चारों (chaaron)

adjective This is the collective form of चार (chaar, 'four') meaning 'all four' -- used to bundle a group of exactly four things or people together, most often in fixed directional and idiomatic phrases like चारों तरफ़ (chaaron taraf, 'on all four sides').
Sense 1 : all four (collective quantifier)
adjective Invariant collective form; always precedes a plural noun or another quantifier-like word, e.g. चारों तरफ़ (chaaron taraf, 'on all four sides'), चारों दिशाओं (chaaron dishaaon, 'in all four directions'), चारों भाई (chaaron bhaaii, 'all four brothers').
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You'll hear this constantly in set phrases describing space and orientation -- चारों तरफ़ (chaaron taraf, 'all around'), चारों ओर (chaaron or, 'on every side') -- because Hindi likes to specify 'four directions' where English just says 'everywhere.' It reflects an older cultural frame of the four cardinal directions (चार दिशाएँ, chaar dishaaen) as the natural way to describe totality of space.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often try to inflect चारों (chaaron) like a regular adjective, but it never changes form regardless of the gender or case of the following noun. 2) Don't confuse it with चार (chaar) plus सब (sab, 'all') -- चारों (chaaron) already carries the 'all' meaning built in, so सब चारों (sab chaaron) sounds redundant to a native ear (though sometimes heard colloquially for emphasis).
Sample Sentences:
चारों तरफ़ अंधेरा फैल गया। Darkness spread all around.
(chaaron taraf andheraa phail gayaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
उसने चारों ओर देखा पर कोई नज़र नहीं आया। He looked all around but no one was in sight.
(usne chaaron or dekhaa par koii nazar nahiin aayaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
चारों भाई एक ही घर में रहते हैं। All four brothers live in the same house.
(chaaron bhaaii ek hii ghar men rahte hain।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
चारों दोस्त परीक्षा में फेल हो गए। All four friends failed the exam.
(chaaron dost pariikshaa men phel ho gae।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
गाँव के चारों तरफ़ खेत ही खेत फैले हुए हैं। Fields upon fields spread out all around the village.
(gaanv ke chaaron taraf khet hii khet phaile hue hain।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
क्या चारों बहनों की शादी एक ही साल में होगी? Will all four sisters get married in the same year?
(kyaa chaaron bahnon kii shaadii ek hii saal men hogii?)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Active
अगर चारों टीमें एक साथ खेलतीं तो मुक़ाबला बहुत रोमांचक होता। If all four teams had played together, the contest would have been very thrilling.
(agar chaaron tiimen ek saath kheltiin to muqaablaa bahut romaanchak hotaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
चारों दिशाओं से शोर सुनाई दे रहा था। Noise could be heard from all four directions.
(chaaron dishaaon se shor sunaaii de rahaa thaa।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
कृपया चारों खिड़कियाँ बंद कर दो, तूफ़ान आ रहा है। Please close all four windows, a storm is coming.
(kripyaa chaaron khidkiyaan band kar do, toofaan aa rahaa hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
मुझे उम्मीद है कि चारों बच्चे समय पर पहुँच जाएँगे। I hope all four children will arrive on time.
(mujhe ummiid hai ki chaaron bachche samay par pahunch jaaenge।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Active
मंदिर के चारों ओर दीये जलाए गए थे। Lamps had been lit all around the temple.
(mandir ke chaaron or diiye jalaae gae the।)
Register: Devotional -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Passive
Morphology
Adjective (invariant)
invariant: चारों (chaaron)