टेढ़ा (tedhaa)
adjective
Primarily describes something physically bent, crooked, or slanted; extends naturally to a figurative sense of a person's or situation's tricky, awkward, or difficult nature.
Sense
1
:
physically crooked, bent, or slanted
adjective
Synonyms: मुड़ा हुआ (mudaa huaa), झुका हुआ (jhukaa huaa, leaning/bent), तिरछा (tirchhaa, slanted/oblique)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this constantly in everyday complaints -- a नाक (naak, nose) that is crooked, a लाइन (laain) that is not straight, a पेड़ (ped, tree) growing bent. The famous phrase टेढ़ी उँगली से घी निकालना (tedhii unglii se ghii nikaalnaa, 'to get ghee out with a bent finger') uses this very adjective to describe using clever, forceful, or roundabout means to get something done -- worth knowing since टेढ़ा shows up in several such idioms about crooked/difficult means.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes reach for तिरछा (tirchhaa) when टेढ़ा (tedhaa) is meant -- तिरछा leans more toward 'diagonal/slanted at an angle' (like a tilted line), while टेढ़ा covers general crookedness or bending, including zigzag or irregular shapes.
Sample Sentences:
यह तस्वीर टेढ़ी लगी है, इसे सीधा कर दो।
This picture is hanging crooked, straighten it.
(yah tasviir tedhii lagii hai, ise siidhaa kar do।)
उसकी नाक थोड़ी टेढ़ी है।
His nose is a little crooked.
(uskii naak thodii tedhii hai।)
यह पेड़ बचपन से ही टेढ़ा उगा है।
This tree has grown crooked since it was young.
(yah ped bachpan se hii tedhaa ugaa hai।)
दीवार पर खींची गई लाइन टेढ़ी थी।
The line drawn on the wall was crooked.
(diivaar par khiinchii gaii laain tedhii thii।)
मेज़ का एक पैर टेढ़ा है, इसलिए वह हिलती रहती है।
One leg of the table is crooked, so it keeps wobbling.
(mez kaa ek pair tedhaa hai, islie vah hiltii rahtii hai।)
अगर कील टेढ़ी होती, तो लकड़ी में ठीक से नहीं जाती।
If the nail were crooked, it wouldn't have gone into the wood properly.
(agar kiil tedhii hotii, to lakdii men thiik se nahiin jaatii।)
टेढ़ी उँगली से घी निकालना पड़ता है, वरना काम नहीं होता।
You have to use a bent finger to get the ghee out, otherwise the work doesn't get done.
(tedhii unglii se ghii nikaalnaa padtaa hai, varnaa kaam nahiin hotaa।)
उसके दाँत बचपन से टेढ़े हैं।
His teeth have been crooked since childhood.
(uske daant bachpan se tedhe hain।)
टेढ़ी सड़क पर गाड़ी धीरे चलाना।
Drive slowly on the crooked road.
(tedhii sadak par gaadii dhiire chalaanaa।)
जब भी वह लिखता है, उसकी लाइनें टेढ़ी हो जाती हैं।
Whenever he writes, his lines end up crooked.
(jab bhii vah likhtaa hai, uskii laainen tedhii ho jaatii hain।)
टेढ़े रास्ते से गाँव जल्दी पहुँच जाते हैं, पर रास्ता खतरनाक है।
Taking the crooked path, you reach the village quickly, but the way is dangerous.
(tedhe raaste se gaanv jaldii pahunch jaate hain, par raastaa khatarnaak hai।)
Sense
2
:
figuratively difficult, tricky, or awkward (of a situation, question, or task)
adjective
Synonyms: मुश्किल (mushkil), पेचीदा (pechiidaa, complicated/convoluted), जटिल (jatil, formal)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Indians often describe a stubborn or difficult person's temperament as टेढ़ा (tedhaa) too, as in टेढ़ा आदमी (tedhaa aadmii, 'a difficult/cranky man') -- the same word for a bent stick doubles as a bent personality, which is a nice example of how Hindi maps physical shape onto character.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often default to मुश्किल (mushkil) for 'difficult' and miss that टेढ़ा (tedhaa) specifically implies a problem that is convoluted or awkward in shape, not just hard -- for example a टेढ़ा सवाल (tedhaa savaal, 'a tricky/loaded question') suggests a question designed to trip you up, not merely a hard one.
Sample Sentences:
यह सवाल बहुत टेढ़ा है।
This question is very tricky.
(yah savaal bahut tedhaa hai।)
यह मामला तो बड़ा टेढ़ा निकला।
This matter turned out to be quite thorny.
(yah maamlaa to badaa tedhaa niklaa।)
बॉस ने आज एक टेढ़ा सवाल पूछ लिया।
The boss went ahead and asked a tricky question today.
(bos ne aaj ek tedhaa savaal poochh liyaa।)
वह आदमी बहुत टेढ़ा है, उससे बात करना मुश्किल है।
That man is very difficult, it's hard to talk to him.
(vah aadmii bahut tedhaa hai, usse baat karnaa mushkil hai।)
अगर सवाल टेढ़ा न होता तो कोई भी हल कर लेता।
If the question weren't tricky, anyone would have solved it.
(agar savaal tedhaa n hotaa to koii bhii hal kar letaa।)
इस तरह की टेढ़ी परिस्थिति में शांत रहना ज़रूरी है।
In this kind of tricky situation, it's important to stay calm.
(is tarah kii tedhii paristhiti men shaant rahnaa zaroorii hai।)
यह काम जितना आसान लग रहा है, असल में उतना ही टेढ़ा है।
This task, as easy as it looks, is actually just as tricky.
(yah kaam jitnaa aasaan lag rahaa hai, asal men utnaa hii tedhaa hai।)
काश यह पहेली इतनी टेढ़ी न होती।
I wish this puzzle weren't so tricky.
(kaash yah pahelii itnii tedhii n hotii।)
परीक्षा में इस बार बहुत टेढ़े सवाल पूछे गए।
This time very tricky questions were asked in the exam.
(pariikshaa men is baar bahut tedhe savaal poochhe gae।)
मत सोचो कि यह टेढ़ा काम आसानी से हो जाएगा।
Don't think this tricky job will get done easily.
(mat socho ki yah tedhaa kaam aasaanii se ho jaaegaa।)
समझौते की यह टेढ़ी शर्त दोनों पक्षों को मंज़ूर नहीं थी।
This thorny condition of the agreement was not acceptable to either party.
(samjhaute kii yah tedhii shart donon pakshon ko manzoor nahiin thii।)
राजनीति में कई बार टेढ़े फैसले लेने पड़ते हैं।
In politics, one often has to make tricky decisions.
(raajniiti men kaii baar tedhe phaisle lene padte hain।)
Morphology
Adjective (variable)
(sg.m):
टेढ़ा
(tedhaa)
(pl.m):
टेढ़े
(tedhe)
(sg.f):
टेढ़ी
(tedhii)
(pl.f):
टेढ़ी
(tedhii)