रेत (ret)
noun
A common everyday noun meaning 'sand'; it also appears in a few extended/figurative uses tied to the image of sand slipping or shifting.
Sense
1
:
sand (the granular material)
noun, feminine
Synonyms: बालू (baaloo)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Think of riverbanks like the Yamuna's, or the sand pits (रेत के गड्ढे, ret ke gaddhe) where construction sand is dug up around Delhi-NCR -- रेत (ret) is the word you'd use for both a beach and a truckload of construction material. Its close cousin बालू (baaloo) is interchangeable in most contexts, though रेत (ret) is the more common everyday choice in the Delhi belt.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes treat रेत (ret) as masculine by default; it is feminine, so adjectives and verbs agreeing with it take feminine forms, e.g. रेत गरम है (ret garam hai, 'the sand is hot').
Sample Sentences:
इस नदी के किनारे बहुत रेत है।
There is a lot of sand on the bank of this river.
(is nadii ke kinaare bahut ret hai।)
बच्चे रेत में खेल रहे हैं।
The children are playing in the sand.
(bachche ret men khel rahe hain।)
ट्रक में रेत भरी हुई है।
The truck is loaded with sand.
(trak men ret bharii huii hai।)
मजदूरों ने नदी से रेत निकाली।
The laborers extracted sand from the river.
(majdooron ne nadii se ret nikaalii।)
इस इलाके में रेत के गड्ढे बहुत गहरे हैं।
The sand pits in this area are very deep.
(is ilaake men ret ke gaddhe bahut gahre hain।)
अगर मिस्त्री को रेत मिल जाती, तो काम आज ही पूरा हो जाता।
If the mason had gotten sand, the work would have been finished today itself.
(agar mistrii ko ret mil jaatii, to kaam aaj hii pooraa ho jaataa।)
पहले रेत छान लो, फिर सीमेंट में मिलाओ।
First sift the sand, then mix it into the cement.
(pahle ret chhaan lo, phir siiment men milaao।)
सरकार ने अवैध रेत खनन पर रोक लगा दी है।
The government has banned illegal sand mining.
(sarkaar ne avaidh ret khanan par rok lagaa dii hai।)
क्या तुम्हें लगता है कि इस साइट पर रेत काफी होगी?
Do you think there will be enough sand at this site?
(kyaa tumhen lagtaa hai ki is saait par ret kaaphii hogii?)
गर्मियों में रेत इतनी तेज़ होती है कि पैर जल जाते हैं।
In summer the sand gets so hot that your feet burn.
(garmiyon men ret itnii tez hotii hai ki pair jal jaate hain।)
रेत ट्रकों से पास वाले गोदाम में उतारी जाती है।
The sand is unloaded from trucks into the nearby warehouse.
(ret trakon se paas vaale godaam men utaarii jaatii hai।)
Sense
2
:
something fleeting, ungraspable, or slipping away (figurative)
noun, feminine Used mainly in fixed images like हाथ से रेत की तरह फिसलना (haath se ret kii tarah phisalnaa, 'to slip away like sand from the hand'), describing time, opportunities, or relationships that cannot be held onto.
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: Hindi shares this image with English (sand through the fingers), so it usually feels intuitive to learners -- you'll hear it in songs and heartfelt speech about time or youth passing, e.g. वक्त रेत की तरह फिसल गया (vakt ret kii tarah phisal gayaa, 'time slipped away like sand').
Sample Sentences:
वक्त रेत की तरह फिसल गया।
Time slipped away like sand.
(vakt ret kii tarah phisal gayaa।)
जिंदगी रेत की तरह मुट्ठी से फिसलती जा रही है।
Life keeps slipping through the fist like sand.
(jindgii ret kii tarah mutthii se phisaltii jaa rahii hai।)
जवानी रेत है, हाथ में रोके नहीं रुकती।
Youth is sand -- it doesn't stop no matter how you try to hold it in your hand.
(javaanii ret hai, haath men roke nahiin ruktii।)
अगर मैं समझ पाता कि खुशियाँ रेत हैं, तो शायद इतनी जल्दबाज़ी न करता।
If I had understood that happiness is like sand, maybe I wouldn't have been in such a hurry.
(agar main samajh paataa ki khushiyaan ret hain, to shaayad itnii jaldbaazii n kartaa।)
उसकी यादें रेत की तरह धीरे-धीरे धुँधली होती जाएँगी।
Her memories will fade slowly, like sand slipping away.
(uskii yaaden ret kii tarah dhiire-dhiire dhundhlii hotii jaaengii।)
कवि ने लिखा कि उम्र रेत की मानिंद उँगलियों से बह जाती है।
The poet wrote that age flows away through the fingers like sand.
(kavi ne likhaa ki umr ret kii maanind ungliyon se bah jaatii hai।)
काश यह पल रेत न होता, ताकि मैं इसे थाम सकता।
I wish this moment weren't like sand, so that I could hold onto it.
(kaash yah pal ret n hotaa, taaki main ise thaam saktaa।)
सुख के दिन रेत बनकर बह गए, और पता भी न चला।
The happy days turned to sand and slipped away, and I didn't even notice.
(sukh ke din ret bankar bah gae, aur pataa bhii n chalaa।)
उस गाने में मौका रेत की तरह हाथ से निकल जाने का ज़िक्र है।
That song talks about opportunity slipping out of one's hands like sand.
(us gaane men maukaa ret kii tarah haath se nikal jaane kaa zikr hai।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct):
रेत
(ret)
(sg.f.oblique):
रेत
(ret)
(pl.f.direct):
रेतें
(reten)
(pl.f.oblique):
रेतों
(reton)