यार (yaar)
noun/interjection
Primarily a warm, casual term for 'friend/buddy' used constantly among peers, but it also doubles as a filler exclamation of exasperation, emphasis, or camaraderie, and has an older literary sense of 'lover/beloved'.
Sense
1
:
close friend, buddy, pal
noun, masculine
Synonyms: दोस्त (dost), मित्र (mitr, formal), साथी (saathii, companion)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the word you hear on every Delhi street corner and college campus -- चलो यार, कहाँ हो यार (chalo yaar, kahaan ho yaar, 'come on yaar, where are you') -- it is the glue of casual friendship talk. It works almost like a verbal handshake among friends, signaling closeness without needing to say anything else.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often use यार (yaar) with strangers or elders out of a desire to sound friendly -- it is strictly for peers and close acquaintances, and using it with someone senior or unfamiliar can sound disrespectful or overly familiar. 2) It skews slightly more common among men in casual speech, though women use it freely too, especially in urban settings.
Sample Sentences:
वो मेरा सबसे पुराना यार है।
He is my oldest friend.
(vo meraa sabse puraanaa yaar hai।)
स्कूल के दिनों में हम दोनों पक्के यार थे।
Back in school days, the two of us were close buddies.
(skool ke dinon men ham donon pakke yaar the।)
मुसीबत में यार ही काम आते हैं।
It's friends who come through for you in trouble.
(musiibat men yaar hii kaam aate hain।)
यार, मुझसे मिलवाओ अपने नए दोस्त से।
Buddy, introduce me to your new friend.
(yaar, mujhse milvaao apne nae dost se।)
अगर तू सच में मेरा यार होता, तो कभी झूठ न बोलता।
If you were really my friend, you would never have lied.
(agar too sach men meraa yaar hotaa, to kabhii jhooth n boltaa।)
उसने अपने यार के लिए सब कुछ छोड़ दिया।
He gave up everything for his friend.
(usne apne yaar ke lie sab kuchh chhod diyaa।)
काश मेरा भी कोई ऐसा यार होता जो हर वक्त साथ दे।
I wish I too had a friend like that who stood by me all the time.
(kaash meraa bhii koii aisaa yaar hotaa jo har vakt saath de।)
उसके यारों ने पार्टी में उसकी खूब मदद की।
His friends helped him out a lot at the party.
(uske yaaron ne paartii men uskii khoob madad kii।)
यार होना आसान नहीं, निभाना और भी मुश्किल है।
Being a friend isn't easy, and staying loyal to it is even harder.
(yaar honaa aasaan nahiin, nibhaanaa aur bhii mushkil hai।)
मेरे सबसे करीबी यार आज कल दूसरे शहर में रहते हैं।
My closest friends live in another city these days.
(mere sabse kariibii yaar aaj kal doosre shahar men rahte hain।)
यारों के बीच पैसों का हिसाब कभी नहीं रखा जाता।
Between friends, money is never kept track of.
(yaaron ke biich paison kaa hisaab kabhii nahiin rakhaa jaataa।)
अरे यार, इतने सालों बाद भी तू वैसा ही यार निकला जैसा पहले था।
Oh man, even after all these years you turned out to be the same true friend you always were.
(are yaar, itne saalon baad bhii too vaisaa hii yaar niklaa jaisaa pahle thaa।)
Sense
2
:
filler expressing frustration, emphasis, or camaraderie
interjection Used tacked onto the end (or start) of a sentence purely for emotional color, without referring to any actual person being addressed.
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the Hindi equivalent of English 'man' or 'dude' used as a sigh -- ओह यार (oh yaar, 'oh man') when the metro is late, or यार, क्या करूँ (yaar, kyaa karoon, 'man, what do I do') when venting to no one in particular. It carries an intimate, informal register -- you would not use it in a formal complaint or with your boss.
Common Mistakes: 1) Because this use does not literally address a 'friend,' learners sometimes miss it when it's used with strangers in frustration, e.g. अरे यार, ये लाइन खत्म ही नहीं होती (are yaar, ye laain khatm hii nahiin hotii, 'ugh man, this line just won't end') -- here यार (yaar) is not calling the listener a friend at all, it is pure exasperation.
