धातु (dhaatu)
noun
Primarily 'metal' in everyday and scientific speech; also carries a technical grammatical sense ('verb root') that learners of Hindi grammar will meet.
Sense
1
:
metal (the material)
noun, feminine
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear धातु (dhaatu) constantly in contexts like जेवर किस धातु का है (jevar kis dhaatu kaa hai, 'what metal is this jewelry made of'), since Delhi's jewelry markets (like Karol Bagh or Chandni Chowk) are full of shoppers asking exactly this. It also shows up in chemistry class as the general term for 'metal' versus अधातु (adhaatu, 'non-metal').
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes treat धातु (dhaatu) as masculine by default since many -तु/-नु ending nouns are masculine; it is actually feminine, so adjectives and verbs agreeing with it take feminine forms, e.g. यह धातु मजबूत है (yah dhaatu majboot hai, 'this metal is strong').
Sample Sentences:
यह जेवर किस धातु का है?
What metal is this jewelry made of?
(yah jevar kis dhaatu kaa hai?)
सोना एक कीमती धातु है।
Gold is a precious metal.
(sonaa ek kiimtii dhaatu hai।)
इस मशीन के पुर्जे किसी मजबूत धातु से बने हैं।
This machine's parts are made of some strong metal.
(is mashiin ke purje kisii majboot dhaatu se bane hain।)
चंदनी चौक में दुकानदार हर धातु की कीमत अलग बताता है।
In Chandni Chowk, the shopkeeper quotes a different price for every metal.
(chandnii chauk men dukaandaar har dhaatu kii kiimat alag bataataa hai।)
स्कूल में हमें धातु और अधातु के बीच का अंतर सिखाया गया।
In school, we were taught the difference between metal and non-metal.
(skool men hamen dhaatu aur adhaatu ke biich kaa antar sikhaayaa gayaa।)
अगर यह धातु जंग खा गई होती, तो इतनी चमकदार नहीं रहती।
If this metal had rusted, it wouldn't have stayed so shiny.
(agar yah dhaatu jang khaa gaii hotii, to itnii chamakdaar nahiin rahtii।)
पहले यह पता कर लो कि अंगूठी किस धातु की बनी है।
First find out what metal the ring is made of.
(pahle yah pataa kar lo ki angoothii kis dhaatu kii banii hai।)
करोल बाग में हर दुकान अलग-अलग धातु के गहने बेचती है।
In Karol Bagh, every shop sells jewelry made of different metals.
(karol baag men har dukaan alag-alag dhaatu ke gahne bechtii hai।)
वैज्ञानिकों ने एक नई धातु खोजी है जो बहुत हल्की है।
Scientists have discovered a new metal that is very light.
(vaigyaanikon ne ek naii dhaatu khojii hai jo bahut halkii hai।)
अगर यह असली धातु होती तो इतनी सस्ती न होती।
If this were real metal, it wouldn't be this cheap.
(agar yah aslii dhaatu hotii to itnii sastii n hotii।)
इस पुल को बनाने में किस धातु का इस्तेमाल किया जाएगा?
Which metal will be used to build this bridge?
(is pul ko banaane men kis dhaatu kaa istemaal kiyaa jaaegaa?)
Sense
2
:
verb root (grammatical term)
noun, feminine Used in grammar instruction to refer to the base form of a verb before endings are attached, e.g. चल (chal) is the धातु (dhaatu) of चलना (chalnaa).
Synonyms: जड़ (jad, meaning scope: root in general, not specifically grammatical)
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: This sense belongs to the classroom and grammar-book world rather than daily conversation; you will meet it if you study Hindi verb conjugation formally, where every verb is said to have a धातु (dhaatu) to which suffixes are added.
Sample Sentences:
हिंदी में हर क्रिया की एक धातु होती है।
In Hindi, every verb has a root.
(hindii men har kriyaa kii ek dhaatu hotii hai।)
'पढ़ना' की धातु 'पढ़' है।
The root of 'padhnaa' (to read) is 'padh'.
('padhnaa' kii dhaatu 'padh' hai।)
व्याकरण की किताब में धातुओं की एक सूची दी गई है।
A list of verb roots has been given in the grammar book.
(vyaakran kii kitaab men dhaatuon kii ek soochii dii gaii hai।)
पहले धातु पहचानो, फिर उसमें प्रत्यय जोड़ो।
First identify the root, then add the suffix to it.
(pahle dhaatu pahchaano, phir usmen pratyay jodo।)
अगर तुम धातु को सही से समझ लेते, तो क्रिया-रूप बनाना आसान होता।
If you had understood the root properly, forming verb forms would have been easy.
(agar tum dhaatu ko sahii se samajh lete, to kriyaa-roop banaanaa aasaan hotaa।)
शिक्षक ने समझाया कि धातु में प्रत्यय जोड़ने से क्रिया के विभिन्न रूप बनते हैं।
The teacher explained that adding suffixes to the root forms various verb forms.
(shikshak ne samjhaayaa ki dhaatu men pratyay jodne se kriyaa ke vibhinn roop bante hain।)
यह ज़रूरी है कि छात्र हर धातु का रूप याद रखें।
It is necessary that students remember the form of every root.
(yah zaroorii hai ki chhaatr har dhaatu kaa roop yaad rakhen।)
संस्कृत व्याकरण में धातुओं का वर्गीकरण बहुत विस्तृत है।
The classification of verb roots in Sanskrit grammar is very extensive.
(sanskrit vyaakran men dhaatuon kaa vargiikran bahut vistrit hai।)
क्रिया की धातु जाने बिना उसका सही रूप बनाना मुश्किल होगा।
Without knowing the verb's root, forming its correct form will be difficult.
(kriyaa kii dhaatu jaane binaa uskaa sahii roop banaanaa mushkil hogaa।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct):
धातु
(dhaatu)
(sg.f.oblique):
धातु
(dhaatu)
(pl.f.direct):
धातुएँ
(dhaatuen)
(pl.f.oblique):
धातुओं
(dhaatuon)