तार (taar)
noun
Covers a physical wire/string/thread, and by extension an electric telegram sent along wires; also lives in a couple of common idioms about staying connected or getting into sync with someone.
Sense
1
:
wire, string, thread (thin strand of metal or material)
noun, masculine
Synonyms: डोरी (dorii, thread/cord, narrower), सिम (sim, rare)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the तार (taar) you see strung between electric poles, holding up a clothesline in the balcony, or forming the strings of a musical instrument like a sitar. It is a very concrete, everyday word -- a Delhi household uses it for anything from a phone charger's wire to the wire fencing on a rooftop.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes confuse तार (taar) with तारा (taaraa, 'star') because they look and sound similar -- keep the final vowel distinct.
Sample Sentences:
छत पर कपड़े सुखाने के लिए एक तार बंधा है।
A wire is tied on the roof for drying clothes.
(chhat par kapde sukhaane ke lie ek taar bandhaa hai।)
चार्जर का तार टूट गया है।
The charger's wire has broken.
(chaarjar kaa taar toot gayaa hai।)
बिजली के खंभों के बीच तार लटके रहते हैं।
Wires hang between the electric poles.
(bijlii ke khambhon ke biich taar latke rahte hain।)
मिस्त्री ने छत की रेलिंग पर तार लगाया।
The workman fixed wire fencing on the roof railing.
(mistrii ne chhat kii reling par taar lagaayaa।)
कृपया इस तार को मत छुइए, इसमें करंट आ सकता है।
Please don't touch this wire, it might have current running through it.
(kripyaa is taar ko mat chhuie, ismen karant aa saktaa hai।)
सितार के तार बहुत बारीक होते हैं।
The strings of a sitar are very thin.
(sitaar ke taar bahut baariik hote hain।)
अगर यह तार थोड़ा मोटा होता तो टूटता नहीं।
If this wire had been a bit thicker, it wouldn't have broken.
(agar yah taar thodaa motaa hotaa to toottaa nahiin।)
बिजली वाले से कहो कि तार जल्दी ठीक करे।
Tell the electrician to fix the wire quickly.
(bijlii vaale se kaho ki taar jaldii thiik kare।)
पुराने मकान की बिजली का तार बदला जाएगा।
The electric wiring of the old house will be replaced.
(puraane makaan kii bijlii kaa taar badlaa jaaegaa।)
बच्चा तार से खेल रहा था तभी हमने उसे रोका।
The child was playing with a wire when we stopped him.
(bachchaa taar se khel rahaa thaa tabhii hamne use rokaa।)
गमले को सहारा देने के लिए एक पतला तार बाँध दो।
Tie a thin wire to support the plant pot.
(gamle ko sahaaraa dene ke lie ek patlaa taar baandh do।)
Sense
2
:
connection, rapport (figurative link between people)
noun, masculine This figurative sense lives mainly inside the fixed expression तार जुड़ना/मिलना (taar judnaa/taar milnaa, 'to click, to hit it off') and तार जोड़ना (taar jodnaa, 'to re-establish contact').
Synonyms: रिश्ता (rishtaa, broader, relationship), तालमेल (taalmel, sync/coordination)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: When two people just 'get' each other -- old friends picking up right where they left off, or two strangers who unexpectedly hit it off at a wedding -- Hindi speakers say उनका तार मिल गया (unkaa taar mil gayaa, 'their wires connected'), treating rapport as a literal electrical connection clicking into place.
Common Mistakes: 1) This sense almost never appears alone -- it needs the verb जुड़ना (judnaa) or मिलना (milnaa) attached to make sense as 'clicking' with someone; बare तार (taar) won't carry this meaning by itself.
Sample Sentences:
पहली ही मुलाकात में हमारा तार मिल गया।
We hit it off right from our first meeting.
(pahlii hii mulaakaat men hamaaraa taar mil gayaa।)
उससे बात करते हुए लगता है कि हमारा तार जुड़ा हुआ है।
Talking to him, it feels like we're on the same wavelength.
(usse baat karte hue lagtaa hai ki hamaaraa taar judaa huaa hai।)
काश उनका तार भी हमारी तरह मिल जाता।
I wish they had connected the way we did.
(kaash unkaa taar bhii hamaarii tarah mil jaataa।)
शादी में मिले उन दोनों का तार ऐसा मिला कि अब हर रोज़ बात करते हैं।
Those two hit it off so well at the wedding that they now talk every single day.
