मूँछ (moonchh)
noun
A body-part noun meaning 'mustache'; almost always seen in the plural मूँछें (moonchhen) since a mustache has two sides, and it anchors a whole family of idioms about male pride and honor.
Sense
1
:
mustache (facial hair)
noun, feminine
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: In North India a mustache is tied up with masculine pride and honor -- you'll hear men say उसने मेरी मूँछ का बाल उखाड़ लिया (usne merii moonchh kaa baal ukhaad liyaa, 'he plucked a hair from my mustache') to mean someone insulted or defied them, and मूँछ ऊँची होना (moonchh oonchii honaa) or मूँछ नीची होना (moonchh niichii honaa) map directly to one's honor rising or falling. A hearty, twirled mustache (twirling gesture: मूँछों पर ताव देना (moonchhon par taav denaa)) is a classic swagger move in Haryanvi and Punjabi culture, often shown in films to signal a proud, confident man.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often use the singular मूँछ (moonchh) where a native speaker would default to the plural मूँछें (moonchhen) to describe someone's mustache, since both sides are usually referenced together. 2) Growing a mustache is usually expressed with रखना (rakhnaa) -- मूँछ रखना (moonchh rakhnaa, 'to keep/grow a mustache') -- not with a verb like 'grow' translated literally.
Sample Sentences:
उसकी मूँछ बहुत घनी है।
His mustache is very thick.
(uskii moonchh bahut ghanii hai।)
गाँव में जवान लड़के मूँछें रखना पसंद करते हैं।
Young men in the village like to keep a mustache.
(gaanv men javaan ladke moonchhen rakhnaa pasand karte hain।)
उसने मेरी मूँछ का बाल उखाड़ लिया, अब मैं उसे नहीं छोड़ूँगा।
He plucked a hair from my mustache -- now I won't let him get away with it.
(usne merii moonchh kaa baal ukhaad liyaa, ab main use nahiin chhodoongaa।)
बुढ़ापे में उसकी मूँछ सफ़ेद हो गई थी।
In his old age his mustache had turned white.
(budhaape men uskii moonchh safed ho gaii thii।)
यह लड़ाई जीतकर हमारी मूँछ ऊँची हो जाएगी।
By winning this fight our honor will be held high.
(yah ladaaii jiitkar hamaarii moonchh oonchii ho jaaegii।)
अगर वह हार जाता तो उसकी मूँछ नीची हो जाती।
If he had lost, his honor would have been brought low.
(agar vah haar jaataa to uskii moonchh niichii ho jaatii।)
अपनी मूँछों पर ताव देते हुए वह मंच पर आया।
Twirling his mustache with a flourish, he came onto the stage.
(apnii moonchhon par taav dete hue vah manch par aayaa।)
बाबा जी, अपनी मूँछें ज़रा कतरवा लीजिए, बहुत बढ़ गई हैं।
Sir, please get your mustache trimmed a bit, it has grown too long.
(baabaa jii, apnii moonchhen zaraa katarvaa liijie, bahut badh gaii hain।)
नाई ने उसकी मूँछ बड़ी सफ़ाई से बनाई।
The barber shaped his mustache very neatly.
(naaii ne uskii moonchh badii safaaii se banaaii।)
क्या फ़िल्म के हीरो की मूँछ नकली थी?
Was the film hero's mustache fake?
(kyaa film ke hiiro kii moonchh naklii thii?)
पुलिस अफ़सर की घनी मूँछों से उसका रौब झलकता था।
The police officer's thick mustache reflected his authority.
(pulis afsar kii ghanii moonchhon se uskaa raub jhalaktaa thaa।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct):
मूँछ
(moonchh)
(sg.f.oblique):
मूँछ
(moonchh)
(pl.f.direct):
मूँछें
(moonchhen)
(pl.f.oblique):
मूँछों
(moonchhon)