Sample Sentences:
ओह यार, मेट्रो फिर लेट है।
Oh man, the metro is late again.
(oh yaar, metro phir let hai।)
यार, क्या करूँ, कुछ समझ नहीं आ रहा।
Man, what do I do, I can't figure anything out.
(yaar, kyaa karoon, kuchh samajh nahiin aa rahaa।)
यार, जरा जल्दी कर, देर हो रही है।
Come on man, hurry up, we're getting late.
(yaar, jaraa jaldii kar, der ho rahii hai।)
यार, कल की मीटिंग बहुत बकवास थी।
Man, yesterday's meeting was total nonsense.
(yaar, kal kii miiting bahut bakvaas thii।)
यार, अगर ट्रैफिक न होता तो मैं समय पर पहुँच जाता।
Man, if there hadn't been traffic I would've arrived on time.
(yaar, agar traiphik n hotaa to main samay par pahunch jaataa।)
यार, ये गाना तो सुनते ही रह जाओगे।
Man, you'll just keep listening to this song, it's that good.
(yaar, ye gaanaa to sunte hii rah jaaoge।)
यार, इतना काम है कि सिर घूम रहा है।
Man, there's so much work that my head is spinning.
(yaar, itnaa kaam hai ki sir ghoom rahaa hai।)
यार, शायद कल बारिश हो जाए।
Man, maybe it'll rain tomorrow.
(yaar, shaayad kal baarish ho jaae।)
क्या बताऊँ यार, आज का दिन ही खराब था।
What can I even say man, today was just a bad day.
(kyaa bataaoon yaar, aaj kaa din hii kharaab thaa।)
यार, बस मुझसे और नहीं हो रहा।
Man, I just can't take it anymore.
(yaar, bas mujhse aur nahiin ho rahaa।)
अरे यार, मान भी जाओ, इतनी बड़ी बात नहीं है।
Come on man, just let it go, it's not that big a deal.
(are yaar, maan bhii jaao, itnii badii baat nahiin hai।)
Sense
3
:
lover, beloved (literary/poetic)
noun, masculine
Synonyms: प्रेमी (premii, m, lover), माशूक (maashook, literary), सजन (sajan, literary)
Frequency: literary
Cultural Note: This older sense survives mainly in Urdu-influenced poetry, ghazals, and old Bollywood songs, where यार (yaar) means 'beloved' rather than 'friend' -- a reminder that the everyday 'buddy' sense actually grew out of this romantic root.
Sample Sentences:
यार बिन जीवन सूना है।
Without the beloved, life is empty.
(yaar bin jiivan soonaa hai।)
यार की याद में रात कट गई।
The night passed in the memory of my beloved.
(yaar kii yaad men raat kat gaii।)
ऐ यार, तू कब लौटेगा?
O beloved, when will you return?
(ai yaar, too kab lautegaa?)
काश मेरा यार मेरे पास होता।
If only my beloved were near me.
(kaash meraa yaar mere paas hotaa।)
यार का दिल कभी दुखाना मत।
Never break your beloved's heart.
(yaar kaa dil kabhii dukhaanaa mat।)
शायर हर ग़ज़ल में अपने यार को याद करता है।
The poet remembers his beloved in every ghazal.
(shaayar har ghazal men apne yaar ko yaad kartaa hai।)
यार का पैगाम आते ही दिल खिल उठा।
As soon as the beloved's message arrived, my heart blossomed.
(yaar kaa paigaam aate hii dil khil uthaa।)
इस पुरानी फ़िल्म के गीत में नायिका अपने यार को पुकार रही है।
In this old film's song, the heroine is calling out to her beloved.
(is puraanii film ke giit men naayikaa apne yaar ko pukaar rahii hai।)
यार की एक झलक पाने को दिल तरसता है।
The heart yearns to catch just one glimpse of the beloved.
(yaar kii ek jhalak paane ko dil tarastaa hai।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
यार
(yaar)
(sg.m.oblique):
यार
(yaar)
(pl.m.direct):
यार
(yaar)
(pl.m.oblique):
यारों
(yaaron)