छोटा (chhotaa)
adjective
A very common adjective covering both physical size ('small') and age/status ('younger', 'junior') -- the two senses split below because they steer different real-world usage.
Sense
1
:
small, little (size)
adjective
Synonyms: छोटा-सा (chhotaa-saa, slightly softened/diminutive form), नन्हा (nanhaa, cute/tender-small, used for babies and small creatures), लघु (laghu, literary/formal)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: In everyday Delhi speech, छोटा (chhotaa) shows up constantly in food and market talk -- छोटा पैग (chhotaa paig, 'a small peg [of a drink]'), छोटी बोतल (chhotii botal, 'a small bottle'), एक छोटा कप चाय (ek chhotaa kap chaay, 'a small cup of tea'). It is one of the first adjectives every learner masters because it is everywhere.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for छोटा (chhotaa) when नन्हा (nanhaa) would sound warmer -- for a baby or kitten, नन्हा (nanhaa) carries affection that छोटा (chhotaa) lacks. 2) छोटा-सा (chhotaa-saa) is not just 'small' -- the -सा (-saa) softens it to 'a little small thing', often used to downplay size, e.g. describing a modest request or a tiny gift.
Sample Sentences:
यह कमरा बहुत छोटा है।
This room is very small.
(yah kamraa bahut chhotaa hai।)
मुझे एक छोटा कप चाय दे दो।
Give me a small cup of tea.
(mujhe ek chhotaa kap chaay de do।)
वेटर, एक छोटा पैग और लाना।
Waiter, bring one more small peg.
(vetar, ek chhotaa paig aur laanaa।)
उसने अपने बैग में एक छोटी बोतल रख ली थी।
She had kept a small bottle in her bag.
(usne apne baig men ek chhotii botal rakh lii thii।)
यह मकान उससे भी छोटा निकलेगा।
This house will turn out even smaller than that one.
(yah makaan usse bhii chhotaa niklegaa।)
अगर कमरा थोड़ा छोटा होता तो किराया भी कम होता।
If the room were a bit smaller, the rent would also be lower.
(agar kamraa thodaa chhotaa hotaa to kiraayaa bhii kam hotaa।)
दुकानदार ने सामान एक छोटे डिब्बे में रख दिया।
The shopkeeper put the goods in a small box.
(dukaandaar ne saamaan ek chhote dibbe men rakh diyaa।)
शायद उसे छोटा गिलास ही पसंद आए।
Maybe he'll only like the small glass.
(shaayad use chhotaa gilaas hii pasand aae।)
इस दुकान में हमेशा छोटी बोतलें ही मिलती हैं।
Only small bottles are always found in this shop.
(is dukaan men hameshaa chhotii botlen hii miltii hain।)
आपको छोटा पैग चाहिए या बड़ा?
Do you want a small peg or a large one?
(aapko chhotaa paig chaahie yaa badaa?)
बाज़ार में इतनी छोटी दुकान में इतना सामान कैसे रखा जाता है?
How is so much stuff stored in such a small shop in the market?
(baazaar men itnii chhotii dukaan men itnaa saamaan kaise rakhaa jaataa hai?)
Sense
2
:
younger, junior (age or rank)
adjective Commonly used as a noun-like modifier in kinship terms: छोटा भाई (chhotaa bhaaii, 'younger brother'), छोटी बहन (chhotii bahan, 'younger sister') -- Hindi has no single word for 'brother' or 'sister' without specifying relative age.
Synonyms: कनिष्ठ (kanishth, formal/bureaucratic)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Family hierarchy is baked into vocabulary here -- you cannot just say 'my brother' in Hindi; you must say छोटा भाई (chhotaa bhaaii) or बड़ा भाई (badaa bhaaii), because relative age carries real social weight (who touches whose feet, who gets addressed with तुम (tum) versus आप (aap)). This sense pairs directly with बड़ा (badaa, 'big/elder') as its natural opposite.
Common Mistakes: 1) English speakers instinctively reach for 'brother' or 'sister' without an age marker, but Hindi requires छोटा (chhotaa) or बड़ा (badaa) before भाई (bhaaii) or बहन (bahan) in almost all natural speech -- omitting it sounds incomplete. 2) In the workplace, छोटा (chhotaa) can mean 'junior in rank' rather than 'younger in age' -- छोटा अफ़सर (chhotaa afsar) means a low-ranking officer, not necessarily a young one.
Sample Sentences:
यह मेरा छोटा भाई है।
This is my younger brother.
(yah meraa chhotaa bhaaii hai।)
मेरी छोटी बहन दिल्ली में पढ़ती है।
My younger sister studies in Delhi.
(merii chhotii bahan dillii men padhtii hai।)
वह ऑफ़िस में मुझसे छोटा है, इसलिए मुझे सर कहता है।
He is junior to me at the office, so he calls me 'sir'.
