जाल (jaal)
noun
Primarily a physical 'net/web' (fishing net, spider's web) that extends naturally into a figurative 'trap' or 'network' sense; also used for a deceptive scheme.
Sense
1
:
net (physical object for catching things, or a web)
noun, masculine
Synonyms: जाला (jaalaa, especially for a spider's web)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Think of a machhuaara (machhuaaraa, fisherman) on the Yamuna casting his jaal (jaal) into the water -- that everyday image is the anchor for this word. From there, Hindi naturally stretches the same word to any woven, tangled structure, including a spider's web.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes confuse जाल (jaal) with जाला (jaalaa) -- जाला (jaalaa) is used specifically for a spider's cobweb, while जाल (jaal) is the more general word covering fishing nets, hair nets, and webs alike.
Sample Sentences:
मछुआरे ने नदी में जाल फेंका।
The fisherman cast his net into the river.
(machhuaare ne nadii men jaal phenkaa।)
वह हर सुबह जाल बुनता है।
He weaves his net every morning.
(vah har subah jaal buntaa hai।)
मछुआरे जाल बिछा रहे हैं।
The fishermen are laying out their nets.
(machhuaare jaal bichhaa rahe hain।)
कोने में मकड़ी का जाल लगा हुआ है।
There's a spider's web in the corner.
(kone men makdii kaa jaal lagaa huaa hai।)
जाल फाड़ो, मछलियाँ भाग रही हैं!
Tear the net open, the fish are escaping!
(jaal phaado, machhliyaan bhaag rahii hain!)
जाल मछलियों से भरा हुआ था।
The net was full of fish.
(jaal machhliyon se bharaa huaa thaa।)
अगर जाल मज़बूत होता, तो मछलियाँ न बचतीं।
If the net had been strong, the fish wouldn't have escaped.
(agar jaal mazboot hotaa, to machhliyaan n bachtiin।)
बगीचे को चिड़ियों से बचाने के लिए जाल लगाया गया।
A net was put up to protect the garden from birds.
(bagiiche ko chidiyon se bachaane ke lie jaal lagaayaa gayaa।)
क्रिकेट के मैदान के पीछे एक बड़ा जाल लगा है।
There's a big net set up behind the cricket ground.
(kriket ke maidaan ke piichhe ek badaa jaal lagaa hai।)
शायद वह पुराना जाल अब भी काम कर जाए।
Maybe that old net will still do the job.
(shaayad vah puraanaa jaal ab bhii kaam kar jaae।)
मकड़ी अपना जाल बड़ी सावधानी से बुनती है।
The spider weaves its web very carefully.
(makdii apnaa jaal badii saavdhaanii se buntii hai।)
Sense
2
:
trap, snare (figurative entanglement or deception)
noun, masculine Common in the phrase जाल में फँसना (jaal men phansnaa, 'to get caught in a trap') and जाल बिछाना (jaal bichhaanaa, 'to lay a trap').
Synonyms: फंदा (phandaa, more physical/literal snare), चक्कर (chakkar, colloquial for 'mess/tangle')
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This is the word you will hear in political commentary or crime dramas -- a corrupt neta (netaa, politician) 'laying a jaal (jaal)' for someone, or a person being warned that they have 'fallen into a jaal (jaal).' It carries the same emotional weight as 'trap' or 'web of lies' in English.
Common Mistakes: 1) This sense is almost always paired with verbs like फँसना (phansnaa, 'to get entangled') or बिछाना (bichhaanaa, 'to spread/lay') -- using जाल (jaal) alone without one of these collocations can sound incomplete to a native speaker.
Sample Sentences:
यह तो धोखे का जाल है।
This is a trap of deceit.
(yah to dhokhe kaa jaal hai।)
नेता ने अपने विरोधी के लिए एक जाल बिछाया।
The politician laid a trap for his rival.
(netaa ne apne virodhii ke lie ek jaal bichhaayaa।)
तुम उसकी बातों के जाल में फँस गए हो।
You've gotten caught in the trap of his words.
(tum uskii baaton ke jaal men phans gae ho।)
सावधान रहो, वरना तुम भी इस जाल में फँस जाओगे।
Be careful, or you'll also get caught in this trap.
(saavdhaan raho, varnaa tum bhii is jaal men phans jaaoge।)
पुलिस को शक है कि यह एक बड़ा जाल है।
The police suspect that this is a big trap.
