मकान (makaan)

noun A concrete, physical building or house -- the structure itself, as opposed to the warmer, more emotionally loaded घर (ghar) which means 'home'.
Sense 1 : house, building (as physical structure/property)
noun, masculine
Synonyms: घर (ghar, broader, means 'home' too), भवन (bhavan, formal), इमारत (imaarat, usually larger/multi-storey building)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will see this word everywhere in Delhi-NCR on hand-painted signs: मकान किराए के लिए (makaan kiraae ke lie, 'house for rent') pasted on gates and walls. It is the word of landlords, brokers, and property papers -- brick-and-mortar talk -- while घर (ghar) is the word of family and belonging, even if both point to the same building.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often use मकान (makaan) and घर (ghar) interchangeably, but मकान (makaan) refers to the physical property or building -- you'd use it when talking about buying, renting, or building a house -- while घर (ghar) is used for 'home' in the emotional/family sense, like मैं घर जा रहा हूँ (main ghar jaa rahaa hoon, 'I am going home'), not मैं मकान जा रहा हूँ. 2) In real estate contexts (rent, sale, construction) मकान (makaan) is the natural word; using घर (ghar) there sounds a bit imprecise, though not wrong.
Sample Sentences:
यह मकान किराए के लिए है। This house is for rent.
(yah makaan kiraae ke lie hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
मकान की छत टपक रही है। The house's roof is leaking.
(makaan kii chhat tapak rahii hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
उन्होंने पिछले साल एक नया मकान बनवाया। They had a new house built last year.
(unhonne pichhle saal ek nayaa makaan banvaayaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
यह मकान दो साल पहले बेचा गया था। This house was sold two years ago.
(yah makaan do saal pahle bechaa gayaa thaa।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Passive
अगर मेरे पास पैसे होते तो मैं यह मकान खरीद लेता। If I had the money, I would buy this house.
(agar mere paas paise hote to main yah makaan khariid letaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Perfective -- Voice: Active
कृपया मकान का नक्शा दिखा दीजिए। Please show me the house's floor plan.
(kripyaa makaan kaa nakshaa dikhaa diijie।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
गली के कोने वाला मकान बहुत पुराना है। The house at the corner of the lane is very old.
(galii ke kone vaalaa makaan bahut puraanaa hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
मकान की रजिस्ट्री कराने में महीनों लग जाते हैं। Getting a house's registry done takes months.
(makaan kii rajistrii karaane men mahiinon lag jaate hain।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
ब्रोकर ने कहा कि यह मकान किश्तों पर भी मिल सकता है। The broker said this house can also be gotten on installments.
(brokar ne kahaa ki yah makaan kishton par bhii mil saktaa hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
मकान मालिक ने किराया बढ़ा दिया है। The house-owner has raised the rent.
(makaan maalik ne kiraayaa badhaa diyaa hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
काश हमारा भी अपना मकान होता। If only we too had our own house.
(kaash hamaaraa bhii apnaa makaan hotaa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct): मकान (makaan)
(sg.m.oblique): मकान (makaan)
(pl.m.direct): मकान (makaan)
(pl.m.oblique): मकानों (makaanon)