प्याला (pyaalaa)

noun A small cup or bowl, most often for tea; also used figuratively in fixed expressions about drinking one's fill of something, good or bad.
Sense 1 : cup, small bowl
noun, masculine
Synonyms: कप (kap), कटोरा (katoraa, larger/deeper bowl)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Picture a steaming प्याला चाय (pyaalaa chaay, 'cup of tea') handed to you the moment you sit down in someone's house in Delhi -- refusing it is almost unthinkable. The word has a homely, rounded warmth to it that कप (kap) doesn't quite carry.
Common Mistakes: 1) प्याला (pyaalaa) is the whole vessel, while कप (kap) is used more for the English-style teacup that comes with a saucer -- in a traditional home or dhaba setting, प्याला (pyaalaa) is the natural word. 2) Don't confuse with पियाला (piyaalaa), an older spelling variant sometimes seen in songs and poetry.
Sample Sentences:
क्या आप एक प्याला चाय लेंगे? Will you have a cup of tea?
(kyaa aap ek pyaalaa chaay lenge?)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Active
माँ रोज़ सुबह एक प्याला चाय बनाती है। Mom makes a cup of tea every morning.
(maan roz subah ek pyaalaa chaay banaatii hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
मेज़ पर एक प्याला रखा है। A cup is placed on the table.
(mez par ek pyaalaa rakhaa hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
अरे भाई, एक प्याला चाय पिला दे यार। Hey bro, get me a cup of tea, man.
(are bhaaii, ek pyaalaa chaay pilaa de yaar।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
अगर मेरे पास प्याला होता, तो मैं तुम्हें चाय दे देता। If I had a cup, I would have given you tea.
(agar mere paas pyaalaa hotaa, to main tumhen chaay de detaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
उसने प्याला उठाया और चाय पीने लगा। He picked up the cup and started drinking tea.
(usne pyaalaa uthaayaa aur chaay piine lagaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
बच्चे से प्याला गिर गया और चाय फैल गई। The cup fell from the child's hands and the tea spilled.
(bachche se pyaalaa gir gayaa aur chaay phail gaii।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
जब मैं वहाँ पहुँचा, तो नौकर प्याले धो रहा था। When I arrived there, the servant was washing the cups.
(jab main vahaan pahunchaa, to naukar pyaale dho rahaa thaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
शायद उसे एक और प्याला चाय चाहिए हो। Maybe he wants another cup of tea.
(shaayad use ek aur pyaalaa chaay chaahie ho।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Active
प्याले अलमारी में रखे जाते हैं। The cups are kept in the cupboard.
(pyaale almaarii men rakhe jaate hain।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
दादी जी के पुराने चीनी मिट्टी के प्याले बहुत सुंदर हैं। Grandma's old porcelain cups are very beautiful.
(daadii jii ke puraane chiinii mittii ke pyaale bahut sundar hain।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
Sense 2 : one's share of suffering or fate (idiomatic)
noun, masculine Appears mainly inside the fixed idiom दुखों का प्याला (dukhon kaa pyaalaa, 'the cup of sorrows') and similar phrases like प्याला भर जाना (pyaalaa bhar jaanaa, 'for the cup to become full,' i.e. to reach the limit of endurance).
Synonyms: जाम (jaam, literary, drinking-cup sense)
Frequency: literary
Cultural Note: This echoes the English 'cup of sorrows' or 'drink the cup to the dregs' -- Hindi poetry and film dialogue lean on the same cup-as-fate image, often pairing it with ज़हर (zahar, 'poison') for dramatic effect.
Common Mistakes: 1) This sense barely stands alone -- it almost always shows up inside a set phrase like दुखों का प्याला (dukhon kaa pyaalaa) or ज़हर का प्याला (zahar kaa pyaalaa, 'cup of poison'), so learners shouldn't try to use प्याला (pyaalaa) alone to mean 'suffering.'
Sample Sentences:
उसने दुखों का प्याला ख़ुद ही भर लिया था। He had filled the cup of his own sorrows himself.
(usne dukhon kaa pyaalaa khud hii bhar liyaa thaa।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
ज़िंदगी ने उसे ज़हर का प्याला थमा दिया। Life handed him a cup of poison.
(zindgii ne use zahar kaa pyaalaa thamaa diyaa।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
क्या इंसान अपने भाग्य का प्याला खाली कर पाता है? Can a person ever drain the cup of his own fate?
(kyaa insaan apne bhaagy kaa pyaalaa khaalii kar paataa hai?)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
उसे यह प्याला आँसुओं के साथ पीना पड़ा। She had to drink this cup of sorrow along with her tears.
(use yah pyaalaa aansuon ke saath piinaa padaa।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
काश उसके हिस्से का यह प्याला किसी और को मिलता। If only this cup that fell to his lot had gone to someone else instead.
(kaash uske hisse kaa yah pyaalaa kisii aur ko miltaa।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
अगर मुझे मालूम होता कि यह प्याला इतना कड़वा होगा, तो मैं पहले ही मान लेता। If I had known this cup of fate would be so bitter, I would have accepted it long ago.
(agar mujhe maaloom hotaa ki yah pyaalaa itnaa kadvaa hogaa, to main pahle hii maan letaa।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
हे ईश्वर, यह विषम प्याला मुझसे मत छीनो, इसे मैं ही पी लूँगा। O God, do not snatch this cruel cup from me -- I alone shall drink it.
(he iishvar, yah visham pyaalaa mujhse mat chhiino, ise main hii pii loongaa।)
Register: Devotional -- Mood: Imperative -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Active
पीड़ा का प्याला उसके होंठों तक पहुँचा दिया गया। The cup of anguish was brought to her lips.
(piidaa kaa pyaalaa uske honthon tak pahunchaa diyaa gayaa।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Passive
शायद यही उसकी तक़दीर का प्याला हो, जिसे टाला नहीं जा सकता। Perhaps this is the cup of his destiny, one that cannot be avoided.
(shaayad yahii uskii taqdiir kaa pyaalaa ho, jise taalaa nahiin jaa saktaa।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Passive
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct): प्याला (pyaalaa)
(sg.m.oblique): प्याले (pyaale)
(pl.m.direct): प्याले (pyaale)
(pl.m.oblique): प्यालों (pyaalon)