दोस्ती (dostii)

noun A single-sense noun meaning 'friendship'; related to दोस्त (dost, 'friend'), processed as its own lemma.
Sense 1 : friendship, bond between friends
noun, feminine
Synonyms: मित्रता (mitrtaa, formal), याराना (yaaraanaa, colloquial)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: दोस्ती (dostii) carries real emotional weight in Hindi -- it's not just an acquaintance but often a bond people describe with the same intensity as family ties, as in the classic line pairing दोस्ती (dostii) and यारी (yaarii). You'll often hear it in the phrase पक्की दोस्ती (pakkii dostii, 'solid/true friendship'), which is how people describe a friendship that's stood the test of time, like a rishta rather than a casual bond.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for मित्रता (mitrtaa) as the default word, but दोस्ती (dostii) is what people actually say in daily conversation; मित्रता (mitrtaa) sounds bookish or formal by comparison. 2) The verb pairing is दोस्ती करना (dostii karnaa, 'to make/form friendship') or दोस्ती होना (dostii honaa, 'friendship to happen/exist') -- learners sometimes try to force दोस्त बनाना (dost banaanaa) into contexts where दोस्ती करना (dostii karnaa) is the natural collocation.
Sample Sentences:
हमारी दोस्ती बचपन से है। Our friendship goes back to childhood.
(hamaarii dostii bachpan se hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
उन दोनों की दोस्ती पक्की है। Those two have a solid friendship.
(un donon kii dostii pakkii hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
क्या तुम्हें उससे दोस्ती करनी चाहिए? Should you really be making friends with him?
(kyaa tumhen usse dostii karnii chaahie?)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
अगर तुम झूठ न बोलते तो हमारी दोस्ती कभी न टूटती। If you hadn't lied, our friendship would never have broken.
(agar tum jhooth n bolte to hamaarii dostii kabhii n toottii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
उसने बड़ी मुश्किल से यह दोस्ती निभाई। She kept up this friendship with great difficulty.
(usne badii mushkil se yah dostii nibhaaii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
यह दोस्ती और यारी का किस्सा सालों पुराना है। This tale of friendship and camaraderie is years old.
(yah dostii aur yaarii kaa kissaa saalon puraanaa hai।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
उम्मीद है यह दोस्ती हमेशा बनी रहे। I hope this friendship lasts forever.
(ummiid hai yah dostii hameshaa banii rahe।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Active
स्कूल में हर दिन नई दोस्तियाँ बनती हैं। New friendships form every day at school.
(skool men har din naii dostiyaan bantii hain।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
पैसों के लालच में उसने अपनी दोस्ती बेच दी। He sold his friendship for greed of money.
(paison ke laalach men usne apnii dostii bech dii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
उनकी दोस्ती का जिक्र गाँव में आज भी किया जाता है। Their friendship is still talked about in the village today.
(unkii dostii kaa jikr gaanv men aaj bhii kiyaa jaataa hai।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
इतने सालों बाद भी हमारी दोस्ती में कोई कमी नहीं आई। Even after so many years, our friendship hasn't weakened at all.
(itne saalon baad bhii hamaarii dostii men koii kamii nahiin aaii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct): दोस्ती (dostii)
(sg.f.oblique): दोस्ती (dostii)
(pl.f.direct): दोस्तियाँ (dostiyaan)
(pl.f.oblique): दोस्तियों (dostiyon)