बच्चा (bachchaa)
noun
The everyday word for 'child/kid'; also extends affectionately to the young of an animal, and colloquially to mean someone acting immature or being treated as a junior.
Sense
1
:
child, kid
noun, masculine
Synonyms: बच्ची (bachchii, feminine form used for a girl specifically), शिशु (shishu, formal/literary, infant), बालक (baalak, formal), संतान (santaan, offspring/child in the sense of one's progeny)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: बच्चा (bachchaa) is one of the warmest words in Hindi -- parents, grandparents, and even shopkeepers use it affectionately toward kids they don't know, similar to how English speakers might say 'sweetie' or 'little one.' Note the related possessive-flavored idiom in the next sense (बच्चा होना (bachchaa honaa)) which is how Hindi speakers talk about having a baby.
Common Mistakes: 1) बच्चा (bachchaa) itself is masculine grammatically but is often used as the default/generic word for 'child' regardless of the child's actual gender in casual speech, especially in the plural बच्चे (bachche, children) -- learners sometimes overcorrect and insist on बच्ची (bachchii) even when generic 'children' is meant.
2) Don't confuse with संतान (santaan), which refers to one's own offspring/lineage, not children in general.
Sample Sentences:
यह बच्चा बहुत प्यारा है।
This child is very cute.
(yah bachchaa bahut pyaaraa hai।)
बच्चे पार्क में खेल रहे हैं।
The children are playing in the park.
(bachche paark men khel rahe hain।)
मेरी बचपन में मुझे स्कूल जाना बिल्कुल पसंद नहीं था, जैसे हर बच्चे को होता है।
In my childhood I hated going to school at all, like every child does.
(merii bachpan men mujhe skool jaanaa bilkul pasand nahiin thaa, jaise har bachche ko hotaa hai।)
बच्चों, कमरे में शांति से बैठो।
Children, sit quietly in the room.
(bachchon, kamre men shaanti se baitho।)
अरे बच्चे, इधर आओ, तुम्हारे लिए कुछ मीठा रखा है।
Hey little one, come here, I've kept something sweet for you.
(are bachche, idhar aao, tumhaare lie kuchh miithaa rakhaa hai।)
अगर मैं बच्चा होता, तो सारा दिन खेलता रहता।
If I were a child, I would keep playing all day.
(agar main bachchaa hotaa, to saaraa din kheltaa rahtaa।)
काश हमारे मुहल्ले के सारे बच्चे स्कूल जा पाते।
I wish all the children of our neighborhood could go to school.
(kaash hamaare muhalle ke saare bachche skool jaa paate।)
बच्चे को अकेला छोड़ना खतरनाक हो सकता है।
Leaving a child alone can be dangerous.
(bachche ko akelaa chhodnaa khatarnaak ho saktaa hai।)
इस स्कूल में हर बच्चे को दोपहर का खाना दिया जाता है।
In this school, every child is given lunch.
(is skool men har bachche ko dopahar kaa khaanaa diyaa jaataa hai।)
दुकानदार ने मुस्कुराकर कहा, बच्चा जी, यह टॉफी ले लो।
The shopkeeper smiled and said, sweetie, take this toffee.
(dukaandaar ne muskuraakar kahaa, bachchaa jii, yah tophii le lo।)
जब मैं छोटा बच्चा था, तब हम गाँव में रहते थे।
When I was a small child, we used to live in the village.
(jab main chhotaa bachchaa thaa, tab ham gaanv men rahte the।)
Sense
2
:
young one, offspring (of an animal)
noun, masculine
Synonyms: शिशु (shishu, literary/formal)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Just as in English 'baby' extends from human infants to animal young, बच्चा (bachchaa) does the same: कुत्ते का बच्चा (kutte kaa bachchaa, 'puppy') or बिल्ली का बच्चा (billii kaa bachchaa, 'kitten') are the everyday phrases, built simply as '[animal] का बच्चा.'
Sample Sentences:
शेरनी अपने बच्चों की बहुत हिफाज़त करती है।
A lioness protects her cubs a lot.
(shernii apne bachchon kii bahut hiphaazat kartii hai।)
हमारी बिल्ली ने कल रात तीन बच्चे दिए।
Our cat gave birth to three kittens last night.
(hamaarii billii ne kal raat tiin bachche die।)
पड़ोस वाले कुत्ते का बच्चा बहुत प्यारा है।
The neighbor's puppy is very cute.
(pados vaale kutte kaa bachchaa bahut pyaaraa hai।)
चिड़िया अपने बच्चों को दाना खिला रही है।
The bird is feeding grain to her chicks.
(chidiyaa apne bachchon ko daanaa khilaa rahii hai।)
अगर तुम उस बकरी के बच्चे को छेड़ोगे, तो वह डर जाएगा।
If you tease that baby goat, it will get scared.
