गज़ (gaz)
noun
A unit of length (roughly a yard, used in cloth and land measurement) and, separately, the word for the elephant in some poetic/formal registers. The two are unrelated in origin and meaning.
Sense
1
:
unit of length (yard)
noun, masculine
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Ask for cloth in a Delhi market and the tailor or shopkeeper will still often quote in गज़ (gaz) rather than meters, especially for things like pardaa fabric or sari lengths -- it is a unit that has outlived the official switch to the metric system. You will also meet it in older land-deed language, where plot sizes are sometimes given in square gaz.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners assume गज़ (gaz) is metric and equals a meter -- it is closer to a yard (about 0.9 meters), a holdover from British-era measurement still used by cloth sellers and in older property documents. 2) In everyday shopping for fabric, you will hear सवा गज़ (savaa gaz, 'one and a quarter yards') and डेढ़ गज़ (dedh gaz, 'one and a half yards') as fixed quantity phrases, not built compositionally.
Sample Sentences:
मुझे इस कपड़े के तीन गज़ चाहिए।
I need three yards of this cloth.
(mujhe is kapde ke tiin gaz chaahie।)
दुकानदार ने पर्दे के कपड़े के दाम गज़ में बताए।
The shopkeeper quoted the price of the curtain fabric in yards.
(dukaandaar ne parde ke kapde ke daam gaz men bataae।)
साड़ी बुनने में कितने गज़ रेशम लगता है?
How many yards of silk does it take to weave a sari?
(saadii bunne men kitne gaz resham lagtaa hai?)
उस पुराने दस्तावेज़ में प्लॉट का क्षेत्रफल वर्ग गज़ में दर्ज है।
In that old document, the plot's area is recorded in square yards.
(us puraane dastaavez men plot kaa kshetrphal varg gaz men darj hai।)
कारीगर, इसे ठीक दो गज़ काट देना।
Craftsman, cut it exactly two yards, please.
(kaariigar, ise thiik do gaz kaat denaa।)
अगर मीटर की बजाय गज़ में नापा जाता, तो हिसाब आसान होता।
If it had been measured in yards instead of meters, the calculation would have been easier.
(agar miitar kii bajaay gaz men naapaa jaataa, to hisaab aasaan hotaa।)
पुराने ज़माने में ज़मीन अक्सर गज़ में ही बेची जाती थी।
In the old days, land used to be sold mostly in yards.
(puraane zamaane men zamiin aksar gaz men hii bechii jaatii thii।)
दर्ज़ी ने नाप लेते हुए कहा कि साढ़े चार गज़ कपड़ा और मंगवा लो।
While taking the measurements, the tailor said to order four and a half more yards of cloth.
(darzii ne naap lete hue kahaa ki saadhe chaar gaz kapdaa aur mangvaa lo।)
क्या तुम बता सकते हो कि इस मेज़ की लंबाई कितने गज़ है?
Can you tell me how many yards long this table is?
(kyaa tum bataa sakte ho ki is mez kii lambaaii kitne gaz hai?)
रजिस्ट्री दफ़्तर में हर प्लॉट का नाप वर्ग गज़ में लिखा जाता है।
At the registry office, every plot's measurement is written in square yards.
(rajistrii daftar men har plot kaa naap varg gaz men likhaa jaataa hai।)
Sense
2
:
elephant (literary/poetic)
noun, masculine
Synonyms: हाथी (haathii), हस्ती (hastii, literary)
Frequency: literary
Cultural Note: This sense of गज़ (gaz) comes from Sanskrit gaja and survives mainly in formal or literary contexts -- compound names, place names, or old-style writing -- rather than in everyday conversation, where हाथी (haathii) is what people actually say.
Sample Sentences:
प्राचीन काव्य में गज़ को शक्ति और गरिमा का प्रतीक माना गया है।
In ancient poetry, the elephant is regarded as a symbol of power and dignity.
(praachiin kaavy men gaz ko shakti aur garimaa kaa pratiik maanaa gayaa hai।)
राजा का गज़ युद्धभूमि की ओर मंद गति से बढ़ चला।
The king's elephant advanced slowly toward the battlefield.
(raajaa kaa gaz yuddhbhoomi kii or mand gati se badh chalaa।)
गज़राज वन में गर्जना करते हुए विचरण करता था।
The lord of elephants used to roam the forest, roaring.
(gazraaj van men garjnaa karte hue vichran kartaa thaa।)
यदि गज़ यहाँ होता, तो यह वन कंपायमान हो जाता।
If the elephant were here, this forest would tremble.
(yadi gaz yahaan hotaa, to yah van kampaaymaan ho jaataa।)
हे गज़, तुम इस साम्राज्य की शक्ति के प्रतीक हो।
O elephant, you are the symbol of this empire's might.
(he gaz, tum is saamraajy kii shakti ke pratiik ho।)
कवि ने गज़ की तुलना पर्वत से की।
The poet compared the elephant to a mountain.
(kavi ne gaz kii tulnaa parvat se kii।)
काश गज़ फिर से इन गलियारों में गूँजे।
If only the elephant's trumpet would echo through these corridors again.
(kaash gaz phir se in galiyaaron men goonje।)
गज़ को देवता गणेश के वाहन के रूप में भी दर्शाया जाता है।
The elephant is also depicted as the vehicle of the god Ganesha.
(gaz ko devtaa ganesh ke vaahan ke roop men bhii darshaayaa jaataa hai।)
गज़ों की सेना लेकर सम्राट आगे बढ़े।
Leading an army of elephants, the emperor advanced.
(gazon kii senaa lekar samraat aage badhe।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
गज़
(gaz)
(sg.m.oblique):
गज़
(gaz)
(pl.m.direct):
गज़
(gaz)
(pl.m.oblique):
गज़ों
(gazon)