इश्तहार (ishtahaar)

noun A single-sense noun meaning 'advertisement' or 'public notice/poster' -- an Urdu-origin word still common in spoken Hindi, especially for printed notices, posters, and announcements.
Sense 1 : advertisement, public notice, poster
noun, masculine
Synonyms: विज्ञापन (vigyaapan), पोस्टर (postar, for a printed/pasted notice specifically), घोषणा (ghoshnaa, for an official announcement)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: You will hear इश्तहार (ishtahaar) used for old-style notices -- a poster for a missing person, a court or police announcement, a wanted notice, or a hand-pasted ad on a wall -- giving it a slightly old-world, print-era flavor compared to the more modern-sounding विज्ञापन (vigyaapan), which dominates in TV and digital advertising contexts. It comes from Urdu/Persian, reflecting the strong Persianate layer of everyday Hindi-Urdu vocabulary in Delhi speech.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach only for विज्ञापन (vigyaapan) and miss that इश्तहार (ishtahaar) is used interchangeably in everyday speech, especially for printed notices pasted on walls, missing-person notices, or government announcements, not just commercial ads. 2) The verb usually paired with it is लगाना (lagaanaa, 'to put up') or निकालना (nikaalnaa, 'to issue/put out'), rather than बनाना (banaanaa) which sounds off for the act of publishing or posting it.
Sample Sentences:
दीवार पर एक पुराना इश्तहार चिपका था। An old poster was pasted on the wall.
(diivaar par ek puraanaa ishtahaar chipkaa thaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
पुलिस ने भगोड़े के खिलाफ इश्तहार जारी किया है। The police have issued a notice against the fugitive.
(pulis ne bhagode ke khilaaph ishtahaar jaarii kiyaa hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
गुमशुदा बच्चे की तलाश में जगह-जगह इश्तहार लगाए गए। Notices were put up everywhere in search of the missing child.
(gumshudaa bachche kii talaash men jagah-jagah ishtahaar lagaae gae।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Passive
अदालत ने उसके नाम इश्तहार निकाला था। The court had issued a notice in his name.
(adaalat ne uske naam ishtahaar nikaalaa thaa।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
बाजार की हर दुकान के बाहर कोई न कोई इश्तहार टंगा रहता है। Some notice or the other hangs outside every shop in the market.
(baajaar kii har dukaan ke baahar koii n koii ishtahaar tangaa rahtaa hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
अगर वो भगोड़ा है, तो उसके नाम इश्तहार निकाला जाना चाहिए। If he is a fugitive, then a notice should be issued in his name.
(agar vo bhagodaa hai, to uske naam ishtahaar nikaalaa jaanaa chaahie।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
अगर पुराने जमाने में मोबाइल होता, तो शायद इश्तहार छपते ही न। If there had been mobile phones back in the old days, perhaps posters would not have been printed at all.
(agar puraane jamaane men mobaail hotaa, to shaayad ishtahaar chhapte hii n।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Passive
दीवार पर इश्तहार मत चिपकाओ, यह गैरकानूनी है। Don't paste notices on the wall, it's illegal.
(diivaar par ishtahaar mat chipkaao, yah gairkaanoonii hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
थाने के बाहर एक इश्तहार लगा था जिसमें इनाम की रकम लिखी थी। A notice was put up outside the police station stating the reward amount.
(thaane ke baahar ek ishtahaar lagaa thaa jismen inaam kii rakam likhii thii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct): इश्तहार (ishtahaar)
(sg.m.oblique): इश्तहार (ishtahaar)
(pl.m.direct): इश्तहार (ishtahaar)
(pl.m.oblique): इश्तहारों (ishtahaaron)