सही (sahii)
adjective/interjection/adverb
Mainly an adjective meaning 'correct/right,' but also doubles as an everyday interjection of agreement ('right!', 'okay!') and appears in a common idiomatic phrase meaning 'let's just say/granted.'
Sense
1
:
correct, right, accurate
adjective
Synonyms: ठीक (thiik), दुरुस्त (durust), उचित (uchit, somewhat formal)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear सही (sahii) constantly in classrooms and exam contexts -- सही जवाब (sahii javaab, 'correct answer') is the phrase every Hindi-medium student grows up with, much like checking a homework sheet for right and wrong marks.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for ठीक (thiik) in every context; सही (sahii) leans more toward factual/logical correctness (a correct answer, a correct decision) while ठीक (thiik) also covers 'fine/okay' as a state of being. 2) सही (sahii) is invariant -- it does not change form for gender or number, unlike many other -ई adjectives that look similar.
Sample Sentences:
यह जवाब सही है।
This answer is correct.
(yah javaab sahii hai।)
अपना सही नाम बताओ।
Tell me your correct name.
(apnaa sahii naam bataao।)
टीचर ने कहा कि मेरा जवाब सही था।
The teacher said that my answer was correct.
(tiichar ne kahaa ki meraa javaab sahii thaa।)
अगर तुमने सही समय पर सही फैसला लिया होता, तो आज यह मुश्किल नहीं होती।
If you had made the right decision at the right time, this would not be difficult today.
(agar tumne sahii samay par sahii phaislaa liyaa hotaa, to aaj yah mushkil nahiin hotii।)
परीक्षा में सही जवाब लिखने पर ही अंक मिलते हैं।
You get marks only when you write the correct answer in the exam.
(pariikshaa men sahii javaab likhne par hii ank milte hain।)
शायद यही सही रास्ता हो।
Perhaps this is the correct path.
(shaayad yahii sahii raastaa ho।)
सारे सही जवाबों को हरे रंग से चिह्नित किया गया।
All the correct answers were marked in green.
(saare sahii javaabon ko hare rang se chihnit kiyaa gayaa।)
उम्मीद है कि इस बार मेरा अंदाज़ा सही निकलेगा।
I hope my guess turns out to be correct this time.
(ummiid hai ki is baar meraa andaazaa sahii niklegaa।)
कृपया सही जानकारी ही भरें, वरना फॉर्म रद्द हो सकता है।
Please fill in only the correct information, otherwise the form may be cancelled.
(kripyaa sahii jaankaarii hii bharen, varnaa phorm radd ho saktaa hai।)
उसका हिसाब हमेशा सही होता है।
His calculations are always correct.
(uskaa hisaab hameshaa sahii hotaa hai।)
सही समय पर सही निर्णय ही सफलता की कुंजी है।
The correct decision at the right time is the key to success.
(sahii samay par sahii nirnay hii saphaltaa kii kunjii hai।)
Sense
2
:
right!, correct!, okay! (as an exclamation of agreement)
interjection Used standalone as a one-word response to confirm or agree with something someone just said, much like English 'right!' or 'exactly!'.
Synonyms: ठीक है (thiik hai), बिल्कुल (bilkul)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: You'll hear friends toss out just सही! (sahii!, 'right on!') in casual chat -- it has a slightly youthful, upbeat energy, almost like saying 'nice!' or 'spot on!' in English.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes overuse this as a full sentence replacement for ठीक है (thiik hai); सही (sahii) alone as an interjection feels punchier and more casual, closer to snapping 'right!' than the fuller, more neutral 'okay.'
Sample Sentences:
सही! चलो अब निकलते हैं।
Right! Let's head out now.
(sahii! chalo ab nikalte hain।)
सही! यही तो मैं सुनना चाहता था।
Right! That's exactly what I wanted to hear.
(sahii! yahii to main sunnaa chaahtaa thaa।)
अरे सही! एकदम सही आइडिया है।
Right on! That's a totally spot-on idea.
(are sahii! ekdam sahii aaidiyaa hai।)
सही! तो कल शाम को मिलते हैं।
Right! So let's meet tomorrow evening then.
(sahii! to kal shaam ko milte hain।)
सही! बस यही करना था।
Right! This was exactly what needed to be done.
(sahii! bas yahii karnaa thaa।)
सही! अगर ऐसा होता तो मज़ा आ जाता।
Right! If that had happened, it would have been great fun.
(sahii! agar aisaa hotaa to mazaa aa jaataa।)
सही! तू भी यही सोच रहा था न?
Right! You were thinking the same thing too, weren't you?
(sahii! too bhii yahii soch rahaa thaa n?)
सही! प्लान फाइनल समझो।
Right! Consider the plan finalized.
(sahii! plaan phaainal samjho।)
सही! शायद यही सबसे बढ़िया तरीका हो।
Right! This might just be the best way.
(sahii! shaayad yahii sabse badhiyaa tariikaa ho।)
Sense
3
:
granted, let's say, so be it (in the fixed phrase भला सही / यही सही / न सही)
adverb Appears after a clause to concede a point, often in patterns like ऐसा सही (aisaa sahii, 'fine, let it be so'), न सही तो (n sahii to, 'if not, then...'), or यही सही (yahii sahii, 'this is fine too'). It marks resigned acceptance or concession, not literal 'correctness.'
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: This is a lovely bit of understated Hindi resignation -- चलो, यही सही (chalo, yahii sahii, 'fine, let's go with this then') is the kind of thing you say with a small shrug when you're settling for a decent-but-not-ideal option.
Common Mistakes: 1) This concessive use is easy to miss because it looks identical to the adjective; the giveaway is that it trails a clause rather than modifying a noun, e.g. न आए तो न सही (n aae to n sahii, 'if he doesn't come, so be it') -- there's no noun being called 'correct' here.
Sample Sentences:
चलो, यही सही।
Fine, let's go with this then.
(chalo, yahii sahii।)
अच्छा होता तो अच्छा, न हो तो न सही।
It would've been nice if it worked out, but if not, so be it.
(achchhaa hotaa to achchhaa, n ho to n sahii।)
उसने नहीं बुलाया तो न सही, हम खुद चले जाएंगे।
If he didn't invite us, fine, we'll just go ourselves.
(usne nahiin bulaayaa to n sahii, ham khud chale jaaenge।)
पैसे कम मिले तो भला सही, कम से कम काम तो मिल गया।
Granted the pay is less, but at least I got the job.
(paise kam mile to bhalaa sahii, kam se kam kaam to mil gayaa।)
देर हो गई तो हो गई, यही सही, अब आराम से चलते हैं।
So we're late, fine, let's just take it easy now.
(der ho gaii to ho gaii, yahii sahii, ab aaraam se chalte hain।)
बड़ा घर नहीं मिला तो यही सही, छोटा ही ले लेते हैं।
We didn't get the big house, fine, let's just take the small one.
(badaa ghar nahiin milaa to yahii sahii, chhotaa hii le lete hain।)
वह नहीं आया तो न सही, पार्टी तो नहीं रुकेगी।
He didn't come, so be it, the party isn't going to stop for that.
(vah nahiin aayaa to n sahii, paartii to nahiin rukegii।)
माना कि यह रास्ता लंबा है, यही सही, पर सुरक्षित तो है।
Granted this road is longer, fine, but at least it's safe.
(maanaa ki yah raastaa lambaa hai, yahii sahii, par surakshit to hai।)
Morphology
Adjective (invariant)
invariant:
सही
(sahii)