वह गूँगा न होता, तो अपनी पीड़ा बता पाता।
If he weren't mute, he would have been able to express his pain.
(agar vah goongaa n hotaa, to apnii piidaa bataa paataa।)
उस गाँव में एक गूँगा-बहरा लड़का रहता था, जिसे सब बहुत प्यार करते थे।
In that village lived a mute-and-deaf boy whom everyone loved a great deal.
(us gaanv men ek goongaa-bahraa ladkaa rahtaa thaa, jise sab bahut pyaar karte the।)
डॉक्टर ने कहा कि बच्चा गूँगा पैदा हुआ है।
The doctor said that the child was born mute.
(doktar ne kahaa ki bachchaa goongaa paidaa huaa hai।)
क्या तुमने कभी किसी गूँगी लड़की से बात करने की कोशिश की है?
Have you ever tried to talk to a mute girl?
(kyaa tumne kabhii kisii goongii ladkii se baat karne kii koshish kii hai?)
स्कूल में गूँगे बच्चों के लिए एक विशेष कक्षा शुरू की गई है।
A special class has been started at the school for mute children.
(skool men goonge bachchon ke lie ek vishesh kakshaa shuroo kii gaii hai।)
काश वह गूँगा न होता, तो अपनी माँ को 'माँ' कह पाता।
If only he weren't mute, he could have called his mother 'Mom'.
(kaash vah goongaa n hotaa, to apnii maan ko 'maan' kah paataa।)
इस बीमारी की वजह से वह गूँगा हो जाएगा, ऐसा डॉक्टर ने बताया।
Because of this illness he will become mute, the doctor said.
(is biimaarii kii vajah se vah goongaa ho jaaegaa, aisaa doktar ne bataayaa।)
गूँगे-बहरे बच्चों के लिए भाषा सीखना आसान नहीं होता।
Learning language is not easy for mute-and-deaf children.
(goonge-bahre bachchon ke lie bhaashaa siikhnaa aasaan nahiin hotaa।)
Sense
2
:
a mute person
noun, masculine/feminine Functions as the adjective used substantively -- 'the mute one' -- taking the same gender-marked forms (गूँगा/गूँगी/गूँगे, goongaa/goongii/goonge).
Synonyms: मूक (mook, formal)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This noun sense is the heart of the classic saying गूँगे का गुड़ (goonge kaa gud, 'a mute person's jaggery') -- meaning an experience or feeling so personal it cannot be put into words, because the mute person who tastes the sweet jaggery has no way to describe its taste to anyone else. You will hear this idiom used for anything from a private joy to an unspeakable pain.
Sample Sentences:
वह बचपन से गूँगा है।
He has been mute since childhood.
(vah bachpan se goongaa hai।)
स्कूल में एक गूँगा लड़का पढ़ता है, वह इशारों से बात करता है।
There's a mute boy who studies at the school; he communicates through gestures.
(skool men ek goongaa ladkaa padhtaa hai, vah ishaaron se baat kartaa hai।)
यह खुशी तो गूँगे का गुड़ है, मैं इसे बता ही नहीं सकता।
This joy is like a mute person's jaggery -- I simply cannot describe it.
(yah khushii to goonge kaa gud hai, main ise bataa hii nahiin saktaa।)
उसका दर्द गूँगे के गुड़ जैसा था, किसी को समझा ही नहीं पाई।
Her pain was like a mute person's jaggery -- she just couldn't make anyone understand it.
(uskaa dard goonge ke gud jaisaa thaa, kisii ko samjhaa hii nahiin paaii।)
गूँगों के लिए अलग स्कूल खोले जाएँ।
Separate schools should be opened for mute people.
(goongon ke lie alag skool khole jaaen।)
अगर वह गूँगा न होता तो अपनी माँ को माफ़ी माँग सकता।
If he weren't mute, he could have asked his mother for forgiveness.
(agar vah goongaa n hotaa to apnii maan ko maafii maang saktaa।)
गूँगे को इशारों की भाषा में प्रशिक्षित किया जाएगा।
The mute person will be trained in sign language.
(goonge ko ishaaron kii bhaashaa men prashikshit kiyaa jaaegaa।)
क्या तुम्हें पता है कि वह आदमी गूँगा है?
Do you know that man is mute?
(kyaa tumhen pataa hai ki vah aadmii goongaa hai?)
गूँगे व्यक्ति के अधिकारों की रक्षा की जानी चाहिए।
The rights of a mute person ought to be protected.
(goonge vyakti ke adhikaaron kii rakshaa kii jaanii chaahie।)
उस गूँगे ने इशारे से पूरी कहानी समझा दी।
That mute person explained the whole story through gestures.
(us goonge ne ishaare se poorii kahaanii samjhaa dii।)
Sense
3
:
silent, unable or unwilling to express oneself (figurative)
adjective Used figuratively for a person struck silent by shock, fear, or helplessness, or for something (like pain or a situation) that has no voice.
Synonyms: खामोश (khaamosh), मौन (maun, literary)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: You will hear this in lines like वह गूँगा बनकर सब सुनता रहा (vah goongaa bankar sab suntaa rahaa, 'he kept listening to everything, having become mute') -- describing someone who swallows their words out of helplessness rather than choice.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes reach for चुप (chup) here, which just means 'quiet/not talking right now' -- गूँगा (goongaa) in this figurative sense implies a deeper, almost helpless inability to speak up, not simple silence.
Sample Sentences:
वह सब कुछ जानते हुए भी गूँगा बना रहा
He knew everything, yet he kept pretending to be tongue-tied.
(vah sab kuchh jaante hue bhii goongaa banaa rahaa)
अन्याय के सामने वह गूँगा बनकर सब सुनता रहा
In the face of injustice, he kept listening to everything, having become mute.
(anyaay ke saamne vah goongaa bankar sab suntaa rahaa)
डर के मारे उसकी जुबान गूँगी हो गई
Out of fear, his tongue went silent.
(dar ke maare uskii jubaan goongii ho gaii)
इतना अपमान सहकर भी वह गूँगी बनी रहती है
Even after enduring so much insult, she remains silent.
(itnaa apmaan sahkar bhii vah goongii banii rahtii hai)
जब उससे सच पूछा गया, तो वह गूँगा हो गया
When he was asked the truth, he went silent.
(jab usse sach poochhaa gayaa, to vah goongaa ho gayaa)
गूँगा मत बनो, जो दिल में है वह कहो
Don't clam up -- say what's in your heart.
(goongaa mat bano, jo dil men hai vah kaho)
अगर वह उस वक़्त गूँगा न बनता तो शायद बात सुलझ जाती
If he hadn't gone silent at that moment, the matter might have gotten resolved.
(agar vah us vaqt goongaa n bantaa to shaayad baat sulajh jaatii)
कभी-कभी लगता है कि पूरा समाज गूँगा हो गया है
Sometimes it feels like the whole society has gone mute with helplessness.
(kabhii-kabhii lagtaa hai ki pooraa samaaj goongaa ho gayaa hai)
उसकी बेबसी उसे गूँगा बना देती है
Her helplessness renders her speechless.
(uskii bebsii use goongaa banaa detii hai)
Morphology
Adjective (variable)
(sg.m):
गूँगा
(goongaa)
(pl.m):
गूँगे
(goonge)
(sg.f):
गूँगी
(goongii)
(pl.f):
गूँगी
(goongii)
Noun
(sg.m/f.direct):
गूँगा
(goongaa)
(sg.m/f.oblique):
गूँगा
(goongaa)
(pl.m/f.direct):
गूँगाएँ
(goongaaen)
(pl.m/f.oblique):
गूँगाओं
(goongaaon)