मुहब्बत (muhabbat)
noun
A warm, poetic word for love or affection, borrowed from Urdu/Persian; one core sense, but it carries strong romantic and literary color that distinguishes it from the more neutral प्यार (pyaar).
Sense
1
:
love, affection
noun, feminine
Synonyms: प्यार (pyaar), इश्क़ (ishq, more intense/passionate), प्रेम (prem, literary)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This word walks straight in from Urdu shayari and Bollywood -- it is the language of ghazals, love letters, and dramatic confessions, not the word you'd casually use for loving your mother's cooking. If you want the everyday, all-purpose word, reach for प्यार (pyaar); reach for मुहब्बत (muhabbat) when you want the sentence to feel a little more filmy or heartfelt.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often treat मुहब्बत (muhabbat) as a plain, everyday synonym for love, but it leans romantic and slightly poetic -- native speakers reach for प्यार (pyaar) when talking about love for family, friends, or pets, and reserve मुहब्बत (muhabbat) mostly for romantic love or dramatic/emotional speech. 2) It takes से (se) for the person or thing loved -- मुझे उससे मुहब्बत है (mujhe usse muhabbat hai, 'I love him/her') -- not को (ko), which learners sometimes default to by analogy with other dative constructions.
Sample Sentences:
मुहब्बत ज़िंदगी को खूबसूरत बना देती है।
Love makes life beautiful.
(muhabbat zindgii ko khoobsoorat banaa detii hai।)
उसने अपनी मुहब्बत का इज़हार शायरी में किया।
He expressed his love through poetry.
(usne apnii muhabbat kaa izahaar shaayrii men kiyaa।)
मुहब्बत में इंसान सब कुछ भूल जाता है।
In love, a person forgets everything.
(muhabbat men insaan sab kuchh bhool jaataa hai।)
काश मैं तुमसे अपनी मुहब्बत बयां कर पाता।
If only I could put my love for you into words.
(kaash main tumse apnii muhabbat bayaan kar paataa।)
अगर तुम मुझसे मुहब्बत करते, तो कभी ऐसे न जाते।
If you had loved me, you would never have left like this.
(agar tum mujhse muhabbat karte, to kabhii aise n jaate।)
इस गाने में मुहब्बत का दर्द साफ़ झलकता है।
The pain of love is clearly reflected in this song.
(is gaane men muhabbat kaa dard saaf jhalaktaa hai।)
मुहब्बत में वादे तोड़े नहीं जाते।
In love, promises are not meant to be broken.
(muhabbat men vaade tode nahiin jaate।)
मुहब्बत हो तो ऐसी हो, जो कभी कम न हो।
If it is love, let it be such that it never lessens.
(muhabbat ho to aisii ho, jo kabhii kam n ho।)
फिल्म का हर गाना मुहब्बत की कहानी कहता है।
Every song in the film tells a story of love.
(philm kaa har gaanaa muhabbat kii kahaanii kahtaa hai।)
उसकी आँखों में मुहब्बत साफ़ दिख रही थी।
Love was clearly visible in her eyes.
(uskii aankhon men muhabbat saaf dikh rahii thii।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct):
मुहब्बत
(muhabbat)
(sg.f.oblique):
मुहब्बत
(muhabbat)
(pl.f.direct):
मुहब्बतें
(muhabbten)
(pl.f.oblique):
मुहब्बतों
(muhabbton)