गुफा (guphaa)

noun A straightforward noun meaning 'cave.' It has just one common everyday sense.
Sense 1 : cave, cavern
noun, feminine
Synonyms: कंदरा (kandraa, literary)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: गुफा (guphaa) shows up often in stories about sages and hermits meditating in mountain caves, and in descriptions of pilgrimage sites like अमरनाथ की गुफा (amarnaath kii guphaa, 'the Amarnath cave'), which is a major Himalayan pilgrimage destination. It is also the word kids learn early on for 'cave' in school geography lessons about early humans (गुफा मानव, guphaa maanav, 'cave man').
Sample Sentences:
पहाड़ों में एक पुरानी गुफा है। There is an old cave in the mountains.
(pahaadon men ek puraanii guphaa hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
साधु उस गुफा में सालों से तपस्या कर रहा है। The sage has been meditating in that cave for years.
(saadhu us guphaa men saalon se tapasyaa kar rahaa hai।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
अमरनाथ की गुफा हर साल लाखों श्रद्धालुओं को खींचती है। The Amarnath cave draws millions of pilgrims every year.
(amarnaath kii guphaa har saal laakhon shraddhaaluon ko khiinchtii hai।)
Register: Devotional -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
बच्चों को स्कूल में गुफा मानव के बारे में पढ़ाया जाता है। Children are taught about cavemen in school.
(bachchon ko skool men guphaa maanav ke baare men padhaayaa jaataa hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
हम बारिश से बचने के लिए एक गुफा में छिप गए। We hid in a cave to escape the rain.
(ham baarish se bachne ke lie ek guphaa men chhip gae।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
गुफा में घुसो मत, अंदर अंधेरा है। Don't go into the cave, it's dark inside.
(guphaa men ghuso mat, andar andheraa hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
अगर यह गुफा इतनी गहरी न होती तो हम आसानी से अंदर तक जा सकते। If this cave weren't so deep, we could easily go all the way inside.
(agar yah guphaa itnii gahrii n hotii to ham aasaanii se andar tak jaa sakte।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
शायद यह गुफा किसी पुराने मंदिर से जुड़ी हो। Perhaps this cave is connected to some ancient temple.
(shaayad yah guphaa kisii puraane mandir se judii ho।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Active
पुरातत्वविदों ने गुफा में हजारों साल पुरानी चित्रकारी खोजी थी। Archaeologists had discovered thousands-of-years-old paintings in the cave.
(puraatatvvidon ne guphaa men hajaaron saal puraanii chitrkaarii khojii thii।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
गुफा के मुहाने पर एक शेर बैठा है। A lion is sitting at the mouth of the cave.
(guphaa ke muhaane par ek sher baithaa hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct): गुफा (guphaa)
(sg.f.oblique): गुफा (guphaa)
(pl.f.direct): गुफाएँ (guphaaen)
(pl.f.oblique): गुफाओं (guphaaon)