घाट (ghaat)
noun
Primarily a riverbank/landing-stair site (ghaat) -- think of the stone steps leading down to a river or pond, used for bathing, laundry, cremation, or boat landing. A secondary figurative sense appears in the idiom घाट घाट का पानी पीना (ghaat ghaat kaa paanii piinaa, 'to have drunk the water of every ghat' -- i.e. to be worldly-wise from wide experience).
Sense
1
:
riverbank steps / landing place
noun, masculine
Synonyms: किनारा (kinaaraa, riverbank generally, not necessarily with steps), तट (tat, literary)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Every Hindi speaker from the Delhi-NCR belt knows Haridwar's Har ki Pauri (har kii paudii) or Varanasi's ghats (ghaat) as the classic image -- stone steps crowded with people bathing, priests doing puja, boats tied up, and sometimes cremation fires burning nearby. The same word covers both a humble village pond's steps and the grand ghats of the Ganga, so scale doesn't change the term.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often translate घाट (ghaat) simply as 'bank' or 'shore,' missing that it specifically implies built steps or a designated landing/bathing/cremation site, not just any riverside spot. 2) Confusing this with घर (ghar, 'house') due to similar sound -- context (river, boats, bathing) should make the distinction clear.
Sample Sentences:
सुबह-सुबह लोग गंगा के घाट पर स्नान करते हैं।
Early in the morning, people bathe at the ghat on the Ganga.
(subah-subah log gangaa ke ghaat par snaan karte hain।)
हम वाराणसी में दशाश्वमेध घाट पर आरती देखने गए थे।
We had gone to Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi to watch the aarti.
(ham vaaraansii men dashaashvmedh ghaat par aartii dekhne gae the।)
नाव घाट पर बंधी हुई है।
The boat is tied up at the ghat.
(naav ghaat par bandhii huii hai।)
गाँव के तालाब का घाट सीढ़ियों से बना है।
The village pond's ghat is made of steps.
(gaanv ke taalaab kaa ghaat siidhiyon se banaa hai।)
पंडित जी घाट पर बैठे पूजा करवा रहे थे।
The priest was sitting at the ghat performing a puja for someone.
(pandit jii ghaat par baithe poojaa karvaa rahe the।)
अगर बारिश न होती तो हम शाम को घाट पर घूमने जाते।
If it hadn't rained, we would have gone for a walk at the ghat in the evening.
(agar baarish n hotii to ham shaam ko ghaat par ghoomne jaate।)
घाट पर जाकर अपने कपड़े मत भिगोना।
Don't go and get your clothes wet at the ghat.
(ghaat par jaakar apne kapde mat bhigonaa।)
शव को अंतिम संस्कार के लिए घाट पर ले जाया गया।
The body was taken to the ghat for the last rites.
(shav ko antim sanskaar ke lie ghaat par le jaayaa gayaa।)
हर की पौड़ी का घाट शाम की आरती के समय दीयों से जगमगा उठता है।
Har ki Pauri's ghat lights up with lamps at the time of the evening aarti.
(har kii paudii kaa ghaat shaam kii aartii ke samay diiyon se jagamgaa uthtaa hai।)
शायद वह घाट की सीढ़ियों पर बैठा मिले।
Perhaps you'll find him sitting on the steps of the ghat.
(shaayad vah ghaat kii siidhiyon par baithaa mile।)
क्या तुमने कभी घाट पर बैठकर सूरज डूबते देखा है?
Have you ever sat at the ghat and watched the sun set?
(kyaa tumne kabhii ghaat par baithkar sooraj doobte dekhaa hai?)
Sense
2
:
mountain pass / descent (in place names)
noun, masculine Mostly survives in place names for hill routes, e.g. the Western Ghats (pashchimii ghaat).
Synonyms: दर्रा (darraa, mountain pass, more common word)
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: This sense is why English calls India's two hill ranges the 'Western Ghats' (pashchimii ghaat) and 'Eastern Ghats' (poorvii ghaat) -- घाट (ghaat) here means a mountain slope or pass, not a riverside. A Delhi learner is far more likely to meet the riverbank sense day to day, but this geographic use is worth recognizing.
Sample Sentences:
पश्चिमी घाट भारत की एक प्रमुख पर्वत श्रृंखला है।
The Western Ghats are a major mountain range of India.
(pashchimii ghaat bhaarat kii ek pramukh parvat shrrinkhlaa hai।)
पूर्वी घाट में कई दुर्लभ पेड़-पौधे पाए जाते हैं।
Many rare trees and plants are found in the Eastern Ghats.
(poorvii ghaat men kaii durlabh ped-paudhe paae jaate hain।)
इस घाटी को पार करने के लिए हमें ऊँचे घाट से होकर जाना पड़ा।
To cross this valley, we had to go through a high mountain pass.
(is ghaatii ko paar karne ke lie hamen oonche ghaat se hokar jaanaa padaa।)
पुराने नक्शों में इस घाट का नाम अलग हुआ करता था।
In old maps, this mountain pass used to have a different name.
