चौरासी (chauraasii)
numeral/noun
The cardinal number 'eighty-four' (chauraasii); also carries a well-known cultural resonance through the Hindu belief in चौरासी लाख योनियाँ (chauraasii laakh yoniyaan, 'eighty-four lakh forms of life'), the cycle of rebirth a soul is said to pass through before attaining moksha.
Sense
1
:
the number 84
numeral
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Numerals in the 80s all begin with चौरा- (chauraa) or अस्सी (assii, eighty) as a base, but each one is really its own memorized word in spoken Hindi -- native speakers don't decompose them the way you might expect. If you're drilling numbers, treat चौरासी (chauraasii) as its own flashcard rather than trying to derive it logically.
Common Mistakes: 1) Like all Hindi numerals from 21-99, चौरासी (chauraasii) does not follow an obvious additive pattern from चौरा (chauraa) + असी (asii); it simply has to be learned as a whole word, the way English speakers just know 'eighty-four' rather than building it from parts. 2) Learners sometimes confuse it with चौरानवे (chauraanve, ninety-four) or चौबीस (chaubiis, twenty-four) because of the similar-sounding चौ- (chau) prefix; the rest of the word must be listened to carefully.
Sample Sentences:
मेरी नानी की उम्र चौरासी साल है।
My grandmother's age is eighty-four years.
(merii naanii kii umr chauraasii saal hai।)
इस किताब में चौरासी पेज हैं।
This book has eighty-four pages.
(is kitaab men chauraasii pej hain।)
पिछले साल यहाँ चौरासी लोग आए थे।
Last year, eighty-four people came here.
(pichhle saal yahaan chauraasii log aae the।)
अगर हम चौरासी टिकट बेच पाएँ, तो मुनाफा हो जाएगा।
If we manage to sell eighty-four tickets, there will be a profit.
(agar ham chauraasii tikat bech paaen, to munaaphaa ho jaaegaa।)
अगली बस चौरासी नंबर की है।
The next bus is number eighty-four.
(aglii bas chauraasii nambar kii hai।)
फैक्ट्री में चौरासी मशीनें लगाई गई हैं।
Eighty-four machines have been installed in the factory.
(phaiktrii men chauraasii mashiinen lagaaii gaii hain।)
क्या इस साल चौरासी छात्रों ने परीक्षा दी?
Did eighty-four students take the exam this year?
(kyaa is saal chauraasii chhaatron ne pariikshaa dii?)
इस बार भी सिर्फ चौरासी नंबर आए, अगली बार ज़्यादा लाना।
This time too only eighty-four marks came -- score more next time.
(is baar bhii sirph chauraasii nambar aae, aglii baar zyaadaa laanaa।)
उस साल कुल चौरासी करोड़ रुपये का बजट पास हुआ था।
That year, a total budget of eighty-four crore rupees was passed.
(us saal kul chauraasii karod rupye kaa bajat paas huaa thaa।)
काश मेरे भी चौरासी अंक आते, तो टॉप कर लेता।
If only I had also scored eighty-four marks, I would have topped.
(kaash mere bhii chauraasii ank aate, to top kar letaa।)
Sense
2
:
the cycle of 8.4 million rebirths in Hindu cosmology
noun, feminine Used elliptically as a noun in phrases like चौरासी से मुक्ति (chauraasii se mukti, 'release from the eighty-four') or चौरासी काटना (chauraasii kaatnaa, 'to undergo/endure the cycle of eighty-four births'), where the full लाख योनियाँ (laakh yoniyaan) is dropped and just चौरासी (chauraasii) stands in for the whole concept.
Synonyms: चौरासी लाख योनियाँ (chauraasii laakh yoniyaan, 'eighty-four lakh forms of life', full traditional phrase)
Frequency: devotional
Cultural Note: Older relatives, especially grandparents, might sigh and say something like चौरासी का चक्र काटना पड़ता है (chauraasii kaa chakr kaatnaa padtaa hai, 'one has to cut through the cycle of eighty-four') when talking about the soul's long journey through rebirths before reaching moksha (moksh). It's the kind of phrase you'll hear at a satsang (satsang) or from a spiritually-minded elder rather than in casual daily chat.
Common Mistakes: 1) This sense only surfaces in religious or philosophical speech (talk of moksha, punarjanm (punarjanm, rebirth), or karma); using चौरासी (chauraasii) this way in an ordinary counting context will just sound like the number and confuse the listener without more context. 2) Learners sometimes try to translate this literally as 'eighty-four' in English mid-sentence, but native speakers hear the whole cultural concept packed into the single word, similar to how 'nirvana' carries more than its literal sense in English.
Sample Sentences:
चौरासी का चक्र काटना पड़ता है।
One has to cut through the cycle of eighty-four (lakh births).
(chauraasii kaa chakr kaatnaa padtaa hai।)
आत्मा चौरासी लाख योनियों में भटकती रहती है।
The soul keeps wandering through the eighty-four lakh forms of birth.
(aatmaa chauraasii laakh yoniyon men bhataktii rahtii hai।)
बाबा जी ने सत्संग में चौरासी के फेरे के बारे में समझाया।
Baba ji explained about the rounds of the eighty-four (lakh rebirths) at the satsang.
(baabaa jii ne satsang men chauraasii ke phere ke baare men samjhaayaa।)
जब तक चौरासी का चक्र न कटे, मुक्ति नहीं मिलती।
Until the cycle of eighty-four (lakh births) is cut through, liberation is not attained.
(jab tak chauraasii kaa chakr n kate, mukti nahiin miltii।)
यदि मनुष्य सद्कर्म करता, तो चौरासी का बंधन इतना कठिन न होता।
If man performed good deeds, the bondage of the eighty-four (lakh cycles) would not be so difficult.
(yadi manushy sadkarm kartaa, to chauraasii kaa bandhan itnaa kathin n hotaa।)
दादी अक्सर कहती थीं कि चौरासी काटना बहुत कठिन है।
Grandmother used to often say that cutting through the eighty-four (cycle) is very difficult.
(daadii aksar kahtii thiin ki chauraasii kaatnaa bahut kathin hai।)
इस जन्म में हरि-भजन करो, ताकि चौरासी से मुक्ति मिल सके।
Sing the Lord's praises in this life, so that release from the eighty-four (lakh births) may be attained.
(is janm men hari-bhajan karo, taaki chauraasii se mukti mil sake।)
कहते हैं कि चौरासी लाख योनियों के बाद मनुष्य जन्म मिलता है।
It is said that human birth is attained only after the eighty-four lakh forms of existence.
(kahte hain ki chauraasii laakh yoniyon ke baad manushy janm miltaa hai।)
शास्त्रों में चौरासी के चक्र का विस्तार से वर्णन किया गया है।
The cycle of eighty-four (lakh rebirths) is described in detail in the scriptures.
(shaastron men chauraasii ke chakr kaa vistaar se varnan kiyaa gayaa hai।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct):
चौरासी
(chauraasii)
(sg.f.oblique):
चौरासी
(chauraasii)
(pl.f.direct):
चौरासियाँ
(chauraasiyaan)
(pl.f.oblique):
चौरासियों
(chauraasiyon)