तकलीफ़ (takliif)
noun
A common everyday word covering physical pain/illness, trouble or inconvenience, and (in polite requests) the effort someone takes on your behalf; all three senses share the same noun.
Sense
1
:
pain, ailment, physical discomfort
noun, feminine
Synonyms: दर्द (dard), पीड़ा (piidaa, literary), कष्ट (kasht)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: When someone asks आपको क्या तकलीफ़ है (aapko kyaa takliif hai, 'what seems to be the problem'), it's the standard phrase a doctor uses to ask a patient what's wrong -- much gentler and vaguer than naming a specific dard (dard).
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for दर्द (dard) only, but तकलीफ़ (takliif) is broader and can describe a vague ailment or discomfort, not just sharp physical pain. 2) With this sense, the pattern is X को तकलीफ़ है/होना (X ko takliif hai, 'X has some ailment') -- the sufferer is marked with को (ko), not the subject of a normal transitive sentence.
Sample Sentences:
आपको क्या तकलीफ़ है?
What seems to be the problem?
(aapko kyaa takliif hai?)
मुझे पेट में तकलीफ़ हो रही है।
I'm having pain in my stomach.
(mujhe pet men takliif ho rahii hai।)
उसे कमर में बहुत तकलीफ़ रहती है।
She has a lot of pain in her back all the time.
(use kamar men bahut takliif rahtii hai।)
रात भर उसकी तकलीफ़ बढ़ती रही।
Her pain kept increasing all night long.
(raat bhar uskii takliif badhtii rahii।)
डॉक्टर ने पूछा कि तकलीफ़ कब से है।
The doctor asked since when the pain has been there.
(doktar ne poochhaa ki takliif kab se hai।)
दवा लेने के बाद तकलीफ़ कम हो जाएगी।
The pain will lessen after taking the medicine.
(davaa lene ke baad takliif kam ho jaaegii।)
अगर वक़्त पर दवा ले लेते तो इतनी तकलीफ़ न होती।
If he had taken the medicine on time, there wouldn't have been so much pain.
(agar vaqt par davaa le lete to itnii takliif n hotii।)
अगर तकलीफ़ बढ़े तो फ़ौरन डॉक्टर के पास जाना।
If the pain increases, go to the doctor at once.
(agar takliif badhe to fauran doktar ke paas jaanaa।)
मरीज़ की तकलीफ़ को हल्के में नहीं लिया जाना चाहिए।
The patient's pain should not be taken lightly.
(mariiz kii takliif ko halke men nahiin liyaa jaanaa chaahie।)
बुढ़ापे में जोड़ों की तकलीफ़ आम बात है।
Joint pain is a common thing in old age.
(budhaape men jodon kii takliif aam baat hai।)
इतनी तकलीफ़ में भी वह मुस्कुरा रहा था।
Even in so much pain, he was smiling.
(itnii takliif men bhii vah muskuraa rahaa thaa।)
Sense
2
:
trouble, inconvenience, difficulty
noun, feminine
Synonyms: परेशानी (pareshaanii), मुश्किल (mushkil), दिक्कत (dikkat)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the sense behind the very common host's line तकलीफ़ मत करो (takliif mat karo, 'don't go to any trouble') -- said when a guest is being fussed over with tea and snacks, echoing the polite-effort sense below.
Common Mistakes: 1) तकलीफ़ होना (takliif honaa) is used for a general hardship or inconvenience someone faces, while तकलीफ़ देना (takliif denaa) means to cause someone trouble -- learners sometimes mix up which verb goes with which direction of the trouble.
Sample Sentences:
तकलीफ़ मत करो, मैं खुद चाय बना लूँगा।
Don't go to any trouble, I'll make the tea myself.
(takliif mat karo, main khud chaay banaa loongaa।)
इस रास्ते में बहुत तकलीफ़ होती है, सड़कें टूटी हुई हैं।
There's a lot of trouble on this route, the roads are broken.
(is raaste men bahut takliif hotii hai, sadken tootii huii hain।)
बारिश की वजह से हमें रास्ते में बहुत तकलीफ़ हुई।
Because of the rain, we had a lot of trouble on the way.
(baarish kii vajah se hamen raaste men bahut takliif huii।)
अगर बिजली चली गई तो बहुत तकलीफ़ होगी।
If the power goes out, it'll be a lot of trouble.
(agar bijlii chalii gaii to bahut takliif hogii।)
यह काम बिना किसी तकलीफ़ के हो जाना चाहिए।
This work should get done without any trouble.
(yah kaam binaa kisii takliif ke ho jaanaa chaahie।)
अगर कागज़ात पहले से तैयार होते तो इतनी तकलीफ़ नहीं होती।
If the papers had been ready beforehand, there wouldn't have been so much trouble.
(agar kaagzaat pahle se taiyaar hote to itnii takliif nahiin hotii।)
अनावश्यक तकलीफ़ से बचने के लिए कृपया सभी दस्तावेज़ साथ लाएँ।
To avoid unnecessary trouble, please bring all documents with you.
