झूठा (jhoothaa)
adjective/noun
Primarily an adjective meaning 'false/lying' (of statements) or 'lying/dishonest' (of people), with a variable-gender noun sense meaning 'a liar', and a distinct culturally important adjective sense describing food/drink that has touched someone's mouth (hence 'contaminated by another's touch').
Sense
1
:
false, untrue (of a statement, claim, promise)
adjective
Synonyms: मिथ्या (mithyaa, literary), बेबुनियाद (bebuniyaad, baseless)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You'll hear this constantly in everyday arguments: यह बात झूठी है (yah baat jhoothii hai, 'this thing/statement is false') -- note the agreement with बात (baat, feminine), a common trip-up since the base form झूठा (jhoothaa) looks masculine by default.
Common Mistakes: 1) झूठा (jhoothaa) describes the statement or claim as false, while a person who habitually lies is called झूठा (jhoothaa) in the separate noun/person sense -- learners sometimes reach for असत्य (asaty) in speech, which sounds bookish; झूठा (jhoothaa) is the everyday word.
Sample Sentences:
यह बात बिलकुल झूठी है।
This statement is completely false.
(yah baat bilkul jhoothii hai।)
उसने जो वादा किया था, वह झूठा निकला।
The promise he had made turned out to be false.
(usne jo vaadaa kiyaa thaa, vah jhoothaa niklaa।)
अगर उसका दावा झूठा होता, तो पुलिस उसे कभी की गिरफ्तार कर चुकी होती।
If his claim were false, the police would have arrested him long ago.
(agar uskaa daavaa jhoothaa hotaa, to pulis use kabhii kii giraphtaar kar chukii hotii।)
अखबार में छपी वह खबर झूठी साबित हुई।
That news printed in the newspaper turned out to be false.
(akhbaar men chhapii vah khabar jhoothii saabit huii।)
कृपया झूठी अफवाहों पर यकीन मत कीजिए।
Please do not believe false rumors.
(kripyaa jhoothii aphvaahon par yakiin mat kiijie।)
मुझे शक है कि उसका बहाना झूठा है।
I suspect that his excuse is false.
(mujhe shak hai ki uskaa bahaanaa jhoothaa hai।)
यह इल्ज़ाम बिलकुल झूठा है, मैंने ऐसा कुछ नहीं किया।
This accusation is completely false, I did nothing of the sort.
(yah ilzaam bilkul jhoothaa hai, mainne aisaa kuchh nahiin kiyaa।)
अदालत में यह साबित हो गया कि गवाही झूठी थी।
It was proven in court that the testimony was false.
(adaalat men yah saabit ho gayaa ki gavaahii jhoothii thii।)
उसकी हर बात झूठी लगती है, फिर भी लोग यकीन कर लेते हैं।
Everything he says seems false, yet people believe it.
(uskii har baat jhoothii lagtii hai, phir bhii log yakiin kar lete hain।)
काश उसका आरोप झूठा निकले।
I wish his allegation would turn out to be false.
(kaash uskaa aarop jhoothaa nikle।)
Sense
2
:
lying, dishonest (of a person)
adjective
Synonyms: फरेबी (pharebii, deceitful), मक्कार (makkaar, cunning/deceitful)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Calling someone झूठा (jhoothaa) to their face is a real accusation in Hindi -- it lands harder than English 'you're lying' because it labels the person's character, not just the one statement.
Sample Sentences:
वह बहुत झूठा आदमी है।
He is a very lying man.
(vah bahut jhoothaa aadmii hai।)
तुम इतने झूठे कब से हो गए?
Since when did you become so deceitful?
(tum itne jhoothe kab se ho gae?)
तू झूठा है, मैं तुझ पर भरोसा नहीं करूँगी।
You're a liar, I won't trust you.
(too jhoothaa hai, main tujh par bharosaa nahiin karoongii।)
अगर वह इतना झूठा न होता, तो लोग उस पर भरोसा करते।
If he weren't so deceitful, people would trust him.
(agar vah itnaa jhoothaa n hotaa, to log us par bharosaa karte।)
उसे झूठा मत कहो, शायद उसे गलतफ़हमी हुई हो।
Don't call him a liar, maybe he was just confused.
