बाल (baal)
noun/adjective
Two unrelated words share this spelling: 'hair' (the everyday noun, almost always used in plural for the hair on one's head) and 'child/childlike' (a more literary root that survives mainly in compounds and set phrases).
Sense
1
:
hair (of the head or body)
noun, masculine Almost always used in the plural (बाल baal) even for 'hair' in general, since Hindi treats hair as a countable mass of strands: बाल सफ़ेद हो गए हैं (baal safed ho gae hain, 'the hair has turned white').
Synonyms: केश (kesh, literary)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Hair carries a lot of emotional weight in everyday Hindi speech -- a mother oiling a child's बाल (baal) before school, or an elder saying बाल सफ़ेद हो गए (baal safed ho gae, 'the hair has gone white') to mean 'I've grown old,' are both very ordinary images you'll hear constantly.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often use the singular form when describing someone's hair in general, but native speakers default to plural agreement: मेरे बाल लंबे हैं (mere baal lambe hain), not a singular verb form. 2) बाल (baal) 'hair' and बाल (baal) 'child-like' look identical in isolation; only context (and, in speech, sometimes vowel length in related derived words) tells you which is meant.
Sample Sentences:
मेरे बाल बहुत लंबे हैं।
My hair is very long.
(mere baal bahut lambe hain।)
माँ हर सुबह मेरे बालों में तेल लगाती है।
Mom oils my hair every morning.
(maan har subah mere baalon men tel lagaatii hai।)
उसके बाल सफ़ेद हो गए हैं।
His hair has gone white.
(uske baal safed ho gae hain।)
मैं कल पार्लर जाकर बाल कटवाऊँगी।
I'll go to the parlor and get my hair cut tomorrow.
(main kal paarlar jaakar baal katvaaoongii।)
अपने बाल ठीक से बना लो, स्कूल के लिए देर हो रही है।
Fix your hair properly, we're getting late for school.
(apne baal thiik se banaa lo, skool ke lie der ho rahii hai।)
अगर वह बाल इतने छोटे न कटवाता तो अच्छा लगता।
It would have looked nice if he hadn't gotten his hair cut so short.
(agar vah baal itne chhote n katvaataa to achchhaa lagtaa।)
दादी जी कहती हैं कि उनके ज़माने में लड़कियाँ बाल नहीं कटवाती थीं।
Grandma says that in her time, girls didn't cut their hair.
(daadii jii kahtii hain ki unke zamaane men ladkiyaan baal nahiin katvaatii thiin।)
बालों को शैम्पू से धोने के बाद कंडीशनर लगाना चाहिए।
After washing your hair with shampoo, you should apply conditioner.
(baalon ko shaimpoo se dhone ke baad kandiishnar lagaanaa chaahie।)
उसके बाल हवा में उड़ रहे थे।
Her hair was flying in the wind.
(uske baal havaa men ud rahe the।)
डॉक्टर ने कहा कि तनाव की वजह से मेरे बाल झड़ रहे हैं।
The doctor said my hair is falling out because of stress.
(doktar ne kahaa ki tanaav kii vajah se mere baal jhad rahe hain।)
बाल तो बढ़ते रहते हैं, बस उनकी देखभाल ज़रूरी है।
Hair keeps growing, you just need to take care of it.
(baal to badhte rahte hain, bas unkii dekhbhaal zaroorii hai।)
उसके सिर पर एक भी बाल नहीं बचा है।
There's not even a single hair left on his head.
(uske sir par ek bhii baal nahiin bachaa hai।)
Sense
2
:
childlike, young, immature (root sense, mostly in compounds)
adjective Rarely stands alone in modern conversation; it survives chiefly as the first element of compounds like बालमन (baalman, 'child's mind') or बालसुलभ (baalsulabh, 'childlike/naive'), and in the noun बालक (baalak, 'boy/child') itself.
Synonyms: बालक-सा (baalak-saa), शिशु-सा (shishu-saa, literary)
Frequency: literary
Cultural Note: This बाल (baal) is the same root you see in बालक (baalak, 'boy') and बालिका (baalikaa, 'girl') -- useful to recognize in school names and children's programs, even though you won't use it as a standalone adjective in casual speech.
Sample Sentences:
यह पत्रिका बाल मन को समझने के लिए लिखी गई है।
This magazine is written to understand the childlike mind.
(yah patrikaa baal man ko samajhne ke lie likhii gaii hai।)
बाल विवाह अब कानूनन अपराध है।
Child marriage is now a legal crime.
(baal vivaah ab kaanoonan apraadh hai।)
सरकार बाल श्रम रोकने के लिए नए नियम बना रही है।
The government is making new rules to stop child labor.
(sarkaar baal shram rokne ke lie nae niyam banaa rahii hai।)
उस लेखक की बाल कविताएँ आज भी बच्चों को पसंद आती हैं।
That writer's childlike poems are still liked by children today.
(us lekhak kii baal kavitaaen aaj bhii bachchon ko pasand aatii hain।)
काश उसकी बाल बुद्धि इतनी सरल न होती।
If only his childlike understanding weren't so simple.
(kaash uskii baal buddhi itnii saral n hotii।)
इस संस्था ने बाल कल्याण के लिए कई योजनाएँ शुरू कीं।
This organization started several schemes for child welfare.
(is sansthaa ne baal kalyaan ke lie kaii yojnaaen shuroo kiin।)
कृपया बाल अपराध से जुड़े मामलों को गंभीरता से लें।
Please take cases related to juvenile crime seriously.
(kripyaa baal apraadh se jude maamlon ko gambhiirtaa se len।)
यह पुस्तक बाल साहित्य की एक अनमोल कृति मानी जाती है।
This book is considered a priceless work of children's literature.
(yah pustak baal saahity kii ek anmol kriti maanii jaatii hai।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
बाल
(baal)
(sg.m.oblique):
बाल
(baal)
(pl.m.direct):
बाल
(baal)
(pl.m.oblique):
बालों
(baalon)
Adjective (invariant)
invariant:
बाल
(baal)