(pulis ko shak hai ki yah ek badaa jaal hai।)
अगर तुम सावधान रहते तो इस जाल में न फँसते।
If you had been careful, you wouldn't have fallen into this trap.
(agar tum saavdhaan rahte to is jaal men n phanste।)
यह जाल इतनी सफ़ाई से बिछाया गया था कि किसी को शक नहीं हुआ।
This trap was laid so cleverly that no one suspected anything.
(yah jaal itnii safaaii se bichhaayaa gayaa thaa ki kisii ko shak nahiin huaa।)
क्या यह मुमकिन है कि पूरा मामला ही एक जाल हो?
Is it possible that the whole matter is just a trap?
(kyaa yah mumkin hai ki pooraa maamlaa hii ek jaal ho?)
उस मंत्री के भ्रष्टाचार का जाल धीरे-धीरे उजागर हो रहा है।
That minister's web of corruption is slowly being exposed.
(us mantrii ke bhrashtaachaar kaa jaal dhiire-dhiire ujaagar ho rahaa hai।)
माया के इस जाल से बचना आसान नहीं है।
It is not easy to escape from this snare of illusion.
(maayaa ke is jaal se bachnaa aasaan nahiin hai।)
Sense
3
:
network (interconnected system, e.g. roads, communication, spies)
noun, masculine Used in compounds like सड़कों का जाल (sadkon kaa jaal, 'network of roads') or जासूसी जाल (jaasoosii jaal, 'spy network').
Synonyms: नेटवर्क (netvark, loanword, common in tech/infrastructure contexts), जाल-तंत्र (jaal-tantr, rare, formal)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: You will see this in news headlines about infrastructure -- रेलवे का जाल (relve kaa jaal, 'railway network') is a very common collocation describing how Indian Railways spreads across the country like a woven net.
Sample Sentences:
भारत में रेलवे का जाल बहुत बड़ा है।
India's railway network is very large.
(bhaarat men relve kaa jaal bahut badaa hai।)
सरकार ने सड़कों का जाल पूरे राज्य में फैलाया है।
The government has spread a network of roads across the whole state.
(sarkaar ne sadkon kaa jaal poore raajy men phailaayaa hai।)
इस शहर में मेट्रो का जाल हर साल बढ़ता रहता है।
The metro network in this city keeps expanding every year.
(is shahar men metro kaa jaal har saal badhtaa rahtaa hai।)
अगर संचार का जाल मजबूत होता, तो सूचना इतनी देर से न पहुँचती।
If the communication network were strong, the information wouldn't have arrived so late.
(agar sanchaar kaa jaal majboot hotaa, to soochnaa itnii der se n pahunchtii।)
खबर है कि जासूसों का एक बड़ा जाल पकड़ा गया।
There is news that a large network of spies was caught.
(khabar hai ki jaasooson kaa ek badaa jaal pakdaa gayaa।)
अगले पाँच सालों में बिजली के तारों का जाल पूरे गाँव तक पहुँचेगा।
In the next five years, the network of electricity lines will reach the whole village.
(agle paanch saalon men bijlii ke taaron kaa jaal poore gaanv tak pahunchegaa।)
क्या आपको लगता है कि इंटरनेट का जाल हर गाँव तक फैल सकता है?
Do you think the internet network could spread to every village?
(kyaa aapko lagtaa hai ki intarnet kaa jaal har gaanv tak phail saktaa hai?)
पुलिस ने अपराधियों का जाल तोड़ने के लिए एक नई योजना बनाई।
The police made a new plan to break the criminals' network.
(pulis ne apraadhiyon kaa jaal todne ke lie ek naii yojnaa banaaii।)
देश भर में सड़कों और रेलवे का जाल बुना जाता है ताकि व्यापार आसान हो सके।
A network of roads and railways is woven across the country so that trade becomes easier.
(desh bhar men sadkon aur relve kaa jaal bunaa jaataa hai taaki vyaapaar aasaan ho sake।)
पहले संचार का जाल इतना कमज़ोर था कि दूर के गाँवों में खबर पहुँचने में हफ्तों लग जाते थे।
Earlier the communication network was so weak that it used to take weeks for news to reach far-off villages.
(pahle sanchaar kaa jaal itnaa kamzor thaa ki door ke gaanvon men khabar pahunchne men haphton lag jaate the।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
जाल
(jaal)
(sg.m.oblique):
जाल
(jaal)
(pl.m.direct):
जाल
(jaal)
(pl.m.oblique):
जालों
(jaalon)