(use jhoothaa mat kaho, shaayad use galatfahmii huii ho।)
मुझे नहीं लगता कि वह झूठा हो सकता है।
I don't think he could be lying.
(mujhe nahiin lagtaa ki vah jhoothaa ho saktaa hai।)
सबके सामने उसे झूठा कहा गया, और वह शर्म से लाल हो गया।
He was called a liar in front of everyone, and he turned red with shame.
(sabke saamne use jhoothaa kahaa gayaa, aur vah sharm se laal ho gayaa।)
महाराज, यह मंत्री बहुत झूठा है, इसकी बातों पर विश्वास न करें।
Your Majesty, this minister is a great liar, do not believe his words.
(mahaaraaj, yah mantrii bahut jhoothaa hai, iskii baaton par vishvaas n karen।)
क्या तुम मुझे झूठा समझते हो?
Do you think I'm a liar?
(kyaa tum mujhe jhoothaa samajhte ho?)
वह इतना झूठा निकला कि पूरा परिवार धक्का खा गया।
He turned out to be so deceitful that the whole family was shocked.
(vah itnaa jhoothaa niklaa ki pooraa parivaar dhakkaa khaa gayaa।)
जो आदमी बार-बार अपनी बात बदलता है, वह झूठा माना जाता है।
A man who keeps changing his story is considered a liar.
(jo aadmii baar-baar apnii baat badaltaa hai, vah jhoothaa maanaa jaataa hai।)
Sense
3
:
a liar
noun, masculine/feminine This noun sense is the same adjective used substantively (e.g. वह झूठा है (vah jhoothaa hai, 'he is a liar')) and takes m/f agreement matching the person referred to, rather than being a fixed-gender noun.
Synonyms: फरेबी (pharebii, deceiver), मक्कार (makkaar, deceitful person)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Kids trade this insult on the playground just like English-speaking kids say 'liar, liar' -- तू झूठा है (too jhoothaa hai, 'you're a liar') is the classic schoolyard line.
Sample Sentences:
तू झूठा है!
You're a liar!
(too jhoothaa hai!)
वह बहुत बड़ा झूठा है, उसकी किसी बात पर मत जाना।
He's a huge liar, don't go by anything he says.
(vah bahut badaa jhoothaa hai, uskii kisii baat par mat jaanaa।)
स्कूल में सब उसे झूठा बुलाते थे।
In school, everyone used to call him a liar.
(skool men sab use jhoothaa bulaate the।)
अगर तुमने फिर से यह किया, तो लोग तुम्हें झूठा समझेंगे।
If you do this again, people will think you're a liar.
(agar tumne phir se yah kiyaa, to log tumhen jhoothaa samjhenge।)
अदालत ने उसे झूठा साबित कर दिया।
The court proved him to be a liar.
(adaalat ne use jhoothaa saabit kar diyaa।)
इस कहानी में असली झूठा तो कोई और ही निकलता है।
In this story, it turns out someone else entirely is the real liar.
(is kahaanii men aslii jhoothaa to koii aur hii nikaltaa hai।)
मत बनो झूठा, सच बता दो।
Don't act like a liar, just tell the truth.
(mat bano jhoothaa, sach bataa do।)
अगर वह इतना झूठा न होता, तो लोग उस पर भरोसा करते।
If he weren't such a liar, people would trust him.
(agar vah itnaa jhoothaa n hotaa, to log us par bharosaa karte।)
पत्रकार ने लिखा कि मंत्री एक झूठा है जिसने जनता को धोखा दिया।
The journalist wrote that the minister is a liar who deceived the public.
(patrkaar ne likhaa ki mantrii ek jhoothaa hai jisne jantaa ko dhokhaa diyaa।)
मुझे शक है कि वह झूठा हो सकता है।
I suspect he might be a liar.
(mujhe shak hai ki vah jhoothaa ho saktaa hai।)
बच्चों ने चिल्लाकर कहा, "झूठा, झूठा, तेरी नाक में लड्डू!"
The kids shouted, "Liar, liar, laddoo in your nose!"
