भयंकर (bhayankar)
adjective
An adjective meaning 'terrible, dreadful, ferocious' -- used for genuinely frightening or intense things -- and by extension, in casual speech, as an intensifier for anything extreme, good or bad.
Sense
1
:
dreadful, terrifying, ferocious
adjective
Synonyms: डरावना (daraavnaa), खतरनाक (khatarnaak), भीषण (bhiishan, formal), खौफनाक (khauphnaak, colloquial)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the word for a truly menacing storm (toofaan), accident (durghatnaa), or disease (biimaarii) -- something that genuinely threatens life or safety, not just something spooky. You will hear it a lot in news reports: भयंकर बारिश (bhayankar baarish, severe rain), भयंकर आग (bhayankar aag, massive fire).
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes reach for डरावना (daraavnaa) when भयंकर (bhayankar) is meant -- डरावना (daraavnaa) leans toward 'scary in appearance' (a horror movie, a mask), while भयंकर (bhayankar) suits large-scale or violent danger like a storm, accident, or disease.
Sample Sentences:
कल रात एक भयंकर तूफ़ान आया था।
A dreadful storm came last night.
(kal raat ek bhayankar toofaan aayaa thaa।)
उस भयंकर दुर्घटना में कई लोग मारे गए।
Many people were killed in that terrible accident.
(us bhayankar durghatnaa men kaii log maare gae।)
डॉक्टर ने कहा कि यह बहुत भयंकर बीमारी है, इसे हल्के में मत लो।
The doctor said this is a very dreadful disease, don't take it lightly.
(doktar ne kahaa ki yah bahut bhayankar biimaarii hai, ise halke men mat lo।)
मुंबई में आज सुबह से भयंकर बारिश हो रही है।
There has been severe rain in Mumbai since this morning.
(mumbaii men aaj subah se bhayankar baarish ho rahii hai।)
पड़ोस की फैक्टरी में भयंकर आग लग गई।
A massive fire broke out in the neighboring factory.
(pados kii phaiktrii men bhayankar aag lag gaii।)
अगर बांध टूट गया तो भयंकर तबाही होगी।
If the dam breaks, there will be terrible devastation.
(agar baandh toot gayaa to bhayankar tabaahii hogii।)
अगर समय पर इलाज न मिलता तो बीमारी और भयंकर हो जाती।
If treatment hadn't been received in time, the disease would have become even more dreadful.
(agar samay par ilaaj n miltaa to biimaarii aur bhayankar ho jaatii।)
समुद्र में भयंकर लहरें उठ रही थीं और मछुआरे डरे हुए थे।
Terrifying waves were rising in the sea and the fishermen were frightened.
(samudr men bhayankar lahren uth rahii thiin aur machhuaare dare hue the।)
मौसम विभाग ने आगामी सप्ताह में भयंकर चक्रवात की चेतावनी जारी की है।
The weather department has issued a warning of a dreadful cyclone in the coming week.
(mausam vibhaag ne aagaamii saptaah men bhayankar chakrvaat kii chetaavnii jaarii kii hai।)
उस जंगल में एक भयंकर जानवर रहता था जो गांव वालों की भेड़ें उठा ले जाता था।
A ferocious animal used to live in that forest, which would carry off the villagers' sheep.
(us jangal men ek bhayankar jaanvar rahtaa thaa jo gaanv vaalon kii bheden uthaa le jaataa thaa।)
भूकंप से हुई भयंकर क्षति की भरपाई में सालों लग जाएंगे।
It will take years to recover from the terrible damage caused by the earthquake.
(bhookamp se huii bhayankar kshati kii bharpaaii men saalon lag jaaenge।)
Sense
2
:
extreme, intense (as a colloquial intensifier)
adjective In this sense भयंकर (bhayankar) functions almost like an adverbial intensifier before another adjective, e.g. भयंकर गर्मी (bhayankar garmii, 'terrible/intense heat'), rather than describing something frightening in itself.
Synonyms: जबरदस्त (jabardast, colloquial), बहुत ज़्यादा (bahut zyaadaa), भारी (bhaarii, colloquial)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Just like English speakers say 'terribly cold' or 'a monster of a headache,' Delhi folks throw भयंकर (bhayankar) in front of all kinds of things -- भयंकर भूख (bhayankar bhookh, 'terrible hunger'), भयंकर ट्रैफिक (bhayankar traiphik, 'awful traffic') -- as a everyday way to dial up the intensity, without any real sense of danger involved.
Common Mistakes: 1) This casual, exaggerated use ('भयंकर ठंड है' bhayankar thand hai, 'it's brutally cold') is very common in spoken Hindi but can sound overly dramatic in formal writing -- reserve it for informal speech.
Sample Sentences:
यार, आज तो भयंकर गर्मी है।
Man, it's terribly hot today.
(yaar, aaj to bhayankar garmii hai।)
सुबह ऑफिस जाते वक्त भयंकर ट्रैफिक था।
There was massive traffic while going to office in the morning.
(subah ophis jaate vakt bhayankar traiphik thaa।)
मुझे भयंकर भूख लग रही है, कुछ खाने को दो।
I'm terribly hungry, give me something to eat.
(mujhe bhayankar bhookh lag rahii hai, kuchh khaane ko do।)
कल रात सिर में भयंकर दर्द हो रहा था।
Last night I had a terrific headache.
(kal raat sir men bhayankar dard ho rahaa thaa।)
अगर उसने वो भयंकर मेहनत न की होती, तो कभी सफल न होता।
If he hadn't put in that massive amount of hard work, he would never have succeeded.
(agar usne vo bhayankar mehnat n kii hotii, to kabhii saphal n hotaa।)
इस बार परीक्षा में भयंकर मुश्किल सवाल आए थे।
This time extremely tough questions came in the exam.
(is baar pariikshaa men bhayankar mushkil savaal aae the।)
अगर टीम हार गई तो फैंस का भयंकर गुस्सा फूट पड़ेगा।
If the team loses, the fans' massive anger will explode.
(agar tiim haar gaii to phains kaa bhayankar gussaa phoot padegaa।)
इतना भयंकर शोर मत करो, बच्चा सो रहा है।
Don't make such a terrific racket, the baby is sleeping.
(itnaa bhayankar shor mat karo, bachchaa so rahaa hai।)
शायद उसे भयंकर टेंशन हो रही हो, इसलिए इतना चुप है।
Maybe he's having massive tension, that's why he's so quiet.
(shaayad use bhayankar tenshan ho rahii ho, islie itnaa chup hai।)
पार्टी में भयंकर मज़ा आया, यार।
We had an absolute blast at the party, dude.
(paartii men bhayankar mazaa aayaa, yaar।)
उसकी फिल्म में भयंकर एक्शन दिखाया गया है।
His movie shows some extreme action.
(uskii philm men bhayankar ekshan dikhaayaa gayaa hai।)
Morphology
Adjective (invariant)
invariant:
भयंकर
(bhayankar)