उन्नीस (unniis)
numeral/adjective
The number nineteen (19); also lives on in a common idiom about small differences.
Sense
1
:
the number nineteen
numeral
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Numbers between eleven and ninety-nine in Hindi are historically fused forms (not simple ten-plus-unit combinations like English), so उन्नीस (unniis) just has to be learned as its own word rather than derived from नौ (nau, 'nine') and दस (das, 'ten').
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes try to inflect it like an adjective for gender or number -- it does not change: उन्नीस लड़के (unniis ladke, 'nineteen boys') and उन्नीस लड़कियाँ (unniis ladkiyaan, 'nineteen girls') both keep the same form.
Sample Sentences:
मेरी बेटी उन्नीस साल की हो गई है।
My daughter has turned nineteen years old.
(merii betii unniis saal kii ho gaii hai।)
इस कक्षा में उन्नीस बच्चे पढ़ते हैं।
Nineteen children study in this class.
(is kakshaa men unniis bachche padhte hain।)
पिछले साल हमारी टीम ने उन्नीस मैच जीते थे।
Last year our team won nineteen matches.
(pichhle saal hamaarii tiim ne unniis maich jiite the।)
अगले महीने वह उन्नीस साल का हो जाएगा।
Next month he will turn nineteen years old.
(agle mahiine vah unniis saal kaa ho jaaegaa।)
क्या इस बस में उन्नीस सीटें हैं?
Does this bus have nineteen seats?
(kyaa is bas men unniis siiten hain?)
अगर उन्नीस लोग आते, तो हमें बड़ा हॉल बुक करना पड़ता।
If nineteen people had come, we would have had to book a bigger hall.
(agar unniis log aate, to hamen badaa hol buk karnaa padtaa।)
उन्नीस रुपये में यह चीज़ बहुत सस्ती है।
This thing is very cheap at nineteen rupees.
(unniis rupye men yah chiiz bahut sastii hai।)
फॉर्म भरते समय ध्यान रखिए कि उम्र उन्नीस साल से कम न हो।
While filling the form, please make sure the age is not less than nineteen years.
(phorm bharte samay dhyaan rakhie ki umr unniis saal se kam n ho।)
संविधान की धारा उन्नीस अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता से जुड़ी है।
Article nineteen of the Constitution is related to the freedom of expression.
(sanvidhaan kii dhaaraa unniis abhivyakti kii svatantrtaa se judii hai।)
शायद उन्नीस मिनट में गाड़ी स्टेशन पहुँच जाए।
The train might reach the station in nineteen minutes.
(shaayad unniis minat men gaadii steshan pahunch jaae।)
उन्नीस नंबर का कमरा दूसरी मंज़िल पर है।
Room number nineteen is on the second floor.
(unniis nambar kaa kamraa doosrii manzil par hai।)
Sense
2
:
slightly lesser, a shade worse (in the idiom 'nineteen-twenty')
adjective Occurs almost exclusively inside the fixed comparison उन्नीस-बीस (unniis-biis, 'nineteen-twenty'), describing two things that differ only marginally.
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Think of उन्नीस-बीस (unniis-biis) the way English speakers say 'six of one, half a dozen of the other,' or 'splitting hairs' -- it is the go-to phrase in a Delhi bazaar haggle when comparing two nearly identical items, like two similar-looking mangoes at a फल वाला (phal vaalaa, 'fruit seller')'s cart.
Common Mistakes: 1) This is not used as a standalone descriptive adjective the way English 'slightly worse' is -- it needs the paired बीस (biis) to make sense: कीमत में उन्नीस-बीस का फ़र्क़ है (kiimat men unniis-biis kaa farq hai, 'there is a marginal difference in price') is natural, but उन्नीस चीज़ (unniis chiiz) alone to mean 'inferior thing' is not idiomatic.
Sample Sentences:
इस साल की फसल पिछले साल से उन्नीस-बीस ही है।
This year's harvest is just about the same as last year's, give or take.
(is saal kii phasal pichhle saal se unniis-biis hii hai।)
दोनों भाइयों की काबिलियत में उन्नीस-बीस का ही फर्क है।
There's only a hair's breadth of difference between the two brothers' abilities.
(donon bhaaiyon kii kaabiliyat men unniis-biis kaa hii phark hai।)
यह आम उस आम से उन्नीस निकला, इसलिए कम दाम में दे दो।
This mango turned out slightly worse than that one, so give it to me for less.
(yah aam us aam se unniis niklaa, islie kam daam men de do।)
मेरे नंबर उसके नंबरों से उन्नीस ही रहे, बीस नहीं हो पाए।
My marks stayed just a shade below his, they never quite matched up.
(mere nambar uske nambron se unniis hii rahe, biis nahiin ho paae।)
अगर उसकी टीम हमसे उन्नीस भी होती, तो भी हम जीत का जश्न नहीं मनाते।
Even if his team had been just slightly weaker than ours, we still wouldn't have celebrated the win.
(agar uskii tiim hamse unniis bhii hotii, to bhii ham jiit kaa jashn nahiin manaate।)
फल वाला बोला, दोनों टोकरी के सेब उन्नीस-बीस ही हैं, जो चाहे ले लो।
The fruit seller said, the apples in both baskets are practically the same, take whichever you like.
(phal vaalaa bolaa, donon tokrii ke seb unniis-biis hii hain, jo chaahe le lo।)
यह मत सोचो कि तुम्हारा काम उसके काम से उन्नीस है।
Don't think that your work is even slightly inferior to his.
(yah mat socho ki tumhaaraa kaam uske kaam se unniis hai।)
क्या दोनों प्रस्तावों में कोई उन्नीस-बीस का फर्क है, या दोनों बराबर हैं?
Is there even a slight difference between the two proposals, or are they exactly equal?
(kyaa donon prastaavon men koii unniis-biis kaa phark hai, yaa donon baraabar hain?)
कहा जाता है कि गुणवत्ता में दोनों कंपनियाँ उन्नीस-बीस ही मानी जाती हैं।
It is said that in terms of quality, both companies are considered to be nearly on par.
(kahaa jaataa hai ki gunvattaa men donon kampniyaan unniis-biis hii maanii jaatii hain।)
Morphology
Adjective (invariant)
invariant:
उन्नीस
(unniis)