दाल-भात (daal-bhaat)
noun
A compound noun literally meaning 'lentils-and-rice,' used both for the literal everyday dish and, more broadly, as shorthand for simple, humble, staple food.
Sense
1
:
the everyday meal of lentils and rice
noun, masculine
Synonyms: दाल-चावल (daal-chaaval)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: दाल-भात (daal-bhaat) is the bedrock home-cooked meal across much of North India -- simple, quick, and comforting, the kind of thing you eat on a day when nobody feels like cooking anything elaborate. It's the Hindi-belt cousin of what Bengali and Odia households call भात-डाल (bhaat-daal) or similar, just reordered.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes treat this as two separate words in a sentence; it functions as a single compound noun and takes singular agreement, e.g. दाल-भात बना है (daal-bhaat banaa hai, 'dal-rice has been made') not बने हैं (bane hain).
Sample Sentences:
आज रात को सिर्फ दाल-भात बना लेते हैं।
Let's just make dal-rice for tonight.
(aaj raat ko sirph daal-bhaat banaa lete hain।)
मुझे रोज़ दाल-भात खाने की आदत है।
I'm used to eating dal-rice every day.
(mujhe roz daal-bhaat khaane kii aadat hai।)
माँ ने जल्दी में दाल-भात बना दिया।
Mom quickly made dal-rice.
(maan ne jaldii men daal-bhaat banaa diyaa।)
थोड़ा दाल-भात बना दे, बस इतना ही चाहिए।
Just make a bit of dal-rice, that's all I need.
(thodaa daal-bhaat banaa de, bas itnaa hii chaahie।)
अगर घर में कुछ न हो तो दाल-भात हमेशा बच जाता है।
If there's nothing else at home, there's always dal-rice to fall back on.
(agar ghar men kuchh n ho to daal-bhaat hameshaa bach jaataa hai।)
थकान की वजह से आज बस दाल-भात ही बनाऊँगी।
Because I'm tired, I'll just make dal-rice today.
(thakaan kii vajah se aaj bas daal-bhaat hii banaaoongii।)
काश आज दाल-भात के अलावा कुछ और बना होता।
I wish something other than dal-rice had been made today.
(kaash aaj daal-bhaat ke alaavaa kuchh aur banaa hotaa।)
अस्पताल में मरीज़ों को अक्सर सादा दाल-भात दिया जाता है।
In hospitals, patients are often given plain dal-rice.
(asptaal men mariizon ko aksar saadaa daal-bhaat diyaa jaataa hai।)
बाहर का खाना खाकर तबीयत बिगड़ गई, अब घर का दाल-भात ही अच्छा लगता है।
My stomach got upset from eating outside food; now homemade dal-rice feels best.
(baahar kaa khaanaa khaakar tabiiyat bigad gaii, ab ghar kaa daal-bhaat hii achchhaa lagtaa hai।)
उसे दाल-भात के सिवा कुछ और पसंद ही नहीं है।
He doesn't like anything except dal-rice.
(use daal-bhaat ke sivaa kuchh aur pasand hii nahiin hai।)
Sense
2
:
plain, basic, no-frills (fare or life)
noun, masculine Used predicatively or as a modifier-like noun to describe something unpretentious, e.g. a dal-bhaat kind of life or dal-bhaat kind of arrangement, contrasted with something fancy.
Synonyms: साधारण खाना (saadhaaran khaanaa, descriptive phrase, not a true synonym)
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: Beyond the plate, दाल-भात (daal-bhaat) is used the way English speakers might say 'bread and butter' -- to mean something basic and unglamorous but reliable. Someone might say उसकी तो दाल-भात वाली ज़िंदगी है (uskii to daal-bhaat vaalii zindgii hai, 'his is a simple, no-frills life'), invoking modesty and contentment rather than deprivation.
Sample Sentences:
उसकी तो दाल-भात वाली ज़िंदगी है।
His is a simple, no-frills life.
(uskii to daal-bhaat vaalii zindgii hai।)
हमारा तो दाल-भात वाला काम है, कोई तड़क-भड़क नहीं।
Ours is just a plain, basic kind of work, no flash or show.
(hamaaraa to daal-bhaat vaalaa kaam hai, koii tadak-bhadak nahiin।)
यह तो दाल-भात वाला घर है, यहाँ बड़े सपने नहीं पाले जाते।
This is a simple, no-frills household, big dreams aren't nurtured here.
(yah to daal-bhaat vaalaa ghar hai, yahaan bade sapne nahiin paale jaate।)
अगर वह दाल-भात वाली नौकरी कर लेता तो शायद इतना परेशान न होता।
If he had taken a simple, basic job, he probably wouldn't be so troubled.
(agar vah daal-bhaat vaalii naukrii kar letaa to shaayad itnaa pareshaan n hotaa।)
दाल-भात वाली सोच रखो, फिर देखो कितना सुकून मिलता है।
Keep a simple, no-frills mindset, then see how much peace you get.
(daal-bhaat vaalii soch rakho, phir dekho kitnaa sukoon miltaa hai।)
गाँव में लोग अभी भी दाल-भात वाली सादगी में जीते हैं।
In the village, people still live with a plain, no-frills simplicity.
(gaanv men log abhii bhii daal-bhaat vaalii saadgii men jiite hain।)
शायद उसे यह दाल-भात वाला जीवन ही पसंद हो, इसलिए कभी शहर नहीं गया।
Maybe he simply likes this plain, no-frills life, which is why he never went to the city.
(shaayad use yah daal-bhaat vaalaa jiivan hii pasand ho, islie kabhii shahar nahiin gayaa।)
उन दिनों हमारी दाल-भात वाली गुज़र-बसर थी, पर खुशी बहुत थी।
In those days our existence was simple and no-frills, but there was a lot of happiness.
(un dinon hamaarii daal-bhaat vaalii guzar-basar thii, par khushii bahut thii।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
दाल-भात
([[दाल-भात]])
(sg.m.oblique):
दाल-भात
([[दाल-भात]])
(pl.m.direct):
दाल-भात
([[दाल-भात]])
(pl.m.oblique):
दाल-भातों
([[दाल-भातों]])