बीड़ी (biidii)

noun A small, hand-rolled, inexpensive cigarette made of tobacco wrapped in a tendu leaf; a single everyday noun sense.
Sense 1 : a thin, hand-rolled tobacco leaf-cigarette
noun, feminine
Synonyms: सिगरेट (sigret, different item, factory-made cigarette, often confused but not a synonym)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: बीड़ी (biidii) is strongly associated with working-class life in India -- roadside tea stalls, truck drivers, laborers on a break -- and carries a very different social color from सिगरेट (sigret), which reads as more urban or middle-class. You will often see it sold as single sticks (not a full pack) at a पान (paan) or cigarette-and-paan corner shop.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes use बीड़ी (biidii) and सिगरेट (sigret) interchangeably, but they are physically and culturally distinct items -- a बीड़ी (biidii) is a cheap, leaf-wrapped roll, while सिगरेट (sigret) is factory-made with paper wrapping. 2) The verb typically used with it is पीना (piinaa, 'to drink/smoke'), following the same pattern as smoking any tobacco product in Hindi -- learners sometimes reach for a more literal 'burn' or 'have' verb instead.
Sample Sentences:
मजदूर चाय की दुकान पर बैठा बीड़ी पी रहा था। The laborer was sitting at the tea stall smoking a beedi.
(majdoor chaay kii dukaan par baithaa biidii pii rahaa thaa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
ट्रक ड्राइवर अक्सर रुककर एक बीड़ी सुलगाता है। Truck drivers often stop and light up a beedi.
(trak draaivar aksar rukkar ek biidii sulgaataa hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
पान वाले से एक बीड़ी दे देना। Ask the paan-seller to give me a beedi.
(paan vaale se ek biidii de denaa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
उसने बीड़ी नहीं, सिगरेट माँगी थी। He hadn't asked for a beedi, he'd asked for a cigarette.
(usne biidii nahiin, sigret maangii thii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
दुकान पर बीड़ियाँ इकट्ठी नहीं, अलग-अलग बेची जाती हैं। At the shop, beedis aren't sold together in packs, they're sold individually.
(dukaan par biidiyaan ikatthii nahiin, alag-alag bechii jaatii hain।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
अगर उसके पास पैसे होते तो वह बीड़ी की जगह सिगरेट पीता। If he had the money, he would smoke a cigarette instead of a beedi.
(agar uske paas paise hote to vah biidii kii jagah sigret piitaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
काश मैं बीड़ी पीना छोड़ पाता। I wish I could give up smoking beedis.
(kaash main biidii piinaa chhod paataa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Active
मजदूरों की जेब में अक्सर बीड़ी का बंडल दिख जाता है। You often spot a bundle of beedis in laborers' pockets.
(majdooron kii jeb men aksar biidii kaa bandal dikh jaataa hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
डॉक्टर ने कहा कि बीड़ी पीने से फेफड़ों को नुकसान होता है। The doctor said that smoking beedis damages the lungs.
(doktar ne kahaa ki biidii piine se phephdon ko nuksaan hotaa hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
गाँव के बूढ़े आज भी हुक्के की जगह बीड़ी पीते हैं। The old men in the village still smoke beedis instead of the hookah.
(gaanv ke boodhe aaj bhii hukke kii jagah biidii piite hain।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct): बीड़ी (biidii)
(sg.f.oblique): बीड़ी (biidii)
(pl.f.direct): बीड़ियाँ (biidiyaan)
(pl.f.oblique): बीड़ियों (biidiyon)