पहरा (pahraa)

noun A single core sense: standing guard/watch over a place or person. Commonly seen in the fixed phrase पहरा देना (pahraa denaa) 'to keep watch' and पहरा बिठाना (pahraa bithaanaa) 'to post a guard.'
Sense 1 : guard duty, watch
noun, masculine Almost always paired with the verb देना (denaa) -- पहरा देना (pahraa denaa) 'to keep guard' -- rather than used as a free-standing subject or object on its own.
Synonyms: चौकसी (chauksii, vigilance/watchfulness), निगरानी (nigraanii, surveillance/monitoring), रखवाली (rakhvaalii, guarding/protecting)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: You'll hear पहरा (pahraa) constantly in news reports about security at borders, protests, or VIP houses -- सीमा पर कड़ा पहरा है (siimaa par kadaa pahraa hai, 'there is tight guard at the border') is a classic headline-style sentence. It also shows up metaphorically, as in parents joking about keeping पहरा (pahraa) on a teenager's phone or comings and goings.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often try पहरा करना (pahraa karnaa) by analogy with other noun+करना (karnaa) constructions, but the natural collocation is पहरा देना (pahraa denaa); करना (karnaa) sounds off here. 2) पहरा (pahraa) refers to the act/duty of guarding, not the person who guards -- that person is पहरेदार (pahredaar) or चौकीदार (chaukiidaar).
Sample Sentences:
सीमा पर कड़ा पहरा है। There is tight guard at the border.
(siimaa par kadaa pahraa hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
रात भर सिपाही गेट पर पहरा देते रहे। The soldiers kept standing guard at the gate all night.
(raat bhar sipaahii get par pahraa dete rahe।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
मंत्री के घर के बाहर हमेशा पुलिस का पहरा रहता है। There is always a police watch outside the minister's house.
(mantrii ke ghar ke baahar hameshaa pulis kaa pahraa rahtaa hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
आज रात तुम पहरा देना, मैं थोड़ा सो लूँ। Keep watch tonight, let me sleep for a bit.
(aaj raat tum pahraa denaa, main thodaa so loon।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
अगर पहरा ज़रा भी ढीला होता, तो चोर आसानी से घुस जाता। If the guard had been even slightly lax, the thief would have easily gotten in.
(agar pahraa zaraa bhii dhiilaa hotaa, to chor aasaanii se ghus jaataa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
पहरेदारों ने पूरी रात पहरा दिया। The guards kept watch the whole night.
(pahredaaron ne poorii raat pahraa diyaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
जेल के चारों तरफ चौबीसों घंटे पहरा रहता है। There is round-the-clock guard all around the jail.
(jel ke chaaron taraph chaubiison ghante pahraa rahtaa hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
मम्मी ने तो मेरे फ़ोन पर पूरा पहरा बिठा दिया है। Mom has basically put a full watch on my phone.
(mammii ne to mere fon par pooraa pahraa bithaa diyaa hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
क्या यहाँ रात में भी पहरा रखा जाता है? Is a watch kept here even at night?
(kyaa yahaan raat men bhii pahraa rakhaa jaataa hai?)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
शायद उन्होंने महल पर पहरा बढ़ा दिया हो। Perhaps they have increased the guard at the palace.
(shaayad unhonne mahal par pahraa badhaa diyaa ho।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Active
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct): पहरा (pahraa)
(sg.m.oblique): पहरे (pahre)
(pl.m.direct): पहरे (pahre)
(pl.m.oblique): पहरों (pahron)