(vah ofis men mujhse chhotaa hai, islie mujhe sar kahtaa hai।)
छोटे भाई को हमेशा बड़ों की बात सुननी चाहिए।
The younger brother should always listen to his elders.
(chhote bhaaii ko hameshaa badon kii baat sunnii chaahie।)
अगर वह मुझसे छोटा होता, तो मैं उसे डाँट सकता था।
If he were younger than me, I could have scolded him.
(agar vah mujhse chhotaa hotaa, to main use daant saktaa thaa।)
पिछले साल तक वह टीम में सबसे छोटा खिलाड़ी था।
Until last year, he was the youngest player on the team.
(pichhle saal tak vah tiim men sabse chhotaa khilaadii thaa।)
छोटे भाई साहब, आपके लिए यह तोहफ़ा है।
Younger brother, this gift is for you.
(chhote bhaaii saahab, aapke lie yah tohfaa hai।)
छोटा होने के कारण उसे घर के बड़े फ़ैसलों में शामिल नहीं किया जाता।
Because he is the younger one, he is not included in the family's big decisions.
(chhotaa hone ke kaaran use ghar ke bade faislon men shaamil nahiin kiyaa jaataa।)
अपने से छोटों का सम्मान भी उतना ही ज़रूरी है जितना बड़ों का।
Respecting those younger than you is just as important as respecting your elders.
(apne se chhoton kaa sammaan bhii utnaa hii zaroorii hai jitnaa badon kaa।)
कंपनी में नए और छोटे कर्मचारियों को ज़्यादा काम दिया जाता है।
In the company, newer and more junior employees are given more work.
(kampnii men nae aur chhote karmchaariyon ko zyaadaa kaam diyaa jaataa hai।)
छोटा होकर भी उसने बड़ों जैसी ज़िम्मेदारी निभाई।
Even though he was the younger one, he carried the responsibility like an elder.
(chhotaa hokar bhii usne badon jaisii zimmedaarii nibhaaii।)
Sense
3
:
minor, trivial, insignificant
adjective
Synonyms: मामूली (maamoolii, ordinary/trivial), तुच्छ (tuchchh, literary, dismissive -- 'petty, worthless')
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: You will hear छोटी बात है (chhotii baat hai, 'it's a small matter') or कोई छोटी बात नहीं (koii chhotii baat nahiin, 'it's no small thing') used to manage social weight in a conversation -- minimizing an apology, or conversely, stressing that an achievement deserves real credit.
Common Mistakes: 1) छोटी बात (chhotii baat) means 'a trivial matter', not 'a small sentence' -- learners sometimes take बात (baat) too literally as 'word' or 'sentence' rather than 'matter/issue'.
Sample Sentences:
अरे, कोई बात नहीं, यह तो बहुत छोटी बात है।
Oh, don't worry about it, it's a very small matter.
(are, koii baat nahiin, yah to bahut chhotii baat hai।)
यह कोई छोटी बात नहीं है, तुमने बहुत मेहनत की है।
This is no small thing, you've worked really hard.
(yah koii chhotii baat nahiin hai, tumne bahut mehnat kii hai।)
उसकी गलती इतनी छोटी थी कि किसी ने ध्यान भी नहीं दिया।
His mistake was so minor that no one even noticed.
(uskii galtii itnii chhotii thii ki kisii ne dhyaan bhii nahiin diyaa।)
यह मुद्दा छोटा नहीं समझा जाना चाहिए।
This issue should not be considered minor.
(yah muddaa chhotaa nahiin samjhaa jaanaa chaahie।)
अगर यह इतनी छोटी बात होती, तो बॉस इतने गुस्से में नहीं होते।
If it were such a trivial matter, the boss wouldn't be so angry.
(agar yah itnii chhotii baat hotii, to bos itne gusse men nahiin hote।)
छोटी-छोटी बातों पर इतना मत उलझा करो।
Don't get so tangled up over trivial little things.
(chhotii-chhotii baaton par itnaa mat uljhaa karo।)
रिपोर्ट में कुछ छोटी-मोटी खामियाँ रह गई हैं।
There are a few minor flaws left in the report.
(riport men kuchh chhotii-motii khaamiyaan rah gaii hain।)
शायद यह उतनी छोटी बात न हो जितनी तुम समझ रहे हो।
Maybe it's not as minor a matter as you think.
(shaayad yah utnii chhotii baat n ho jitnii tum samajh rahe ho।)
विद्वानों ने इस भूल को छोटा मानकर नज़रअंदाज़ कर दिया।
The scholars deemed this error minor and overlooked it.
(vidvaanon ne is bhool ko chhotaa maankar nazraandaaz kar diyaa।)
Morphology
Adjective (variable)
(sg.m):
छोटा
(chhotaa)
(pl.m):
छोटे
(chhote)
(sg.f):
छोटी
(chhotii)
(pl.f):
छोटी
(chhotii)