हफ़्ता (haftaa)
noun
Means 'week' as a unit of time; also has a well-known colloquial extension meaning a regular bribe or protection-money payment ('haftaa vasuulii'). Also spelled हफ्ता (haphtaa) without the nuqta.
Sense
1
:
week
noun, masculine
Synonyms: सप्ताह (saptaah, formal)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is your everyday word for 'week' -- you will hear it constantly in things like 'हफ़्ते में दो बार' (hafte men do baar, 'twice a week') or 'पिछले हफ़्ते' (pichhle hafte, 'last week'). सप्ताह (saptaah) exists and is common in the news or on calendars, but in the bazaar or at home, हफ़्ता (haftaa) is king.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for सप्ताह (saptaah) by default because it looks more 'textbook,' but हफ़्ता (haftaa) is what people actually say in daily conversation -- 'इस हफ़्ते' (is hafte, 'this week') is far more natural than 'इस सप्ताह' in casual speech. 2) The oblique form हफ़्ते (hafte) is used with postpositions like में (men) and से (se) -- learners sometimes leave it unchanged as हफ़्ता (haftaa) in these phrases.
Sample Sentences:
मैं हर हफ़्ते अपनी दादी से मिलने जाता हूँ।
I go to meet my grandmother every week.
(main har hafte apnii daadii se milne jaataa hoon।)
पिछले हफ़्ते बहुत बारिश हुई थी।
It rained a lot last week.
(pichhle hafte bahut baarish huii thii।)
अगले हफ़्ते हम गोवा घूमने जाएँगे।
Next week we will go to Goa for a trip.
(agle hafte ham govaa ghoomne jaaenge।)
क्या तुम इस हफ़्ते फ्री हो?
Are you free this week?
(kyaa tum is hafte phrii ho?)
वह हफ़्ते में दो बार जिम जाती है।
She goes to the gym twice a week.
(vah hafte men do baar jim jaatii hai।)
कृपया रिपोर्ट अगले हफ़्ते तक जमा कर दीजिए।
Please submit the report by next week.
(kripyaa riport agle hafte tak jamaa kar diijie।)
अगर मुझे एक और हफ़्ता मिलता, तो मैं काम पूरा कर लेता।
If I had gotten one more week, I would have finished the work.
(agar mujhe ek aur haftaa miltaa, to main kaam pooraa kar letaa।)
इस हफ़्ते ऑफिस में बहुत काम था।
There was a lot of work at the office this week.
(is hafte ophis men bahut kaam thaa।)
यह प्रोजेक्ट दो हफ़्तों में पूरा हो जाना चाहिए।
This project should be completed within two weeks.
(yah projekt do hafton men pooraa ho jaanaa chaahie।)
शायद हफ़्ते भर में मौसम बदल जाए।
Perhaps the weather will change within a week.
(shaayad hafte bhar men mausam badal jaae।)
पूरे हफ़्ते वह बीमार रहा।
He was sick for the entire week.
(poore hafte vah biimaar rahaa।)
Sense
2
:
weekly bribe / protection money
noun, masculine Almost always appears in the fixed phrase हफ़्ता वसूलना (haftaa vasoolnaa, 'to collect protection money') or हफ़्ता देना (haftaa denaa, 'to pay off/pay protection money').
Synonyms: रंगदारी (rangdaarii, colloquial/underworld term)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This sense comes straight from the world of Bollywood gangster films and real news reports about local dadas (thugs) or police 'collecting हफ़्ता (haftaa)' from shopkeepers every week -- hence the name, since such payments were traditionally made on a weekly cycle. It carries a strong whiff of corruption and the underworld, so use it knowingly.
Common Mistakes: 1) This sense is easy to miss entirely -- a learner hearing 'दुकानदार हफ़्ता देता है' (dukaandaar haftaa detaa hai, 'the shopkeeper pays off [someone]') might wrongly assume it just means 'the shopkeeper pays [something] weekly' rather than understanding it as a bribe to local goons or corrupt police.
Sample Sentences:
यहाँ हर दुकानदार को पुलिस को हफ़्ता देना पड़ता है।
Here every shopkeeper has to pay protection money to the police.
(yahaan har dukaandaar ko pulis ko haftaa denaa padtaa hai।)
वह इलाका उस गैंग का हफ़्ता वसूलने वाला आदमी है।
That guy is the one who collects protection money for the gang in this area.
(vah ilaakaa us gaing kaa haftaa vasoolne vaalaa aadmii hai।)
जब तक हफ़्ता नहीं मिला, दुकान का शटर नहीं खुलेगा।
Until the protection money is paid, the shop's shutter won't open.
(jab tak haftaa nahiin milaa, dukaan kaa shatar nahiin khulegaa।)
पिछले हफ़्ते उसने हफ़्ता देने से इनकार कर दिया था, इसलिए उसकी दुकान जला दी गई।
Last week he refused to pay the protection money, so his shop was burned down.
(pichhle hafte usne haftaa dene se inkaar kar diyaa thaa, islie uskii dukaan jalaa dii gaii।)
अगर पुलिस वाले हफ़्ता न वसूलते, तो शहर में इतना भ्रष्टाचार न होता।
If the police didn't collect protection money, there wouldn't be so much corruption in the city.
(agar pulis vaale haftaa n vasoolte, to shahar men itnaa bhrashtaachaar n hotaa।)
फिल्म में विलेन हर हफ़्ते बाज़ार से हफ़्ता इकट्ठा करता हुआ दिखाया गया है।
In the film, the villain is shown collecting protection money from the market every week.
(philm men vilen har hafte baazaar se haftaa ikatthaa kartaa huaa dikhaayaa gayaa hai।)
क्या तुमने कभी सुना है कि यह हफ़्ता किसे जाता है?
Have you ever heard who this protection money goes to?
(kyaa tumne kabhii sunaa hai ki yah haftaa kise jaataa hai?)
हफ़्ता मत दो, वरना यह सिलसिला कभी नहीं रुकेगा।
Don't pay the protection money, or this cycle will never stop.
(haftaa mat do, varnaa yah silsilaa kabhii nahiin rukegaa।)
संवाददाता ने खुलासा किया कि थाने के हर सिपाही को महीने के अंत में हफ़्ते का हिस्सा मिलता था।
The reporter revealed that every constable at the station used to get a share of the protection money at the end of the month.
(sanvaaddaataa ne khulaasaa kiyaa ki thaane ke har sipaahii ko mahiine ke ant men hafte kaa hissaa miltaa thaa।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
हफ़्ता
(haftaa)
(sg.m.oblique):
हफ़्ता
(haftaa)
(pl.m.direct):
हफ़्ता
(haftaa)
(pl.m.oblique):
हफ़्ताओं
(haftaaon)