बहाव (bahaav)
noun
A noun meaning 'flow' or 'current' -- the physical movement of a liquid or, figuratively, of a trend, mood, or momentum. Related to the verb बहना (bahnaa, 'to flow').
Sense
1
:
flow, current (of water or a liquid)
noun, masculine
Synonyms: प्रवाह (pravaah, formal), धारा (dhaaraa, stream/current)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this word near any river or during monsoon flooding -- नदी का बहाव तेज़ है (nadii kaa bahaav tez hai, 'the river's current is strong') is the kind of line you hear on the news every July when the Yamuna rises.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes confuse बहाव (bahaav) with धारा (dhaaraa) -- धारा (dhaaraa) leans toward a distinct 'stream' or 'channel' as a thing, while बहाव (bahaav) is the quality or act of flowing, the current's force or direction.
Sample Sentences:
नदी का बहाव तेज़ है।
The river's current is strong.
(nadii kaa bahaav tez hai।)
बारिश के बाद नाले का बहाव और तेज़ हो गया।
After the rain, the drain's flow became even stronger.
(baarish ke baad naale kaa bahaav aur tez ho gayaa।)
यमुना का बहाव हर मानसून में बढ़ता है।
The Yamuna's flow increases every monsoon.
(yamunaa kaa bahaav har maansoon men badhtaa hai।)
पानी का बहाव देखकर मत उतरो, यह बहुत ख़तरनाक है।
Don't get in without looking at the water's current -- it's very dangerous.
(paanii kaa bahaav dekhkar mat utro, yah bahut khatarnaak hai।)
नाव बहाव के साथ बहती जा रही थी।
The boat was drifting along with the current.
(naav bahaav ke saath bahtii jaa rahii thii।)
अगर बहाव इतना तेज़ न होता तो हम तैरकर पार निकल जाते।
If the current hadn't been so strong, we would have swum across.
(agar bahaav itnaa tez n hotaa to ham tairkar paar nikal jaate।)
इंजीनियरों ने बाँध बनाकर बहाव को नियंत्रित किया।
The engineers controlled the flow by building a dam.
(injiiniyron ne baandh banaakar bahaav ko niyantrit kiyaa।)
बहाव इतना तेज़ था कि पुल का एक हिस्सा बह गया।
The current was so strong that a part of the bridge was washed away.
(bahaav itnaa tez thaa ki pul kaa ek hissaa bah gayaa।)
प्रशासन ने चेतावनी दी है कि नदी का बहाव अगले तीन दिनों तक बढ़ता रहेगा।
The administration has warned that the river's flow will keep increasing for the next three days.
(prashaasan ne chetaavnii dii hai ki nadii kaa bahaav agle tiin dinon tak badhtaa rahegaa।)
बहाव को मापने के लिए इस पुल के नीचे एक यंत्र लगाया गया है।
An instrument has been installed under this bridge to measure the flow.
(bahaav ko maapne ke lie is pul ke niiche ek yantr lagaayaa gayaa hai।)
काश बहाव इतना तेज़ न होता, तो बच्चे नदी में नहा पाते।
If only the current weren't so strong, the children could have bathed in the river.
(kaash bahaav itnaa tez n hotaa, to bachche nadii men nahaa paate।)
Sense
2
:
flow, trend, drift (figurative, of events, mood, or momentum)
noun, masculine Often appears in the phrase बहाव में आना (bahaav men aanaa, to get swept up/carried along by a mood or momentum) or बहाव में बहना (bahaav men bahnaa, to go with the flow).
Synonyms: रुझान (rujhaan, trend/inclination), रवैया (ravaiyaa, attitude/drift, meaning scope narrower)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This captures a very Hindi way of talking about peer pressure or crowd psychology -- बहाव में बह जाना (bahaav men bah jaanaa, 'to get carried away by the flow') describes someone swept along by what everyone else is doing or feeling, without quite deciding to be.
Common Mistakes: 1) This figurative sense is used for social or emotional momentum -- like getting carried away in a crowd's mood -- not for a business or market 'trend' in the statistical sense, where रुझान (rujhaan) is more natural.
Sample Sentences:
बहस के बीच माहौल का बहाव अचानक बदल गया।
In the middle of the debate, the drift of the mood suddenly changed.
(bahas ke biich maahaul kaa bahaav achaanak badal gayaa।)
वह भीड़ के बहाव में बह गया और नारे लगाने लगा।
He got carried away by the flow of the crowd and started shouting slogans.
(vah bhiid ke bahaav men bah gayaa aur naare lagaane lagaa।)
बाज़ार का बहाव देखकर ही निवेश का फ़ैसला करना चाहिए।
One should decide on an investment only after seeing the trend of the market.
(baazaar kaa bahaav dekhkar hii nivesh kaa faislaa karnaa chaahie।)
इस बहस का बहाव मत बदलो, मुद्दे पर ही रहो।
Don't change the drift of this debate, stick to the point.
(is bahas kaa bahaav mat badlo, mudde par hii raho।)
अगर मैं भी बहाव में बह जाता, तो आज पछता रहा होता।
If I too had gotten carried away by the drift, I would be regretting it today.
(agar main bhii bahaav men bah jaataa, to aaj pachhtaa rahaa hotaa।)
उन दिनों देशभक्ति का एक अजीब बहाव पूरे मुल्क में फैल रहा था।
In those days a strange wave of patriotism was spreading across the whole country.
(un dinon deshbhakti kaa ek ajiib bahaav poore mulk men phail rahaa thaa।)
सोशल मीडिया पर राय का बहाव इतनी तेज़ी से बदलता है कि समझना मुश्किल हो जाता है।
The drift of opinion on social media changes so fast that it becomes hard to keep up.
(soshal miidiyaa par raay kaa bahaav itnii tezii se badaltaa hai ki samajhnaa mushkil ho jaataa hai।)
काश हम उस राजनीतिक बहाव को पहले ही भांप लेते।
If only we had sensed that political drift earlier.
(kaash ham us raajniitik bahaav ko pahle hii bhaamp lete।)
बातचीत का बहाव अब पैसे की तरफ़ मुड़ चुका है।
The flow of the conversation has now turned toward money.
(baatchiit kaa bahaav ab paise kii taraf mud chukaa hai।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
बहाव
(bahaav)
(sg.m.oblique):
बहाव
(bahaav)
(pl.m.direct):
बहाव
(bahaav)
(pl.m.oblique):
बहावों
(bahaavon)