खेत (khet)
noun
A concrete, everyday noun meaning a field or plot of farmland; also lives in a few common figurative expressions about death/battle.
Sense
1
:
agricultural field
noun, masculine
Synonyms: खेती (khetii, farming/the cultivated land more broadly), मैदान (maidaan, open ground, not specifically farmed)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Say खेत (khet) and most Delhi-NCR folks picture wheat or mustard fields just outside the city, the kind you drive past on the way to a village wedding or a farmhouse party. It is a word that carries real emotional weight in Indian public life, given how central land and farming are to rural identity and politics.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes use मैदान (maidaan) for 'field' generally, but मैदान (maidaan) is an open ground (for playing, gathering) while खेत (khet) specifically means land under cultivation. 2) खेत (khet) is masculine, so possessives and adjectives agreeing with it take the masculine forms, e.g. मेरा खेत (meraa khet).
Sample Sentences:
किसान सुबह-सुबह खेत में चला जाता है।
The farmer goes to the field early in the morning.
(kisaan subah-subah khet men chalaa jaataa hai।)
पिछले साल इस खेत में गेहूँ बोया गया था।
Last year wheat was sown in this field.
(pichhle saal is khet men gehoon boyaa gayaa thaa।)
बच्चे खेतों में पतंग उड़ा रहे हैं।
The children are flying kites in the fields.
(bachche kheton men patang udaa rahe hain।)
अपना खेत जल्दी जोत दो, बारिश आने वाली है।
Plow your field quickly, it's about to rain.
(apnaa khet jaldii jot do, baarish aane vaalii hai।)
अगर बारिश समय पर होती तो खेत सूखा नहीं रहता।
If it had rained on time, the field wouldn't have stayed dry.
(agar baarish samay par hotii to khet sookhaa nahiin rahtaa।)
गाँव के बाहर सरसों के खेत सोने जैसे चमक रहे थे।
Outside the village, the mustard fields were shining like gold.
(gaanv ke baahar sarson ke khet sone jaise chamak rahe the।)
शायद वह अपना खेत बेच दे, कर्ज़ बहुत बढ़ गया है।
He might sell his field, the debt has grown too much.
(shaayad vah apnaa khet bech de, karz bahut badh gayaa hai।)
सरकार ने किसानों के खेतों का मुआवज़ा तय किया।
The government fixed the compensation for the farmers' fields.
(sarkaar ne kisaanon ke kheton kaa muaavzaa tay kiyaa।)
हम शादी वाले फार्महाउस तक जाते हुए कई खेत पार करेंगे।
On the way to the farmhouse for the wedding, we'll cross many fields.
(ham shaadii vaale phaarmahaaus tak jaate hue kaii khet paar karenge।)
इस बार खेत में अच्छी फसल हुई है।
This time there's been a good harvest in the field.
(is baar khet men achchhii phasal huii hai।)
खेत की मिट्टी जाँचने के बाद ही खाद डालनी चाहिए।
Fertilizer should be applied only after testing the field's soil.
(khet kii mittii jaanchne ke baad hii khaad daalnii chaahie।)
Sense
2
:
battlefield (in the fixed idiom 'khet rahnaa', to fall in battle)
noun, masculine Chiefly encountered in the fixed idiom खेत रहना (khet rahnaa, 'to die in battle') -- the noun itself doesn't otherwise mean 'battlefield' outside this expression.
Synonyms: रणभूमि (ranbhoomi, literary/formal), युद्धभूमि (yuddhbhoomi, literary/formal)
Frequency: literary
Cultural Note: This sense survives almost entirely inside the old idiom खेत रहना (khet rahnaa, 'to be left [dead] on the field'), a phrase you meet in history books, ballads, and patriotic songs about soldiers rather than in daily conversation.
Common Mistakes: 1) Do not use खेत (khet) alone to mean 'battlefield' in ordinary speech -- outside the idiom खेत रहना (khet rahnaa), it just means a farm field, and reaching for it as a general word for 'battlefield' will confuse a listener.
Sample Sentences:
वह सिपाही देश के लिए लड़ते हुए खेत रहा।
That soldier fell on the battlefield fighting for his country.
(vah sipaahii desh ke lie ladte hue khet rahaa।)
कितने ही वीर उस युद्ध में खेत रहे।
So many brave men fell on the field in that war.
(kitne hii viir us yuddh men khet rahe।)
अगर वह पीछे न हटता तो वह भी खेत रहता।
If he had not retreated, he too would have fallen on the battlefield.
(agar vah piichhe n hattaa to vah bhii khet rahtaa।)
यह गीत उन सैनिकों को समर्पित है जो सीमा पर खेत रहे।
This song is dedicated to those soldiers who fell on the border battlefield.
(yah giit un sainikon ko samarpit hai jo siimaa par khet rahe।)
इतिहास की किताबों में लिखा है कि राजा का सेनापति भी खेत रहा।
It is written in the history books that the king's commander too fell on the battlefield.
(itihaas kii kitaabon men likhaa hai ki raajaa kaa senaapti bhii khet rahaa।)
कवि ने लिखा, हजारों वीर खेत रहेंगे, फिर भी मातृभूमि की रक्षा होगी।
The poet wrote, thousands of brave men will fall on the battlefield, yet the motherland will still be defended.
(kavi ne likhaa, hajaaron viir khet rahenge, phir bhii maatribhoomi kii rakshaa hogii।)
बलिदान की परंपरा में यह माना जाता था कि खेत रहना ही सच्चे योद्धा की नियति है।
In the tradition of sacrifice, it was believed that to fall on the battlefield was the true warrior's destiny.
(balidaan kii parampraa men yah maanaa jaataa thaa ki khet rahnaa hii sachche yoddhaa kii niyti hai।)
बलिदानी वीरों, तुम खेत रहे और अमर हो गए।
O sacrificial heroes, you fell on the battlefield and became immortal.
(balidaanii viiron, tum khet rahe aur amar ho gae।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
खेत
(khet)
(sg.m.oblique):
खेत
(khet)
(pl.m.direct):
खेत
(khet)
(pl.m.oblique):
खेतों
(kheton)