बुरा (buraa)
adjective/noun
The everyday word for 'bad,' with a strong idiomatic side: it is the word Hindi reaches for when someone's feelings get hurt (बुरा लगना (buraa lagnaa)) or when a habit or company turns out to be harmful.
Sense
1
:
bad, unpleasant, of poor quality
adjective
Synonyms: गलत (galat, wrong/incorrect), खराब (kharaab), निकृष्ट (nikrisht, literary)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: बुरा (buraa) carries a moral or emotional weight that खराब (kharaab) usually doesn't -- a खराब (kharaab) फ्रिज (phrij) is just a broken fridge, but a बुरा (buraa) आदमी (aadmii) is a bad person in character. Parents and teachers use it constantly to warn against बुरी संगत (burii sangat, 'bad company').
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for खराब (kharaab) in every context, but बुरा (buraa) is the better choice for moral or emotional badness (बुरी आदत (burii aadat, 'bad habit'), बुरा आदमी (buraa aadmii, 'bad man')), while खराब (kharaab) leans toward things being broken, spoiled, or malfunctioning.
Sample Sentences:
वह बहुत बुरा आदमी है।
He is a very bad man.
(vah bahut buraa aadmii hai।)
मुझे बुरी संगत से दूर रहना चाहिए।
I should stay away from bad company.
(mujhe burii sangat se door rahnaa chaahie।)
उसकी आदतें दिन-ब-दिन बुरी होती जा रही हैं।
His habits are getting worse day by day.
(uskii aadten din-b-din burii hotii jaa rahii hain।)
बच्चों को बुरी संगत से बचाओ।
Save the children from bad company.
(bachchon ko burii sangat se bachaao।)
अगर वह इतना बुरा नहीं होता, तो सब उसे पसंद करते।
If he weren't so bad, everyone would like him.
(agar vah itnaa buraa nahiin hotaa, to sab use pasand karte।)
यह होटल का खाना बहुत बुरा था।
This hotel's food was very bad.
(yah hotal kaa khaanaa bahut buraa thaa।)
समाज में बुरे लोगों की कमी नहीं है।
There's no shortage of bad people in society.
(samaaj men bure logon kii kamii nahiin hai।)
माना जाता है कि बुरे कर्मों का फल बुरा ही होता है।
It is believed that the fruit of bad deeds is bad indeed.
(maanaa jaataa hai ki bure karmon kaa phal buraa hii hotaa hai।)
गुरु जी कहते थे कि बुरी सोच से बुरा ही निकलता है।
The teacher used to say that only bad comes out of bad thinking.
(guru jii kahte the ki burii soch se buraa hii nikaltaa hai।)
इस बुरे दौर में भी उसने हिम्मत नहीं हारी।
Even in this bad phase, he did not lose courage.
(is bure daur men bhii usne himmat nahiin haarii।)
काश उसके इरादे इतने बुरे न होते।
I wish his intentions weren't so bad.
(kaash uske iraade itne bure n hote।)
Sense
2
:
offended, hurt, upset (in the fixed idiom बुरा लगना/मानना)
adjective Occurs almost exclusively inside the dative-subject frame X को बुरा लगना (X ko buraa lagnaa, 'X feels hurt/offended') and the related बुरा मानना (buraa maannaa, 'to take offense'), where बुरा (buraa) stays in its default masculine singular form regardless of the subject.
Synonyms: नाराज़ (naaraaz, mainly describes anger rather than hurt feelings)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is one of the most useful emotional-register phrases in everyday Hindi: बुरा मत मानना (buraa mat maannaa, 'don't take this the wrong way') is what you say right before delivering a mildly critical or awkward remark, much like English 'no offense, but...'. It softens social friction the way Delhi conversations often do, with a polite cushion before the real point.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners familiar with को-लगना constructions correctly build मुझे बुरा लगा (mujhe buraa lagaa, 'I felt bad/hurt'), but then mistakenly inflect बुरा (buraa) to agree with a feminine or plural subject -- it stays बुरा (buraa) here because it's functioning adverbially with लगना (lagnaa), not agreeing with a noun. 2) मत बुरा मानना (mat buraa maannaa, 'please don't be offended') is a fixed politeness formula worth learning as a chunk, not building word-by-word.
Sample Sentences:
बुरा मत मानना, लेकिन तुम्हारी शर्ट का रंग अजीब है।
Don't take this the wrong way, but the color of your shirt is weird.
(buraa mat maannaa, lekin tumhaarii shart kaa rang ajiib hai।)
मुझे बहुत बुरा लगा जब उसने मेरी बात नहीं सुनी।
I felt really hurt when he didn't listen to what I had to say.
(mujhe bahut buraa lagaa jab usne merii baat nahiin sunii।)
अगर मैं कुछ कह दूँ तो बुरा मत मानिएगा।
If I say something, please don't be offended.
(agar main kuchh kah doon to buraa mat maaniegaa।)
वह हर छोटी बात पर बुरा मान जाता है।
He gets offended over every little thing.
