ग़ुसलख़ाना (ghusalkhaanaa)
noun
A Persian-Urdu-origin word for 'bathroom,' built from ग़ुसल (ghusal, 'bathing/ablution') plus ख़ाना (khaanaa, 'room/house,' as in डाकख़ाना (daakkhaanaa, 'post office')). One straightforward sense: a room for bathing.
Sense
1
:
bathroom (room for bathing)
noun, masculine
Synonyms: नहाने का कमरा (nahaane kaa kamraa, everyday descriptive phrase), स्नानघर (snaanghar, formal/Sanskritic), बाथरूम (baathroom, very common in casual speech)
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: This word carries a distinctly Persian-Urdu flavor and shows up more in older households, Urdu literature, or formal/poetic registers than in casual everyday chatter, where बाथरूम (baathroom) has largely taken over in urban Delhi-NCR speech. It is a nice example of the -ख़ाना (khaanaa) suffix pattern, seen also in किताबख़ाना (kitaabkhaanaa, 'library/bookstore') and मुर्ग़ीख़ाना (murghiikhaanaa, 'chicken coop').
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes confuse this with शौचालय (shauchaalay) or टॉयलेट (toylet), which refer to the toilet specifically; ग़ुसलख़ाना (ghusalkhaanaa) technically means the bathing area, though in everyday speech the two spaces are often combined and people use the words loosely. 2) Do not drop the nuqta sounds when speaking -- ग़ (gh) and ख़ (kh) are distinct from ग (g) and ख (kh), though many speakers today pronounce them without the nuqta anyway.
Sample Sentences:
पुराने ज़माने में हर हवेली में एक अलग ग़ुसलख़ाना होता था।
In the old days, every mansion used to have a separate bathroom.
(puraane zamaane men har havelii men ek alag ghusalkhaanaa hotaa thaa।)
ग़ुसलख़ाने की खिड़की से बाग़ का नज़ारा दिखता था।
From the bathroom's window, a view of the garden used to be visible.
(ghusalkhaane kii khidkii se baagh kaa nazaaraa dikhtaa thaa।)
नवाब साहब का ग़ुसलख़ाना संगमरमर से बना हुआ था।
The nawab sahib's bathroom was built of marble.
(navaab saahab kaa ghusalkhaanaa sangmarmar se banaa huaa thaa।)
कहानी में नायिका ग़ुसलख़ाने में खड़ी अपने बालों को सुलझा रही थी।
In the story, the heroine stood in the bathroom, untangling her hair.
(kahaanii men naayikaa ghusalkhaane men khadii apne baalon ko suljhaa rahii thii।)
अगर हवेली में ग़ुसलख़ाना बड़ा होता, तो मेहमान वहीं ठहर जाते।
If the mansion's bathroom had been bigger, the guests would have stayed there.
(agar havelii men ghusalkhaanaa badaa hotaa, to mehmaan vahiin thahar jaate।)
उस उपन्यास में ग़ुसलख़ाने का वर्णन बड़े ठहराव से किया गया है।
In that novel, the bathroom is described with great deliberateness.
(us upanyaas men ghusalkhaane kaa varnan bade thahraav se kiyaa gayaa hai।)
दादी कहती हैं कि उनके ज़माने में ग़ुसलख़ाना घर से बाहर हुआ करता था।
Grandmother says that in her time, the bathroom used to be outside the house.
(daadii kahtii hain ki unke zamaane men ghusalkhaanaa ghar se baahar huaa kartaa thaa।)
कृपया ग़ुसलख़ाने में दिया जलाकर रख दें, अँधेरा है।
Please light a lamp and place it in the bathroom, it's dark.
(kripyaa ghusalkhaane men diyaa jalaakar rakh den, andheraa hai।)
शायद उस हवेली का ग़ुसलख़ाना अब भी वैसा ही हो।
Perhaps that mansion's bathroom is still just the same, even now.
(shaayad us havelii kaa ghusalkhaanaa ab bhii vaisaa hii ho।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
ग़ुसलख़ाना
(ghusalkhaanaa)
(sg.m.oblique):
ग़ुसलख़ाने
(ghusalkhaane)
(pl.m.direct):
ग़ुसलख़ाने
(ghusalkhaane)
(pl.m.oblique):
ग़ुसलख़ानों
(ghusalkhaanon)