मज़ाक़ (mazaaq)
noun
A noun meaning 'joke' or 'fun,' central to a cluster of everyday expressions about joking around, teasing, or not being taken seriously. Also commonly spelled मज़ाक (mazaak) without the nuqta under क.
Sense
1
:
a joke; a funny remark
noun, masculine
Synonyms: चुटकुला (chutkulaa, a told/scripted joke), हँसी (hansii, laughter/fun, broader sense), ठिठोली (thitholii, playful teasing)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: मज़ाक़ करना (mazaaq karnaa) is one of the most useful social phrases in Hindi -- Delhi friend groups run on gentle ragging, and knowing how to say 'मैं तो मज़ाक़ कर रहा था' (main to mazaaq kar rahaa thaa, 'I was just joking') can smooth over a comment that landed wrong. The phrase क्या मज़ाक़ है! (kyaa mazaaq hai, 'what a joke!') is used exactly like English, to mock something absurd or unfair.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for चुटकुला (chutkulaa) for any joke, but चुटकुला (chutkulaa) is specifically a narrated/told joke (like a joke with a setup and punchline), while मज़ाक़ (mazaaq) covers a wider range including teasing remarks, pranks, and banter. 2) The common phrase मज़ाक़ करना (mazaaq karnaa, 'to joke/tease') takes से (se) for the person being teased -- मुझसे मज़ाक़ मत करो (mujhse mazaaq mat karo, 'don't joke with me') -- not को (ko), which trips learners used to marking the object of an action.
Sample Sentences:
उसने एक मज़ाक़ सुनाया और सब हँस पड़े।
He told a joke and everyone burst out laughing.
(usne ek mazaaq sunaayaa aur sab hans pade।)
मैं तो मज़ाक़ कर रहा था, बुरा मत मानो।
I was just joking, don't take it to heart.
(main to mazaaq kar rahaa thaa, buraa mat maano।)
यह मज़ाक़ मुझे बिल्कुल पसंद नहीं आया।
I did not like that joke at all.
(yah mazaaq mujhe bilkul pasand nahiin aayaa।)
वह हमेशा दफ़्तर में नए मज़ाक़ सुनाता है।
He always tells new jokes at the office.
(vah hameshaa daftar men nae mazaaq sunaataa hai।)
क्या मज़ाक़ है! तुमने मुझे बिना बताए टिकट कैंसिल कर दिया।
What a joke! You canceled my ticket without even telling me.
(kyaa mazaaq hai! tumne mujhe binaa bataae tikat kainsil kar diyaa।)
कृपया इस मीटिंग में कोई मज़ाक़ न करें, यह गंभीर विषय है।
Please don't crack any jokes in this meeting, it's a serious topic.
(kripyaa is miiting men koii mazaaq n karen, yah gambhiir vishay hai।)
अगर वह इतना बड़ा मज़ाक़ न करता तो सब खुश रहते।
If he hadn't made such a big joke, everyone would have stayed happy.
(agar vah itnaa badaa mazaaq n kartaa to sab khush rahte।)
शायद उसका मज़ाक़ किसी को अच्छा न लगा हो।
Perhaps someone didn't like his joke.
(shaayad uskaa mazaaq kisii ko achchhaa n lagaa ho।)
पार्टी में उसका मज़ाक़ सबकी ज़ुबान पर था।
At the party, his joke was on everyone's lips.
(paartii men uskaa mazaaq sabkii zubaan par thaa।)
वह मज़ाक़ इतना पुराना हो गया है कि अब कोई नहीं हँसता।
That joke has become so old that nobody laughs at it now.
(vah mazaaq itnaa puraanaa ho gayaa hai ki ab koii nahiin hanstaa।)
मंच पर सुनाया गया मज़ाक़ पूरे हॉल में गूंज उठा।
The joke told on stage echoed through the whole hall.
