ग़म (gham)
noun
A single core sense meaning grief or sorrow, but a very culturally loaded word: it carries the weight of shayari, ghazals, and everyday emotional talk about life's sadness.
Sense
1
:
grief, sorrow, sadness
noun, masculine Very commonly used with करना (karnaa) in the fixed phrase ग़म करना (gham karnaa, 'to grieve/worry') and with खाना (khaanaa) in ग़म खाना (gham khaanaa, 'to swallow one's sorrow').
Synonyms: दुख (dukh), उदासी (udaasii), रंज (ranj, somewhat literary), अफ़सोस (afsos, closer to 'regret')
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: ग़म (gham) is one of the most-used words in Urdu-Hindi poetry and film lyrics -- ग़म-ए-दिल (gham-e-dil, 'sorrow of the heart') and भुलाना ग़म (bhulaanaa gham, 'to forget one's sorrows') are stock phrases you will hear constantly in ghazals and old songs. In everyday speech, people also say कोई ग़म नहीं (koii gham nahiin, 'no worries at all') as a casual, reassuring phrase, which shows how the word has settled comfortably into daily conversation too.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for दुख (dukh) in every context, but ग़म (gham) has a more poetic, romantic-melancholy flavor picked up from Urdu shayari and Bollywood songs -- it is not just plain 'sadness,' it is sadness with a certain depth or style. 2) The nuqta on the ग़ is often dropped in casual writing (गम), but the pronunciation with the Urdu 'gh' sound is standard in careful speech.
Sample Sentences:
उसकी आँखों में बरसों पुराना ग़म झलक रहा था।
An old, years-deep sorrow was showing in her eyes.
(uskii aankhon men barson puraanaa gham jhalak rahaa thaa।)
कोई ग़म नहीं, सब ठीक हो जाएगा।
No worries at all, everything will be fine.
(koii gham nahiin, sab thiik ho jaaegaa।)
वह शराब में अपना ग़म भुलाने की कोशिश करता है।
He tries to forget his sorrows in drink.
(vah sharaab men apnaa gham bhulaane kii koshish kartaa hai।)
ग़म-ए-दिल किससे कहूँ, कोई सुनने वाला ही नहीं।
Whom should I tell the sorrow of my heart, there is no one to listen at all.
(gham-e-dil kisse kahoon, koii sunne vaalaa hii nahiin।)
अगर तुम साथ होते तो यह ग़म इतना गहरा न होता।
If you had been with me, this sorrow wouldn't have been so deep.
(agar tum saath hote to yah gham itnaa gahraa n hotaa।)
अपना ग़म भुला दो और आज की शाम एन्जॉय करो।
Forget your sorrows and enjoy this evening.
(apnaa gham bhulaa do aur aaj kii shaam enjoy karo।)
इस ग़ज़ल में शायर का ग़म हर शब्द से टपकता है।
In this ghazal, the poet's grief drips from every word.
(is ghazal men shaayar kaa gham har shabd se tapaktaa hai।)
उसका ग़म देखकर पूरा घर उदास हो गया।
Seeing her grief, the whole household grew sad.
(uskaa gham dekhkar pooraa ghar udaas ho gayaa।)
शायद वक़्त के साथ यह ग़म कम हो जाए।
Perhaps with time this sorrow will lessen.
(shaayad vaqt ke saath yah gham kam ho jaae।)
उसके चेहरे पर छिपा ग़म शब्दों में बयाँ नहीं होता।
The sorrow hidden on his face cannot be expressed in words.
(uske chehre par chhipaa gham shabdon men bayaan nahiin hotaa।)
बचपन के वे ग़म अब भी उसे कभी-कभी याद आते हैं।
Even now, those childhood sorrows sometimes come back to him.
(bachpan ke ve gham ab bhii use kabhii-kabhii yaad aate hain।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
ग़म
(gham)
(sg.m.oblique):
ग़म
(gham)
(pl.m.direct):
ग़म
(gham)
(pl.m.oblique):
ग़मों
(ghamon)