भयानक (bhayaanak)
adjective
One core sense: an adjective meaning 'frightening/terrible,' used both literally (scary) and as a casual intensifier (terrible, awful, 'crazy bad').
Sense
1
:
frightening, dreadful
adjective
Synonyms: डरावना (daraavnaa), खौफनाक (khauphnaak), भयावह (bhayaavah, slightly more literary), वीभत्स (viibhats, gruesome, stronger)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this word constantly on the news describing accidents, storms, and disasters -- भयानक हादसा (bhayaanak haadsaa, 'terrible accident') is a stock phrase in Hindi news reports. It shares the root भय (bhay, 'fear') with भयभीत (bhaybhiit, 'fearful/frightened') and निर्भय (nirbhay, 'fearless'), so learning this word gives you a foothold on that whole family.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for डरावना (daraavnaa) for anything scary and miss that भयानक (bhayaanak) tends to describe something on a larger or more serious scale -- a भयानक हादसा (bhayaanak haadsaa, 'a terrible accident') or भयानक तूफ़ान (bhayaanak toofaan, 'a dreadful storm') -- rather than a spooky face or a horror-movie jump scare, which leans more toward डरावना (daraavnaa).
Sample Sentences:
कल रात एक भयानक तूफ़ान आया।
A terrifying storm came last night.
(kal raat ek bhayaanak toofaan aayaa।)
हाईवे पर एक भयानक हादसा हो गया।
A terrible accident happened on the highway.
(haaiive par ek bhayaanak haadsaa ho gayaa।)
उसे अंधेरे में अकेले चलने से भयानक डर लगता है।
She has a terrifying fear of walking alone in the dark.
(use andhere men akele chalne se bhayaanak dar lagtaa hai।)
जंगल में रात को भयानक आवाज़ें सुनाई दे रही थीं।
Frightening sounds could be heard in the forest at night.
(jangal men raat ko bhayaanak aavaazen sunaaii de rahii thiin।)
अगर वह सपना सच होता, तो कितना भयानक होता!
If that dream had come true, how terrifying it would have been!
(agar vah sapnaa sach hotaa, to kitnaa bhayaanak hotaa!)
खबरों में हर रोज़ कोई न कोई भयानक हादसा दिखाया जाता है।
Some terrible accident or another is shown in the news every day.
(khabron men har roz koii n koii bhayaanak haadsaa dikhaayaa jaataa hai।)
उस भूकंप में हज़ारों घर भयानक तरीके से तबाह हो गए थे।
In that earthquake, thousands of homes were destroyed in a horrifying way.
(us bhookamp men hazaaron ghar bhayaanak tariike se tabaah ho gae the।)
उस राक्षस का चेहरा बहुत भयानक था।
That demon's face was very frightening.
(us raakshas kaa chehraa bahut bhayaanak thaa।)
अगर बाढ़ और तेज़ आती, तो हालात और भी भयानक हो जाते।
If the flood had come even faster, the situation would have become even more terrifying.
(agar baadh aur tez aatii, to haalaat aur bhii bhayaanak ho jaate।)
आग इतनी भयानक थी कि पूरा बाज़ार जलकर राख हो गया।
The fire was so dreadful that the whole market burned to ashes.
(aag itnii bhayaanak thii ki pooraa baazaar jalkar raakh ho gayaa।)
बच्चों को इतनी भयानक फ़िल्में मत दिखाओ।
Don't show the children such terrifying movies.
(bachchon ko itnii bhayaanak filmen mat dikhaao।)
Sense
2
:
terrible, awful (intensifier for scale/degree, not fear)
adjective Used the way English speakers use 'terrible' or 'insane' to intensify -- often about heat, traffic, noise, or a mess, with no actual fear involved.
Synonyms: बहुत बुरा (bahut buraa, phrase, not a single word), ज़बरदस्त (zabardast, can go positive or negative depending on context)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the everyday, chatty use you will hear far more than the 'horror movie' sense -- friends complaining about दिल्ली की भयानक गर्मी (dillii kii bhayaanak garmii, 'Delhi's terrible heat') in June, or भयानक जाम (bhayaanak jaam, 'terrible jam') on the way to work. It functions much like 'crazy' or 'insane' does in casual English.
Common Mistakes: 1) Because this sense has drifted away from literal fear, learners sometimes think it always means something scary happened -- but भयानक गर्मी (bhayaanak garmii, 'terrible/scorching heat') or भयानक ट्रैफ़िक (bhayaanak traifik, 'awful traffic') just mean 'to an extreme, unpleasant degree,' with no danger implied.
Sample Sentences:
दिल्ली की भयानक गर्मी में बाहर निकलना मुश्किल है।
It's hard to go outside in Delhi's terrible heat.
(dillii kii bhayaanak garmii men baahar nikalnaa mushkil hai।)
आज सुबह ऑफिस जाते वक्त भयानक जाम लगा था।
There was a terrible jam this morning on the way to office.
(aaj subah ophis jaate vakt bhayaanak jaam lagaa thaa।)
उसने भयानक मेहनत करके यह प्रोजेक्ट पूरा किया।
He worked insanely hard to finish this project.
(usne bhayaanak mehnat karke yah projekt pooraa kiyaa।)
यह मत बोलो कि भूख भयानक लगी है, कुछ खा लो।
Don't keep saying you're insanely hungry, just eat something.
(yah mat bolo ki bhookh bhayaanak lagii hai, kuchh khaa lo।)
अगर ट्रैफिक इतना भयानक न होता तो हम समय पर पहुँच जाते।
If the traffic hadn't been this terrible, we would have arrived on time.
(agar traiphik itnaa bhayaanak n hotaa to ham samay par pahunch jaate।)
इस साल मानसून में भयानक बारिश होगी, ऐसा मौसम विभाग कह रहा है।
There's going to be crazy rain this monsoon, that's what the weather department is saying.
(is saal maansoon men bhayaanak baarish hogii, aisaa mausam vibhaag kah rahaa hai।)
परीक्षा का भयानक दबाव झेलते हुए वह बीमार पड़ गई।
Bearing the terrible pressure of the exam, she fell sick.
(pariikshaa kaa bhayaanak dabaav jhelte hue vah biimaar pad gaii।)
क्या तुम्हें लगता है कि इस बार सर्दी भयानक पड़ेगी?
Do you think the cold is going to be brutal this time?
(kyaa tumhen lagtaa hai ki is baar sardii bhayaanak padegii?)
शायद इस बार महँगाई भयानक हो जाए, लोग परेशान हैं।
Inflation might get insanely bad this time, people are worried.
(shaayad is baar mahangaaii bhayaanak ho jaae, log pareshaan hain।)
उस मैच में दोनों टीमों के बीच भयानक टक्कर देखी गई।
A tremendous clash between the two teams was witnessed in that match.
(us maich men donon tiimon ke biich bhayaanak takkar dekhii gaii।)
यार, आज तो भयानक थकान हो रही है।
Dude, I'm feeling insanely tired today.
(yaar, aaj to bhayaanak thakaan ho rahii hai।)
Morphology
Adjective (invariant)
invariant:
भयानक
(bhayaanak)