(anaavashyak takliif se bachne ke lie kripyaa sabhii dastaavez saath laaen।)
इतनी तकलीफ़ उठाने की क्या ज़रूरत थी, आप फ़ोन कर देते।
What was the need to go through so much trouble, you could have just called.
(itnii takliif uthaane kii kyaa zaroorat thii, aap fon kar dete।)
यात्रियों को टिकट बदलने में काफ़ी तकलीफ़ झेलनी पड़ी।
The passengers had to endure quite a bit of trouble in changing their tickets.
(yaatriyon ko tikat badalne men kaafii takliif jhelnii padii।)
इस योजना से गरीबों की तकलीफ़ें कम हो जाएँगी।
This scheme will reduce the troubles of the poor.
(is yojnaa se gariibon kii takliifen kam ho jaaengii।)
काश हमें इतनी तकलीफ़ न उठानी पड़ती।
I wish we hadn't had to go through so much trouble.
(kaash hamen itnii takliif n uthaanii padtii।)
Sense
3
:
the bother/effort someone takes on your behalf (in polite requests)
noun, feminine Commonly appears in the polite frame तकलीफ़ करना/देना (takliif karnaa, 'to go to the trouble of...') when asking someone to do something for you, or apologizing for having caused them effort.
Synonyms: ज़हमत (zahmat, formal), कष्ट (kasht, formal)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is classic Delhi hospitality-speak: a guest might say तकलीफ़ मत लीजिए (takliif mat liijie, 'please don't trouble yourself') while the host is already busy laying out food -- it's a ritual politeness exchange, not usually meant to be taken literally.
Common Mistakes: 1) माफ़ करना, तकलीफ़ हुई (maaf karnaa, takliif huii, 'sorry for the trouble') is a fixed apologetic phrase; learners sometimes construct something more literal and stiff instead of using this natural set phrase.
Sample Sentences:
अरे, आप क्यों तकलीफ़ कर रहे हैं, मैं खुद ले लेता।
Oh, why are you going through the trouble, I would have taken it myself.
(are, aap kyon takliif kar rahe hain, main khud le letaa।)
तकलीफ़ मत लीजिए, हम खाना खुद निकाल लेंगे।
Please don't trouble yourself, we'll serve the food ourselves.
(takliif mat liijie, ham khaanaa khud nikaal lenge।)
इतनी तकलीफ़ उठाने की क्या ज़रूरत थी, आप फ़ोन कर देते।
What was the need to go to so much trouble, you could have just called.
(itnii takliif uthaane kii kyaa zaroorat thii, aap fon kar dete।)
मेहमान बार-बार कह रहे थे कि हमें कोई तकलीफ़ मत दीजिए, पर मेज़बान कहाँ मानने वाले थे।
The guests kept saying, please don't go to any trouble for us, but the hosts were not the type to listen.
(mehmaan baar-baar kah rahe the ki hamen koii takliif mat diijie, par mezbaan kahaan maanne vaale the।)
अगर आपको तकलीफ़ न हो तो क्या आप मुझे स्टेशन तक छोड़ सकते हैं?
If it's not too much trouble, could you drop me off at the station?
(agar aapko takliif n ho to kyaa aap mujhe steshan tak chhod sakte hain?)
आपने हमारे लिए इतनी तकलीफ़ उठाई, हमें बहुत शर्मिंदगी हो रही है।
You went through so much trouble for us, we feel quite embarrassed.
(aapne hamaare lie itnii takliif uthaaii, hamen bahut sharmindgii ho rahii hai।)
यह तकलीफ़ आपको उठानी नहीं चाहिए थी, हम आ ही जाते।
You shouldn't have taken this trouble, we would have come over anyway.
(yah takliif aapko uthaanii nahiin chaahie thii, ham aa hii jaate।)
चाय के लिए कोई तकलीफ़ न करें, हम अभी निकल रहे हैं।
Please don't go to any trouble for tea, we're leaving right now.
(chaay ke lie koii takliif n karen, ham abhii nikal rahe hain।)
इतनी तकलीफ़ किसलिए, बस एक कप चाय काफ़ी थी।
Why so much trouble, just a cup of tea would have been enough.
(itnii takliif kislie, bas ek kap chaay kaafii thii।)
मेज़बान की तकलीफ़ें देखकर मेहमान को भी झिझक होने लगती है।
Seeing the host's trouble on their behalf, even the guest starts to feel a bit awkward.
(mezbaan kii takliifen dekhkar mehmaan ko bhii jhijhak hone lagtii hai।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct):
तकलीफ़
(takliif)
(sg.f.oblique):
तकलीफ़
(takliif)
(pl.f.direct):
तकलीफ़ें
(takliifen)
(pl.f.oblique):
तकलीफ़ों
(takliifon)