(shaadii men mile un donon kaa taar aisaa milaa ki ab har roz baat karte hain।)
क्या तुम्हारा उससे तार मिलता है या बस औपचारिकता है?
Do you actually connect with him, or is it just formality?
(kyaa tumhaaraa usse taar miltaa hai yaa bas aupchaariktaa hai?)
सालों बाद मिलने पर भी हमारा तार वैसे ही मिल जाता है जैसे कल की बात हो।
Even meeting after years, we click right away, as if it were only yesterday.
(saalon baad milne par bhii hamaaraa taar vaise hii mil jaataa hai jaise kal kii baat ho।)
अगर सोच अलग हो तो तार कभी नहीं मिलता।
If your thinking is different, the connection never clicks.
(agar soch alag ho to taar kabhii nahiin miltaa।)
उम्मीद है इस बार नए साझेदार से तार मिल जाए।
I hope this time the connection clicks with the new partner.
(ummiid hai is baar nae saajhedaar se taar mil jaae।)
दफ़्तर के नए साथियों से मेरा तार अभी तक नहीं मिला है।
I still haven't clicked with the new colleagues at the office.
(daftar ke nae saathiyon se meraa taar abhii tak nahiin milaa hai।)
दोनों कलाकारों के बीच जो तार जुड़ा, वह उनके संगीत में साफ़ झलकता है।
The rapport that formed between the two artists is clearly reflected in their music.
(donon kalaakaaron ke biich jo taar judaa, vah unke sangiit men saaf jhalaktaa hai।)
Sense
3
:
telegram (message sent by telegraph)
noun, masculine
Synonyms: तार-संदेश (taar-sandesh, formal/rare)
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: Before phones were common, sending a तार (taar) was how families shared urgent news -- a birth, a death, an exam result -- and the phrase तार भेजना (taar bhejnaa, 'to send a telegram') still shows up in older films and novels even though telegraph offices have mostly disappeared from daily life now.
Sample Sentences:
पिताजी ने तुरंत घर तार भेजा।
Father immediately sent a telegram home.
(pitaajii ne turant ghar taar bhejaa।)
उन दिनों बुरी खबर अक्सर तार से ही आती थी।
In those days, bad news usually came by telegram.
(un dinon burii khabar aksar taar se hii aatii thii।)
दादाजी को तार मिला कि बेटे का जन्म हुआ है।
Grandfather received a telegram that his son had been born.
(daadaajii ko taar milaa ki bete kaa janm huaa hai।)
जल्दी से डाकघर जाकर तार भेज दो, वरना देर हो जाएगी।
Go to the post office quickly and send a telegram, or it will be too late.
(jaldii se daakghar jaakar taar bhej do, varnaa der ho jaaegii।)
उस ज़माने में हर तार डाकिया ख़ुद घर लाकर देता था।
In that era, the postman himself used to bring every telegram home.
(us zamaane men har taar daakiyaa khud ghar laakar detaa thaa।)
अगर उस समय फ़ोन होता, तो शायद तार भेजने की ज़रूरत ही न पड़ती।
If there had been a phone back then, there might not have been any need to send a telegram.
(agar us samay fon hotaa, to shaayad taar bhejne kii zaroorat hii n padtii।)
क्या उसने परीक्षा का परिणाम बताने के लिए तार भेजा था?
Had he sent a telegram to tell the exam result?
(kyaa usne pariikshaa kaa parinaam bataane ke lie taar bhejaa thaa?)
फ़िल्म में एक दृश्य है जहाँ नायिका को पिता की मृत्यु का तार मिलता है।
There is a scene in the film where the heroine receives a telegram about her father's death.
(film men ek drishy hai jahaan naayikaa ko pitaa kii mrityu kaa taar miltaa hai।)
शायद उसने गाँव में तार भिजवाया हो, तभी सब लोग इतनी जल्दी आ गए।
Perhaps he had a telegram sent to the village, that's why everyone arrived so quickly.
(shaayad usne gaanv men taar bhijvaayaa ho, tabhii sab log itnii jaldii aa gae।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
तार
(taar)
(sg.m.oblique):
तार
(taar)
(pl.m.direct):
तार
(taar)
(pl.m.oblique):
तारों
(taaron)