(puraane nakshon men is ghaat kaa naam alag huaa kartaa thaa।)
भूगोलवेत्ता इस बात पर शोध कर रहे हैं कि पश्चिमी घाट का निर्माण कैसे हुआ।
Geographers are researching how the Western Ghats were formed.
(bhoogolvettaa is baat par shodh kar rahe hain ki pashchimii ghaat kaa nirmaan kaise huaa।)
अगर सरकार पूर्वी घाट के जंगलों की रक्षा करे, तो जैव विविधता बची रहेगी।
If the government protects the forests of the Eastern Ghats, biodiversity will survive.
(agar sarkaar poorvii ghaat ke janglon kii rakshaa kare, to jaiv vividhtaa bachii rahegii।)
काश हम पश्चिमी घाट की उन पहाड़ियों में एक बार घूम पाते।
If only we could once wander through those hills of the Western Ghats.
(kaash ham pashchimii ghaat kii un pahaadiyon men ek baar ghoom paate।)
पश्चिमी घाट और पूर्वी घाट मिलकर दक्षिण भारत के पठार को घेरे हुए हैं।
The Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats together enclose the plateau of South India.
(pashchimii ghaat aur poorvii ghaat milkar dakshin bhaarat ke pathaar ko ghere hue hain।)
Sense
3
:
worldly experience (idiomatic, in fixed phrase)
noun, masculine Lives almost entirely inside the fixed idiom घाट घाट का पानी पीना (ghaat ghaat kaa paanii piinaa, 'to have drunk the water of every ghat'), meaning someone who is shrewd and worldly-wise from having seen much of life, often with a slightly negative edge (streetwise, hard to fool).
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: You'll hear elders use this idiom approvingly or warily about someone who can't easily be cheated -- a shopkeeper, a politician, an old family friend who has 'seen it all.' It paints worldliness as literally tasting the water of many different ghats (ghaat) along a river's course, each one a different life experience.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes take this idiom literally as being about travel or water rather than about a person's cunning, worldly-wise character. 2) The idiom is almost always used about a third person's nature ('वह घाट घाट का पानी पिया हुआ है' vah ghaat ghaat kaa paanii piyaa huaa hai), rarely in first person, which can feel counterintuitive to learners used to describing themselves.
Sample Sentences:
उस बुढ़िया को बेवकूफ मत बनाओ, उसने बहुत घाटों का पानी पिया है।
Don't try to fool that old woman, she has seen a great deal of the world.
(us budhiyaa ko bevkooph mat banaao, usne bahut ghaaton kaa paanii piyaa hai।)
यह दुकानदार ऐसे-वैसे झांसे में नहीं आएगा, इसने बहुत घाटों का पानी पिया है।
This shopkeeper won't fall for just any trick, he has a lifetime of worldly experience.
(yah dukaandaar aise-vaise jhaanse men nahiin aaegaa, isne bahut ghaaton kaa paanii piyaa hai।)
नेता जी को यूँ ही चकमा नहीं दिया जा सकता, उन्होंने बहुत घाटों का पानी पिया है।
The politician can't be deceived so easily, he's a man of vast worldly experience.
(netaa jii ko yoon hii chakmaa nahiin diyaa jaa saktaa, unhonne bahut ghaaton kaa paanii piyaa hai।)
मेरे दादाजी हर मामले में सही सलाह देते हैं, क्योंकि उन्होंने बहुत घाटों का पानी पिया है।
My grandfather always gives the right advice in every matter, because he's seen it all in life.
(mere daadaajii har maamle men sahii salaah dete hain, kyonki unhonne bahut ghaaton kaa paanii piyaa hai।)
अगर उसने बहुत घाटों का पानी न पिया होता, तो इतनी आसानी से ठगों को पहचान न पाता।
If he hadn't had such wide experience of the world, he wouldn't have recognized the cheats so easily.
(agar usne bahut ghaaton kaa paanii n piyaa hotaa, to itnii aasaanii se thagon ko pahchaan n paataa।)
अरे भाई, उन्हें समझाने की कोशिश मत करो, उन्होंने बहुत घाटों का पानी पिया है।
Hey man, don't even try to explain things to him, he's seen far too much of the world.
(are bhaaii, unhen samjhaane kii koshish mat karo, unhonne bahut ghaaton kaa paanii piyaa hai।)
पुराने परिवार के इस मित्र ने बहुत घाटों का पानी पिया है, इसलिए उनकी बात मानना बेहतर है।
This old family friend has such deep worldly experience that it's better to heed his words.
(puraane parivaar ke is mitr ne bahut ghaaton kaa paanii piyaa hai, islie unkii baat maannaa behtar hai।)
क्या तुम्हें लगता है कि उसने बहुत घाटों का पानी नहीं पिया है? वह हर चाल पहचान लेगा।
Do you think he lacks worldly experience? He'll spot every trick coming.
(kyaa tumhen lagtaa hai ki usne bahut ghaaton kaa paanii nahiin piyaa hai? vah har chaal pahchaan legaa।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
घाट
(ghaat)
(sg.m.oblique):
घाट
(ghaat)
(pl.m.direct):
घाट
(ghaat)
(pl.m.oblique):
घाटों
(ghaaton)