(bachchon ne chillaakar kahaa, "jhoothaa, jhoothaa, terii naak men laddoo!")
Sense
4
:
touched by someone's mouth, hence ritually/socially contaminated (of food or a vessel)
adjective Used almost always attributively with food/drink nouns, e.g. झूठा खाना (jhoothaa khaanaa, 'food someone has already put their mouth to'), and inflects to agree with that noun.
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This is a real, live idea in Indian households: parents will say मत खाओ, यह झूठा है (mat khaao, yah jhoothaa hai, 'don't eat it, it's already been bitten into') about food someone else has taken a bite of, tied to older ideas about saliva and purity that still shape sharing food and drink at the table.
Common Mistakes: 1) This sense has nothing to do with lying -- it describes food, a glass, or a plate that has touched someone else's mouth or saliva, a concept with no single-word English equivalent, so learners often miss it entirely and default to the 'false' meaning; 2) Confusable with जूठा (joothaa), an alternate spelling without the ‘झ’ softening some speakers use for exactly this sense -- both are heard in Delhi-NCR.
Sample Sentences:
मत खाओ, यह झूठा है।
Don't eat it, it's already been bitten into.
(mat khaao, yah jhoothaa hai।)
यह मेरा झूठा गिलास है, इसमें पानी मत पीना।
This is my used glass, don't drink water from it.
(yah meraa jhoothaa gilaas hai, ismen paanii mat piinaa।)
दादी झूठा खाना कभी नहीं खाती थीं, चाहे कितनी भी भूख लगी हो।
Grandmother never used to eat mouth-touched food, no matter how hungry she was.
(daadii jhoothaa khaanaa kabhii nahiin khaatii thiin, chaahe kitnii bhii bhookh lagii ho।)
बच्चे ने सेब में एक काटा लिया और उसे झूठा कर दिया।
The child took one bite of the apple and made it half-eaten.
(bachche ne seb men ek kaataa liyaa aur use jhoothaa kar diyaa।)
अगर तुम इस थाली से खा लो, तो यह झूठी हो जाएगी।
If you eat from this plate, it will become contaminated.
(agar tum is thaalii se khaa lo, to yah jhoothii ho jaaegii।)
पुराने समय में झूठा बर्तन अलग रखकर धोया जाता था।
In older times, a mouth-touched vessel used to be kept aside and washed separately.
(puraane samay men jhoothaa bartan alag rakhkar dhoyaa jaataa thaa।)
अगर मैं जानता कि यह झूठा है, तो मैं इसे कभी नहीं छूता।
If I had known it was already bitten into, I would never have touched it.
(agar main jaantaa ki yah jhoothaa hai, to main ise kabhii nahiin chhootaa।)
कृपया मेहमानों को झूठा खाना न परोसें, यह अच्छा नहीं लगता।
Please do not serve guests mouth-touched food, it does not look nice.
(kripyaa mehmaanon ko jhoothaa khaanaa n parosen, yah achchhaa nahiin lagtaa।)
भाई-बहन अक्सर एक-दूसरे का झूठा खा लेते हैं, कोई एतराज़ नहीं होता।
Siblings often eat each other's half-eaten food, nobody objects.
(bhaaii-bahan aksar ek-doosre kaa jhoothaa khaa lete hain, koii etraaz nahiin hotaa।)
क्या यह झूठा नहीं है? तुमने तो पहले ही इसमें से खा लिया था।
Isn't this already bitten into? You had already eaten from it before.
(kyaa yah jhoothaa nahiin hai? tumne to pahle hii ismen se khaa liyaa thaa।)
Morphology
Adjective (variable)
(sg.m):
झूठा
(jhoothaa)
(pl.m):
झूठे
(jhoothe)
(sg.f):
झूठी
(jhoothii)
(pl.f):
झूठी
(jhoothii)
Noun
(sg.m/f.direct):
झूठा
(jhoothaa)
(sg.m/f.oblique):
झूठा
(jhoothaa)
(pl.m/f.direct):
झूठाएँ
(jhoothaaen)
(pl.m/f.oblique):
झूठाओं
(jhoothaaon)