(manch par sunaayaa gayaa mazaaq poore hol men goonj uthaa।)
Sense
2
:
something not to be taken seriously; a trivial or laughable matter
noun, masculine Appears mainly in negative or rhetorical frames like यह कोई मज़ाक़ नहीं है (yah koii mazaaq nahiin hai, 'this is no joke/laughing matter') and क्या तुम्हें मेरी बात मज़ाक़ लगती है? (kyaa tumhen merii baat mazaaq lagtii hai, 'does what I said seem like a joke to you?').
Synonyms: खेल (khel, 'child's play,' figurative), हँसी-मज़ाक़ (hansii-mazaaq, lighthearted fun)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This sense shows up whenever someone wants to be taken seriously: यह कोई मज़ाक़ नहीं है (yah koii mazaaq nahiin hai, 'this is not a joke') is a stock line parents, bosses, and cops alike use to signal 'I mean business.'
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes miss that मज़ाक़ लगना (mazaaq lagnaa) uses a dative-subject construction (को + लगना (lagnaa)) to mean 'to seem/feel like a joke to someone' -- उसे यह मज़ाक़ लगा (use yah mazaaq lagaa, 'it seemed like a joke to him'), paralleling other लगना (lagnaa) constructions they already know.
Sample Sentences:
यह कोई मज़ाक़ नहीं है, समझे?
This is not a trifling matter, understood?
(yah koii mazaaq nahiin hai, samjhe?)
पुलिस अफ़सर ने कहा, "चोरी कोई मज़ाक़ नहीं है।"
The police officer said, "Theft is no laughing matter."
(pulis afsar ne kahaa, "chorii koii mazaaq nahiin hai।")
बच्चों, पढ़ाई कोई मज़ाक़ नहीं है, ध्यान से सुनो।
Children, studies are no trifling matter, listen carefully.
(bachchon, padhaaii koii mazaaq nahiin hai, dhyaan se suno।)
अगर तुम इसे मज़ाक़ समझते, तो इतना नुक़सान न होता।
If you had thought of it as a trivial matter, so much damage wouldn't have happened.
(agar tum ise mazaaq samajhte, to itnaa nuqsaan n hotaa।)
बॉस ने साफ़ कह दिया कि डेडलाइन कोई मज़ाक़ नहीं है।
The boss made it clear that the deadline is not something to take lightly.
(bos ne saaf kah diyaa ki dedlaain koii mazaaq nahiin hai।)
सेहत के मामले में लापरवाही करना मज़ाक़ नहीं होता।
Being careless when it comes to health is not a trivial matter.
(sehat ke maamle men laaparvaahii karnaa mazaaq nahiin hotaa।)
क्या तुम्हें लगता है कि यह सब मज़ाक़ है?
Do you think all this is a laughing matter?
(kyaa tumhen lagtaa hai ki yah sab mazaaq hai?)
अदालत में इस तरह की बातें मज़ाक़ नहीं समझी जाती।
Such statements are not treated as trivial matters in court.
(adaalat men is tarah kii baaten mazaaq nahiin samjhii jaatii।)
माँ बार-बार समझाती रहती थी कि परीक्षा कोई मज़ाक़ नहीं है।
Mother kept explaining again and again that the exam was not something to take lightly.
(maan baar-baar samjhaatii rahtii thii ki pariikshaa koii mazaaq nahiin hai।)
शायद उसे लगे कि नौकरी छोड़ना मज़ाक़ है, पर हक़ीक़त कुछ और है।
Perhaps he thinks quitting the job is a trivial matter, but reality is something else.
(shaayad use lage ki naukrii chhodnaa mazaaq hai, par haqiiqat kuchh aur hai।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
मज़ाक़
(mazaaq)
(sg.m.oblique):
मज़ाक़
(mazaaq)
(pl.m.direct):
मज़ाक़
(mazaaq)
(pl.m.oblique):
मज़ाक़ों
(mazaaqon)