रात (raat)
noun
A single core sense: 'night.' Very common in time expressions and idioms about time of day.
Sense
1
:
night
noun, feminine
Synonyms: रात्रि (raatri, formal), निशा (nishaa, literary)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: रात (raat) anchors everyday scheduling talk in Hindi -- रात का खाना (raat kaa khaanaa, 'dinner, literally night's food') is how most families refer to the evening meal, and देर रात (der raat, 'late at night') is a common way to describe coming home late, often with a parental tone of mild complaint.
Common Mistakes: 1) Time-of-day phrases use रात (raat) with को (ko) for 'at night' -- रात को (raat ko, 'at night') -- rather than a preposition matching English 'at.' 2) Learners sometimes say आधी रात (aadhii raat, 'midnight') as दो रात (do raat) by mistranslating 'half the night'; आधी (aadhii) 'half' is the correct modifier, not a number.
Sample Sentences:
कल रात बहुत तेज़ बारिश हुई थी।
There was very heavy rain last night.
(kal raat bahut tez baarish huii thii।)
मैं रात का खाना बना रही हूँ।
I am making dinner.
(main raat kaa khaanaa banaa rahii hoon।)
तुम रोज़ इतनी देर रात को घर क्यों आते हो?
Why do you come home so late at night every day?
(tum roz itnii der raat ko ghar kyon aate ho?)
आज रात जल्दी सो जाओ, कल सुबह जल्दी उठना है।
Sleep early tonight, you have to get up early tomorrow morning.
(aaj raat jaldii so jaao, kal subah jaldii uthnaa hai।)
अगर वह रात को जल्दी सो जाता तो सुबह इतना थका हुआ न होता।
If he slept early at night, he wouldn't be so tired in the morning.
(agar vah raat ko jaldii so jaataa to subah itnaa thakaa huaa n hotaa।)
रात का खाना तैयार होते ही सबको बुलाया जाएगा।
As soon as dinner is ready, everyone will be called.
(raat kaa khaanaa taiyaar hote hii sabko bulaayaa jaaegaa।)
पूरी रात जागकर उसने अपना प्रोजेक्ट पूरा किया।
Staying awake all night, he finished his project.
(poorii raat jaagkar usne apnaa projekt pooraa kiyaa।)
माँ ने कहा, "देर रात बाहर घूमना ठीक नहीं है।"
Mom said, "It's not good to roam around outside late at night."
(maan ne kahaa, "der raat baahar ghoomnaa thiik nahiin hai।")
शायद वह देर रात तक ऑफिस में रुका हो।
Perhaps he stayed at the office until late at night.
(shaayad vah der raat tak ophis men rukaa ho।)
रातों को अकेले सफ़र करना उसे पसंद नहीं है।
He doesn't like travelling alone at night.
(raaton ko akele safar karnaa use pasand nahiin hai।)
रात के अंधेरे में सड़कें सुनसान लगती हैं।
In the darkness of night, the streets seem deserted.
(raat ke andhere men sadken sunsaan lagtii hain।)
उस रात सारा शहर बिजली गुल होने से डूबा हुआ था।
That night the whole city was plunged into darkness because of a power cut.
(us raat saaraa shahar bijlii gul hone se doobaa huaa thaa।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct):
रात
(raat)
(sg.f.oblique):
रात
(raat)
(pl.f.direct):
रातें
(raaten)
(pl.f.oblique):
रातों
(raaton)