साल-गिरह (saal-girah)

noun A compound noun meaning 'anniversary' or 'birthday' -- literally 'year-knot,' the point where a year ties off and a new one begins. Also commonly written without the hyphen as सालगिरह (saalgirah).
Sense 1 : anniversary
noun, feminine Frequently used specifically for a wedding anniversary, often as शादी की साल-गिरह (shaadii kii saal-girah, 'wedding anniversary').
Synonyms: वर्षगांठ (varshgaanth)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: You will often hear शादी की साल-गिरह (shaadii kii saal-girah, 'wedding anniversary') at family gatherings in Delhi-NCR, where greeting cards and WhatsApp messages both use साल-गिरह (saal-girah) and its Sanskritic cousin वर्षगांठ (varshgaanth) pretty interchangeably.
Common Mistakes: 1) When talking about a wedding anniversary, learners often forget the शादी की (shaadii kii) qualifier -- साल-गिरह (saal-girah) alone is ambiguous between 'birthday' and 'anniversary' without context or a qualifying phrase.
Sample Sentences:
आज मेरे माता-पिता की शादी की साल-गिरह है। Today is my parents' wedding anniversary.
(aaj mere maataa-pitaa kii shaadii kii saal-girah hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
हम हर साल उनकी साल-गिरह बड़े धूमधाम से मनाते हैं। We celebrate their anniversary with great fanfare every year.
(ham har saal unkii saal-girah bade dhoomdhaam se manaate hain।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
पिछले साल हमने उनकी पच्चीसवीं साल-गिरह पर एक बड़ी पार्टी रखी थी। Last year we threw a big party for their twenty-fifth anniversary.
(pichhle saal hamne unkii pachchiisviin saal-girah par ek badii paartii rakhii thii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
अगले महीने उनकी शादी की साल-गिरह आ रही है। Their wedding anniversary is coming up next month.
(agle mahiine unkii shaadii kii saal-girah aa rahii hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
साल-गिरह मुबारक हो! Happy anniversary!
(saal-girah mubaarak ho!)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Active
क्या आपको उनकी साल-गिरह की तारीख याद है? Do you remember the date of their anniversary?
(kyaa aapko unkii saal-girah kii taariikh yaad hai?)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
अगर वह उनकी साल-गिरह याद रखता तो शायद तोहफा भी ले आता। If he had remembered their anniversary, he probably would have brought a gift too.
(agar vah unkii saal-girah yaad rakhtaa to shaayad tohphaa bhii le aataa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
साल-गिरह के मौके पर पूरा परिवार इकट्ठा होता है। On the occasion of the anniversary, the whole family gathers together.
(saal-girah ke mauke par pooraa parivaar ikatthaa hotaa hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
इस साल-गिरह पर होटल में शानदार पार्टी आयोजित की जाएगी। A grand party will be organized at the hotel for this anniversary.
(is saal-girah par hotal men shaandaar paartii aayojit kii jaaegii।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Passive
कृपया साल-गिरह की तिथि पहले से तय कर लीजिए ताकि सबको बुलाया जा सके। Please decide the anniversary date in advance so that everyone can be invited.
(kripyaa saal-girah kii tithi pahle se tay kar liijie taaki sabko bulaayaa jaa sake।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
Sense 2 : birthday
noun, feminine
Synonyms: जन्मदिन (janmdin)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Think of it as literally 'the knot of the year' -- each birthday or anniversary is one more knot tied in the string of time, an old image still felt in the word even though most speakers today would not consciously unpack it that way.
Common Mistakes: 1) जन्मदिन (janmdin) is the more common, neutral word for 'birthday' in everyday speech; साल-गिरह (saal-girah) is heard too but often leans toward 'anniversary' (see other sense), so context decides which meaning is meant. 2) Do not drop the compound and use गिरह (girah) alone to mean 'birthday' -- it just means 'knot' on its own and carries no date sense.
Sample Sentences:
आज मेरी सालगिरह है। Today is my birthday.
(aaj merii saalgirah hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
पिछले साल हमने उसकी सालगिरह बड़ी धूमधाम से मनाई थी। Last year we celebrated her birthday with great fanfare.
(pichhle saal hamne uskii saalgirah badii dhoomdhaam se manaaii thii।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
हम हर साल उसकी सालगिरह पर केक काटते हैं। Every year we cut a cake on his birthday.
(ham har saal uskii saalgirah par kek kaatte hain।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
अगले महीने मेरी सालगिरह आने वाली है, तुम आओगे न? My birthday is coming up next month, you'll come, right?
(agle mahiine merii saalgirah aane vaalii hai, tum aaoge n?)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Active
अपनी सालगिरह पर मुझे नई साइकिल चाहिए! I want a new bicycle for my birthday!
(apnii saalgirah par mujhe naii saaikil chaahie!)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
सालगिरह मुबारक हो! Happy birthday!
(saalgirah mubaarak ho!)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Active
काश मैं अपनी सालगिरह पर घर पर होता। I wish I were home for my birthday.
(kaash main apnii saalgirah par ghar par hotaa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
अगर उसे मेरी सालगिरह याद रहती, तो वह फोन करता। If he had remembered my birthday, he would have called.
(agar use merii saalgirah yaad rahtii, to vah phon kartaa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
उसकी सालगिरह की पार्टी शनिवार को होने वाली है। His birthday party is going to be on Saturday.
(uskii saalgirah kii paartii shanivaar ko hone vaalii hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Active
क्या तुम्हें अपनी बेटी की सालगिरह के लिए हॉल बुक करना है? Do you need to book a hall for your daughter's birthday?
(kyaa tumhen apnii betii kii saalgirah ke lie hol buk karnaa hai?)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
सालगिरह का जश्न बगीचे में मनाया जाएगा। The birthday celebration will be held in the garden.
(saalgirah kaa jashn bagiiche men manaayaa jaaegaa।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Passive
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct): साल-गिरह ([[साल-गिरह]])
(sg.f.oblique): साल-गिरह ([[साल-गिरह]])
(pl.f.direct): साल-गिरहें ([[साल-गिरहें]])
(pl.f.oblique): साल-गिरहों ([[साल-गिरहों]])