कबूतर (kabootar)

noun A common everyday noun meaning 'pigeon' or 'dove'; it has just this one core sense, though it shows up in a few well-known idioms and figures of speech.
Sense 1 : pigeon/dove (the bird)
noun, masculine
Synonyms: पंडुक (panduk, literary, dove specifically), फाख्ता (phaakhtaa, rare, a dove-like bird)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Pigeons are everywhere in Indian cities -- nesting on window ledges, cooling towers, and temple eaves -- so कबूतर (kabootar) is one of the first animal words a child learns. It also shows up in the common idiom कबूतर की तरह आँखें बंद करना (kabootar kii tarah aankhen band karnaa, 'to close one's eyes like a pigeon'), used for someone who thinks ignoring a problem makes it go away, much like the English notion of an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes assume कबूतर (kabootar) is only 'dove' and reach for a different word for 'pigeon', but in everyday Hindi one word covers both birds -- context rarely requires distinguishing them the way English does.
Sample Sentences:
छत पर बहुत सारे कबूतर बैठे हैं। A lot of pigeons are sitting on the roof.
(chhat par bahut saare kabootar baithe hain।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
सुबह-सुबह कबूतर खिड़की पर गुटरगूँ करते हैं। Early in the morning, pigeons coo on the window.
(subah-subah kabootar khidkii par gutargoon karte hain।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
मेरी दादी हर रोज़ कबूतरों को दाना डालती थीं। My grandmother used to feed grain to the pigeons every day.
(merii daadii har roz kabootron ko daanaa daaltii thiin।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
कबूतर को मत डराओ, वह उड़ जाएगा। Don't scare the pigeon, it will fly away.
(kabootar ko mat daraao, vah ud jaaegaa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
अगर तुम इस समस्या से कबूतर की तरह आँखें बंद कर लोगे, तो यह और बढ़ेगी। If you close your eyes like a pigeon to this problem, it will only grow bigger.
(agar tum is samasyaa se kabootar kii tarah aankhen band kar loge, to yah aur badhegii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Active
एक सफ़ेद कबूतर आँगन में उड़ रहा था। A white pigeon was flying in the courtyard.
(ek safed kabootar aangan men ud rahaa thaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
क्या तुमने कबूतर के घोंसले में अंडे देखे हैं? Have you seen the eggs in the pigeon's nest?
(kyaa tumne kabootar ke ghonsle men ande dekhe hain?)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
अगर मेरे पास इतनी छत होती, तो मैं भी कबूतर पालता। If I had that much roof space, I would keep pigeons too.
(agar mere paas itnii chhat hotii, to main bhii kabootar paaltaa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
मंदिर के आँगन में कबूतरों को दाना डाला जाता है। In the temple courtyard, grain is fed to the pigeons.
(mandir ke aangan men kabootron ko daanaa daalaa jaataa hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
शायद यह कबूतर किसी की छत से भटक कर यहाँ आ गया हो। Perhaps this pigeon wandered here from someone else's roof.
(shaayad yah kabootar kisii kii chhat se bhatak kar yahaan aa gayaa ho।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Active
कबूतर शांति का प्रतीक माना जाता है। The dove is considered a symbol of peace.
(kabootar shaanti kaa pratiik maanaa jaataa hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct): कबूतर (kabootar)
(sg.m.oblique): कबूतर (kabootar)
(pl.m.direct): कबूतर (kabootar)
(pl.m.oblique): कबूतरों (kabootron)