(vah har chhotii baat par buraa maan jaataa hai।)
क्या तुम्हें बुरा लग रहा है इस बात से?
Are you feeling hurt about this?
(kyaa tumhen buraa lag rahaa hai is baat se?)
अगर मैंने सच बोल दिया होता तो शायद उसे बुरा लगता।
If I had told the truth, he probably would have been hurt.
(agar mainne sach bol diyaa hotaa to shaayad use buraa lagtaa।)
उम्मीद है आप बुरा नहीं मानेंगे, पर यह काम ठीक से नहीं हुआ।
I hope you won't take offense, but this work wasn't done properly.
(ummiid hai aap buraa nahiin maanenge, par yah kaam thiik se nahiin huaa।)
मैंने उससे मज़ाक में कहा था, उसे बुरा नहीं मानना चाहिए था।
I said it as a joke, he shouldn't have gotten offended.
(mainne usse mazaak men kahaa thaa, use buraa nahiin maannaa chaahie thaa।)
सर, बुरा मत मानिए, पर रिपोर्ट में कुछ गलतियाँ हैं।
Sir, no offense, but there are some mistakes in the report.
(sar, buraa mat maanie, par riport men kuchh galtiyaan hain।)
इतनी सी बात पर बुरा मानने की क्या ज़रूरत है?
What's the need to get offended over such a small matter?
(itnii sii baat par buraa maanne kii kyaa zaroorat hai?)
मुझे डर था कि कहीं उसे मेरी बात का बुरा न लगे।
I was afraid that he might get hurt by what I said.
(mujhe dar thaa ki kahiin use merii baat kaa buraa n lage।)
Sense
3
:
evil, harm, ill (as an abstract noun)
noun, masculine Used in set phrases like किसी का बुरा चाहना (kisii kaa buraa chaahnaa, 'to wish ill on someone') and किसी का बुरा करना (kisii kaa buraa karnaa, 'to do harm to someone'), where बुरा (buraa) functions as a noun meaning 'ill/harm' rather than as an adjective modifying anything.
Synonyms: नुकसान (nuksaan, harm/loss, broader everyday use), अनिष्ट (anisht, literary)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: किसी का बुरा मत सोचो (kisii kaa buraa mat socho, 'don't wish ill on anyone') is the kind of moral advice grandparents give constantly -- बुरा (buraa) here slides from 'bad' the adjective into 'harm' the noun, much like English 'wish someone ill.'
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes try to make बुरा (buraa) agree with the object of चाहना (chaahnaa) or करना (karnaa) as if it were a normal adjective; in these fixed expressions it stays invariant as an abstract noun.
Sample Sentences:
किसी का बुरा मत सोचो।
Don't wish harm on anyone.
(kisii kaa buraa mat socho।)
मैंने आज तक किसी का बुरा नहीं चाहा।
I have never wished harm on anyone to this day.
(mainne aaj tak kisii kaa buraa nahiin chaahaa।)
जो दूसरों का बुरा चाहता है, उसका खुद भला नहीं होता।
One who wishes harm on others never gets good in return.
(jo doosron kaa buraa chaahtaa hai, uskaa khud bhalaa nahiin hotaa।)
अगर वह मेरा बुरा करने की सोचता, तो अब तक कर चुका होता।
If he had intended to do me harm, he would have done it by now.
(agar vah meraa buraa karne kii sochtaa, to ab tak kar chukaa hotaa।)
भगवान करे तुम्हारा कभी बुरा न हो।
May God ensure that no harm ever comes to you.
(bhagvaan kare tumhaaraa kabhii buraa n ho।)
उसका बुरा करने के लिए मैंने कुछ नहीं किया।
I did nothing to cause him harm.
(uskaa buraa karne ke lie mainne kuchh nahiin kiyaa।)
समाज में किसी का बुरा किया जाए तो उसका असर सबको भुगतना पड़ता है।
If harm is done to someone in society, everyone ends up suffering its effects.
(samaaj men kisii kaa buraa kiyaa jaae to uskaa asar sabko bhugatnaa padtaa hai।)
बुजुर्ग हमेशा कहते हैं कि किसी का बुरा नहीं सोचना चाहिए।
Elders always say that one should never wish ill on anyone.
(bujurg hameshaa kahte hain ki kisii kaa buraa nahiin sochnaa chaahie।)
क्या तुमने कभी मेरा बुरा चाहा है?
Have you ever wished harm on me?
(kyaa tumne kabhii meraa buraa chaahaa hai?)
जो बुरा करेगा, उसका बुरा ही होगा।
Whoever does harm will meet harm in return.
(jo buraa karegaa, uskaa buraa hii hogaa।)
Morphology
Adjective (variable)
(sg.m):
बुरा
(buraa)
(pl.m):
बुरे
(bure)
(sg.f):
बुरी
(burii)
(pl.f):
बुरी
(burii)
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
बुरा
(buraa)
(sg.m.oblique):
बुरे
(bure)
(pl.m.direct):
बुरे
(bure)
(pl.m.oblique):
बुरों
(buron)