ज़ख़म (zakham)

noun A noun meaning 'wound' or 'injury', used both for physical injuries and, very commonly, in figurative/emotional contexts like heartbreak. Borrowed from Persian and extremely common in everyday speech, poetry, and film dialogue.

Sense 1 : physical wound, injury

noun, masculine

Synonyms: घाव (ghaav), चोट (chot)

Frequency: high

Cultural Note: Doctors and everyday speakers both use ज़ख़म (zakham) for anything from a kitchen knife cut to a battlefield injury; it sits between the clinical घाव (ghaav) and the very casual चोट (chot) in feel. The nuqta under the ज is standard in careful pronunciation and writing, reflecting its Persian origin.

Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for चोट (chot) in all contexts, but ज़ख़म (zakham) suggests a deeper or more serious wound (a cut, gash, or injury that breaks the skin) rather than a minor bump or bruise, for which चोट (chot) is more natural. 2) The verb often paired with this noun is लगना (lagnaa) -- ज़ख़म लगना (zakham lagnaa, 'to sustain a wound') -- rather than a direct transitive verb.

Sample Sentences:

उसके पैर में गहरा ज़ख़म है। There is a deep wound on his leg.

(uske pair men gahraa zakham hai।)

गिरने से उसके घुटने पर ज़ख़म हो गया। He got a wound on his knee from falling.

(girne se uske ghutne par zakham ho gayaa।)

डॉक्टर हर रोज़ ज़ख़म की सफ़ाई करते हैं। The doctor cleans the wound every day.

(doktar har roz zakham kii safaaii karte hain।)

ज़ख़म पर पट्टी बाँधो, वरना संक्रमण हो जाएगा। Bandage the wound, or else it will get infected.

(zakham par pattii baandho, varnaa sankrman ho jaaegaa।)

सिपाही के कंधे पर गोली का ज़ख़म था। The soldier had a bullet wound on his shoulder.

(sipaahii ke kandhe par golii kaa zakham thaa।)

अगर वह समय पर अस्पताल पहुँच जाता तो ज़ख़म इतना नहीं बिगड़ता। If he had reached the hospital on time, the wound wouldn't have worsened so much.

(agar vah samay par asptaal pahunch jaataa to zakham itnaa nahiin bigadtaa।)

ज़ख़म को खुला मत छोड़ो, इसे ढँक दो। Don't leave the wound open, cover it up.

(zakham ko khulaa mat chhodo, ise dhank do।)

हो सकता है कि ज़ख़म गहरा हो और टाँके लगाने पड़ें। It's possible that the wound is deep and stitches might be needed.

(ho saktaa hai ki zakham gahraa ho aur taanke lagaane paden।)

मरीज़ का ज़ख़म धीरे-धीरे भर रहा है। The patient's wound is slowly healing.

(mariiz kaa zakham dhiire-dhiire bhar rahaa hai।)

दुर्घटना में उसे कई ज़ख़म लगे थे। He had suffered several wounds in the accident.

(durghatnaa men use kaii zakham lage the।)

ऑपरेशन के बाद ज़ख़म पर टाँके लगाए गए। Stitches were put on the wound after the operation.

(opreshan ke baad zakham par taanke lagaae gae।)

छुरी से हाथ पर एक छोटा-सा ज़ख़म बन गया। A small wound formed on the hand from the knife.

(chhurii se haath par ek chhotaa-saa zakham ban gayaa।)

Sense 2 : emotional hurt, heartbreak

noun, masculine

Synonyms: घाव (ghaav), चोट (chot, often used for emotional hurt too), दर्द (dard, broader term for pain/hurt)

Frequency: high

Cultural Note: This is the sense that powers countless Hindi film songs and ghazals -- दिल के ज़ख़म (dil ke zakham, 'wounds of the heart') is a stock phrase for lost love or betrayal. Hindi, like Urdu poetry it draws from, treats emotional pain as a physical injury on the heart, so verbs like भरना (bharnaa, 'to heal/fill') and हरा होना (haraa honaa, 'to become fresh/raw again') are applied to this figurative wound just as to a real one.

Common Mistakes: 1) English speakers may underuse this word for emotional pain, defaulting to दर्द (dard); but ज़ख़म (zakham) is the standard poetic and everyday metaphor for heartbreak, e.g. दिल पर ज़ख़म (dil par zakham, 'a wound on the heart').

Sample Sentences:

उसकी बातों ने मेरे दिल पर गहरा ज़ख़म दिया। Her words gave my heart a deep wound.

(uskii baaton ne mere dil par gahraa zakham diyaa।)

दिल के ज़ख़म इतनी आसानी से नहीं भरते। Wounds of the heart don't heal that easily.

(dil ke zakham itnii aasaanii se nahiin bharte।)

उसका ज़िक्र सुनते ही पुराना ज़ख़म हरा हो गया। The moment I heard his name, the old wound became raw again.

(uskaa zikr sunte hii puraanaa zakham haraa ho gayaa।)

काश वो मेरे ज़ख़मों को समझ पाता। If only he could have understood my wounds.

(kaash vo mere zakhmon ko samajh paataa।)

समय के साथ शायद ये ज़ख़म भी भर जाए। Maybe with time, this wound too will heal.

(samay ke saath shaayad ye zakham bhii bhar jaae।)

अपने ज़ख़मों को किसी के सामने मत खोलो। Don't lay your wounds bare in front of anyone.

(apne zakhmon ko kisii ke saamne mat kholo।)

इस गाने के हर बोल से मेरे ज़ख़म ताज़ा हो जाते हैं। Every line of this song makes my wounds fresh again.

(is gaane ke har bol se mere zakham taazaa ho jaate hain।)

उसके इस तरह जाने से जो ज़ख़म मिला है, वो शायद कभी न भरे। The wound I got from him leaving like that might never heal.

(uske is tarah jaane se jo zakham milaa hai, vo shaayad kabhii n bhare।)

मैं महीनों तक अपने ज़ख़मों से जूझती रही। For months I kept struggling with my wounds.

(main mahiinon tak apne zakhmon se joojhtii rahii।)

इस ग़ज़ल में शायर के दिल के ज़ख़म हर शेर में झलकते हैं। In this ghazal, the poet's wounds of the heart show through in every couplet.

(is ghazal men shaayar ke dil ke zakham har sher men jhalakte hain।)

अगर वो सच बता देता तो मुझे इतना बड़ा ज़ख़म न मिलता। If he had told the truth, I wouldn't have gotten such a big wound.

(agar vo sach bataa detaa to mujhe itnaa badaa zakham n miltaa।)

Morphology

Noun

(sg.m.direct): ज़ख़म (zakham)

(sg.m.oblique): ज़ख़म (zakham)

(pl.m.direct): ज़ख़म (zakham)

(pl.m.oblique): ज़ख़मों (zakhmon)