वोट (vot)
noun
An English loanword used in Hindi exactly as in political/civic contexts: as a noun meaning 'vote' and as part of the common verb phrase वोट देना (vot denaa, 'to vote').
Sense
1
:
vote (the ballot/choice cast in an election)
noun, masculine
Synonyms: मतदान (matdaan, formal)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You'll hear वोट (vot) constantly around election season in Delhi -- on TV news, on posters, and in taxi-driver conversations about which party 'is going to win the votes' (वोट किसके पड़ेंगे, vot kiske padenge, 'whose way will the votes fall'). The verb डालना (daalnaa, 'to drop/pour') paints the ballot as something physically dropped into a box, a nice bit of Hindi's love for concrete, physical verbs.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often say वोट करना (vot karnaa) by analogy with English 'to vote,' but the standard everyday expression is वोट देना (vot denaa, 'to give a vote'); वोट डालना (vot daalnaa, 'to cast a vote,' literally 'to drop/put a vote') is also common and slightly more formal-sounding.
Sample Sentences:
मैंने आज सुबह अपना वोट डाला।
I cast my vote this morning.
(mainne aaj subah apnaa vot daalaa।)
इस बार वोट किसके पड़ेंगे, यह कहना मुश्किल है।
It is hard to say whose way the votes will go this time.
(is baar vot kiske padenge, yah kahnaa mushkil hai।)
कृपया लाइन में लगकर अपना वोट डालें।
Please stand in line and cast your vote.
(kripyaa laain men lagkar apnaa vot daalen।)
हर साल चुनाव में लाखों वोट पड़ते हैं।
Millions of votes are cast in elections every year.
(har saal chunaav men laakhon vot padte hain।)
अगर मैं वहाँ होता, तो जरूर वोट डालता।
If I had been there, I would definitely have cast my vote.
(agar main vahaan hotaa, to jaroor vot daaltaa।)
मतगणना के बाद सारे वोट गिने गए।
After the counting, all the votes were counted.
(matgannaa ke baad saare vot gine gae।)
टैक्सी वाला बोल रहा था कि इस बार वोट बदलने वाले हैं।
The taxi driver was saying that the votes are going to shift this time.
(taiksii vaalaa bol rahaa thaa ki is baar vot badalne vaale hain।)
शायद उसका वोट अभी गिना न गया हो।
Perhaps his vote has not been counted yet.
(shaayad uskaa vot abhii ginaa n gayaa ho।)
उम्मीदवार चाहता है कि हर मोहल्ले से ज्यादा से ज्यादा वोट पड़ें।
The candidate wants as many votes as possible to be cast from every neighborhood.
(ummiidvaar chaahtaa hai ki har mohalle se jyaadaa se jyaadaa vot paden।)
पिछले चुनाव में उसे केवल दो सौ वोट मिले थे।
In the last election, he had received only two hundred votes.
(pichhle chunaav men use keval do sau vot mile the।)
जनता का वोट ही असली ताकत होती है।
The people's vote is truly the real power.
(jantaa kaa vot hii aslii taakat hotii hai।)
Sense
2
:
voting right / a person's vote as political leverage
noun, masculine
Synonyms: मताधिकार (mataadhikaar, formal, 'right to vote')
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: In political speech you'll often hear phrases like मेरा वोट (meraa vot, 'my vote') used almost like a possession or a bargaining chip -- as in वोट बैंक (vot baink, 'vote bank'), a very common term in Indian political commentary for a demographic group whose votes a party relies on.
Sample Sentences:
यह पार्टी सालों से मुस्लिम वोट बैंक पर भरोसा करती आई है।
This party has relied on the Muslim vote bank for years.
(yah paartii saalon se muslim vot baink par bharosaa kartii aaii hai।)
नेता लोग चुनाव से पहले हर जाति का वोट बैंक साधने की कोशिश करते हैं।
Politicians try to woo every caste's vote bank before elections.
(netaa log chunaav se pahle har jaati kaa vot baink saadhne kii koshish karte hain।)
मेरा वोट किसी को यूँ ही नहीं मिलेगा, पहले काम दिखाओ।
My vote won't go to just anyone -- show me some work first.
(meraa vot kisii ko yoon hii nahiin milegaa, pahle kaam dikhaao।)
उस इलाके में उम्मीदवार का वोट पक्का माना जाता है।
In that area, the candidate's electoral support is considered a sure thing.
(us ilaake men ummiidvaar kaa vot pakkaa maanaa jaataa hai।)
अगर सरकार ने किसानों की बात नहीं मानी, तो उनका वोट छिन जाएगा।
If the government doesn't listen to the farmers, it will lose their political support.
(agar sarkaar ne kisaanon kii baat nahiin maanii, to unkaa vot chhin jaaegaa।)
काश हमारा वोट सचमुच कुछ बदल पाता।
If only our vote could really change something.
(kaash hamaaraa vot sachmuch kuchh badal paataa।)
गरीबों का वोट लेकर सत्ता में आना आसान है, पर उन्हें भूल जाना और भी आसान।
It's easy to come to power on the strength of the poor's votes, but even easier to forget them.
(gariibon kaa vot lekar sattaa men aanaa aasaan hai, par unhen bhool jaanaa aur bhii aasaan।)
क्या आपकी सरकार सच में हमारे वोट की कदर करती है?
Does your government really value our vote?
(kyaa aapkii sarkaar sach men hamaare vot kii kadar kartii hai?)
उन्होंने युवाओं का वोट अपनी तरफ खींचने के लिए सोशल मीडिया का सहारा लिया।
They turned to social media to pull the youth vote to their side.
(unhonne yuvaaon kaa vot apnii taraph khiinchne ke lie soshal miidiyaa kaa sahaaraa liyaa।)
जिस दिन जनता अपने वोट की ताकत समझ जाएगी, राजनीति बदल जाएगी।
The day the public understands the power of their vote, politics will change.
(jis din jantaa apne vot kii taakat samajh jaaegii, raajniiti badal jaaegii।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
वोट
(vot)
(sg.m.oblique):
वोट
(vot)
(pl.m.direct):
वोट
(vot)
(pl.m.oblique):
वोटों
(voton)