(agar tum us bakrii ke bachche ko chhedoge, to vah dar jaaegaa।)
उस बच्चे को मत छुओ, नहीं तो उसकी माँ हमला कर देगी।
Don't touch that cub, or its mother will attack.
(us bachche ko mat chhuo, nahiin to uskii maan hamlaa kar degii।)
काश हमारे पास भी बिल्ली का एक बच्चा होता।
I wish we also had a kitten.
(kaash hamaare paas bhii billii kaa ek bachchaa hotaa।)
जंगल में हाथी का बच्चा अपनी माँ से बिछड़ गया था।
In the jungle, the baby elephant had gotten separated from its mother.
(jangal men haathii kaa bachchaa apnii maan se bichhad gayaa thaa।)
यह सुनिश्चित किया जाना चाहिए कि नवजात बच्चों को समय पर दूध मिले।
It should be ensured that the newborn young ones get milk on time.
(yah sunishchit kiyaa jaanaa chaahie ki navjaat bachchon ko samay par doodh mile।)
चिड़िया के बच्चे घोंसले से गिरा दिए गए थे।
The bird's chicks had been knocked down from the nest.
(chidiyaa ke bachche ghonsle se giraa die gae the।)
Sense
3
:
someone who is immature, naive, or a junior/newcomer
noun, masculine Used figuratively of adults, often in phrases like अभी बच्चे हो (abhii bachche ho, 'you're still a kid/wet behind the ears') or तुम अभी इस काम में बच्चे हो (tum abhii is kaam men bachche ho, 'you're a novice at this work still').
Synonyms: नौसिखिया (nausikhiyaa, novice/beginner, emphasizes inexperience rather than age)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Bosses, elder relatives, or seniors in India love telling someone 'तुम अभी बच्चे हो' (tum abhii bachche ho, 'you're still a kid') to mean 'you don't have enough experience yet' -- it's a very common way of asserting seniority without being outright rude.
Common Mistakes: 1) This figurative sense can sound patronizing or teasing depending on tone -- it's used both affectionately among friends and dismissively to put someone down, so context and tone matter a lot.
Sample Sentences:
तुम अभी बच्चे हो, इस काम में अभी बहुत कुछ सीखना है।
You're still a kid, you have a lot to learn in this job yet.
(tum abhii bachche ho, is kaam men abhii bahut kuchh siikhnaa hai।)
इस मीटिंग में मत बोलो, तुम अभी बच्चे हो, बड़ों को फैसला लेने दो।
Don't speak up in this meeting, you're still a kid, let the seniors make the decision.
(is miiting men mat bolo, tum abhii bachche ho, badon ko phaislaa lene do।)
उस नए लड़के की बात मत सुनो, वो अभी बच्चा है, इस फील्ड को नहीं जानता।
Don't listen to that new guy, he's still a kid, he doesn't know this field.
(us nae ladke kii baat mat suno, vo abhii bachchaa hai, is phiild ko nahiin jaantaa।)
बॉस ने मुझसे कहा कि तुम बच्चे हो, अभी इतनी बड़ी जिम्मेदारी मत लो।
The boss told me that I'm still a kid and shouldn't take on such a big responsibility yet.
(bos ne mujhse kahaa ki tum bachche ho, abhii itnii badii jimmedaarii mat lo।)
अगर मैं बच्चा होता, तो शायद यह गलती माफ कर दी जाती।
If I were still a novice, maybe this mistake would have been forgiven.
(agar main bachchaa hotaa, to shaayad yah galtii maaph kar dii jaatii।)
दफ्तर में सब मुझे बच्चा समझते हैं, हालांकि मैं तीन साल से काम कर रहा हूँ।
Everyone in the office thinks of me as a novice, even though I've been working for three years.
(daphtar men sab mujhe bachchaa samajhte hain, haalaanki main tiin saal se kaam kar rahaa hoon।)
क्या तुम मुझे अब भी बच्चा समझते हो?
Do you still think of me as a kid?
(kyaa tum mujhe ab bhii bachchaa samajhte ho?)
इस इंडस्ट्री में वो अभी बच्चा ही माना जाता है, चाहे उसकी उम्र कुछ भी हो।
In this industry, he's still considered a novice, no matter his age.
(is indastrii men vo abhii bachchaa hii maanaa jaataa hai, chaahe uskii umr kuchh bhii ho।)
सीनियर साहब बोले, अभी तुम बच्चे हो, राजनीति की बातों में मत पड़ो।
The senior sahib said, you're still a kid, don't get involved in office politics.
(siiniyar saahab bole, abhii tum bachche ho, raajniiti kii baaton men mat pado।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
बच्चा
(bachchaa)
(sg.m.oblique):
बच्चे
(bachche)
(pl.m.direct):
बच्चे
(bachche)
(pl.m.oblique):
बच्चों
(bachchon)