घी (ghii)
noun
A single, concrete sense: clarified butter, a staple of the Indian kitchen. Its cultural weight (purity, richness, festivity) is folded into the one sense rather than split into separate meanings.
Sense
1
:
clarified butter
noun, masculine
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Ghee is not just a cooking fat here -- it shows up in temple lamps, on festival food, drizzled over dal or hot parathas as a mark of care, and even in the idiom उल्टे बाँस बरेली को ...ok scratch that, more relevantly: घी के दीये जलाना (ghii ke diiye jalaanaa, 'to light ghee lamps') is what people say when celebrating great news, since it's traditionally the fuel for auspicious lamps. Homemade घी (ghii) made by simmering butter slowly on the stove is a point of quiet pride in many households, distinct from the store-bought tin.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes translate घी (ghii) as 'butter' and use it interchangeably with मक्खन (makkhan) -- but मक्खन (makkhan) is the unclarified butter you'd churn from cream, while घी (ghii) is the cooked-down, ghee form; a recipe or a grandmother will not accept one for the other. 2) घी (ghii) is grammatically masculine, so watch agreement: यह घी अच्छा है (yah ghii achchhaa hai, 'this ghee is good'), not अच्छी.
Sample Sentences:
माँ हर महीने घर पर घी बनाती हैं।
Mom makes ghee at home every month.
(maan har mahiine ghar par ghii banaatii hain।)
गरम पराँठे पर घी डालकर खाओ, बहुत अच्छा लगेगा।
Put some ghee on the hot paratha and eat it, it'll taste great.
(garam paraanthe par ghii daalkar khaao, bahut achchhaa lagegaa।)
दाल में थोड़ा सा घी डाल दो, स्वाद बढ़ जाएगा।
Add a little ghee to the dal, it'll taste even better.
(daal men thodaa saa ghii daal do, svaad badh jaaegaa।)
मंदिर में घी का दीया लगातार जल रहा था।
A ghee lamp was burning continuously in the temple.
(mandir men ghii kaa diiyaa lagaataar jal rahaa thaa।)
जब उसका बेटा विदेश की परीक्षा में पास हुआ, तो उन्होंने घी के दीये जलाए।
When his son passed the exam abroad, they lit ghee lamps in celebration.
(jab uskaa betaa videsh kii pariikshaa men paas huaa, to unhonne ghii ke diiye jalaae।)
अगर उसकी नौकरी लग जाए तो हम घी के दीये जलाएँगे।
If he gets the job, we'll light ghee lamps in celebration.
(agar uskii naukrii lag jaae to ham ghii ke diiye jalaaenge।)
बाज़ार के डिब्बे वाले घी से घर का बना घी हमेशा बेहतर होता है।
Homemade ghee is always better than the tin ghee from the market.
(baazaar ke dibbe vaale ghii se ghar kaa banaa ghii hameshaa behtar hotaa hai।)
अगर हमारे पास असली देसी घी होता, तो हलवे का स्वाद ही कुछ और होता।
If we had real homemade ghee, the halwa would have tasted completely different.
(agar hamaare paas aslii desii ghii hotaa, to halve kaa svaad hii kuchh aur hotaa।)
हवन में पंडित जी ने आहुति के साथ घी भी डाला।
During the havan, the priest also poured ghee along with the offering.
(havan men pandit jii ne aahuti ke saath ghii bhii daalaa।)
शुद्ध घी सोने के भाव बिकता है आजकल।
Pure ghee sells at the price of gold these days.
(shuddh ghii sone ke bhaav biktaa hai aajkal।)
क्या तुम चाहती हो कि मैं मिठाई में और घी डालूँ?
Do you want me to add more ghee to the sweets?
(kyaa tum chaahtii ho ki main mithaaii men aur ghii daaloon?)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
घी
(ghii)
(sg.m.oblique):
घी
(ghii)
(pl.m.direct):
घी
(ghii)
(pl.m.oblique):
घीयों
(ghiiyon)