गोल-चक्कर (gol-chakkar)
noun
A compound noun literally meaning 'round-circle', used mainly for a traffic roundabout/traffic circle; it can also be used figuratively for beating around the bush or going in circles.
Sense
1
:
traffic roundabout
noun, masculine
Synonyms: चौराहा (chauraahaa, intersection/crossing, not exactly the same but often confused), गोलचक्कर (golchakkar, variant spelling without hyphen)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: In Delhi-NCR, well-known गोल-चक्कर (gol-chakkar) landmarks (like the ones near Connaught Place) are used as navigation reference points -- people give directions like 'गोल-चक्कर से सीधे चले जाना' (gol-chakkar se siidhe chale jaanaa, 'go straight from the roundabout') rather than using street names.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes use चौराहा (chauraahaa) interchangeably, but that word means a four-way crossing/intersection, not a circular roundabout -- the two are physically different road structures in Indian cities. 2) The word is often written without the hyphen as गोलचक्कर (golchakkar); both forms are seen on signboards and in speech.
Sample Sentences:
गोल-चक्कर से सीधे चले जाना, फिर दूसरा मोड़ आएगा।
Go straight from the roundabout, then you'll get to the second turn.
(gol-chakkar se siidhe chale jaanaa, phir doosraa mod aaegaa।)
कनॉट प्लेस के पास वाला गोल-चक्कर हमेशा गाड़ियों से भरा रहता है।
The roundabout near Connaught Place is always full of vehicles.
(kanot ples ke paas vaalaa gol-chakkar hameshaa gaadiyon se bharaa rahtaa hai।)
हम उस गोल-चक्कर पर मिलेंगे जो बाज़ार के ठीक बाहर है।
We'll meet at that roundabout right outside the market.
(ham us gol-chakkar par milenge jo baazaar ke thiik baahar hai।)
नया गोल-चक्कर बनाया जा रहा है ताकि ट्रैफ़िक कम जाम हो।
A new roundabout is being built so that traffic gets less jammed.
(nayaa gol-chakkar banaayaa jaa rahaa hai taaki traifik kam jaam ho।)
अगर वहाँ गोल-चक्कर होता, तो इतनी दुर्घटनाएँ नहीं होतीं।
If there had been a roundabout there, there wouldn't have been so many accidents.
(agar vahaan gol-chakkar hotaa, to itnii durghatnaaen nahiin hotiin।)
मैंने ऑटो वाले से कहा, गोल-चक्कर तक ले चलो, वहीं से मुझे पता है रास्ता।
I told the auto driver, take me to the roundabout, I know the way from there.
(mainne oto vaale se kahaa, gol-chakkar tak le chalo, vahiin se mujhe pataa hai raastaa।)
क्या तुम्हें पता है कि यहाँ से सबसे नज़दीकी गोल-चक्कर कहाँ है?
Do you know where the nearest roundabout from here is?
(kyaa tumhen pataa hai ki yahaan se sabse nazdiikii gol-chakkar kahaan hai?)
नगर निगम ने प्रस्ताव दिया कि उस चौराहे पर गोल-चक्कर बनाया जाए।
The municipal corporation proposed that a roundabout be built at that intersection.
(nagar nigam ne prastaav diyaa ki us chauraahe par gol-chakkar banaayaa jaae।)
गोल-चक्कर के चारों ओर पुलिसवाले ट्रैफ़िक संभाल रहे थे।
Policemen were managing traffic all around the roundabout.
(gol-chakkar ke chaaron or pulisvaale traifik sambhaal rahe the।)
Sense
2
:
figurative: going around in circles, beating around the bush
noun, masculine Used with verbs like खाना (khaanaa) or लगाना (lagaanaa) to mean 'to go in circles' -- e.g. गोल-चक्कर खाना (gol-chakkar khaanaa, to go around in circles/get confused going nowhere).
Synonyms: आना-कानी (aanaa-kaanii, evasiveness, not identical but related), टालमटोल (taalamtol, stalling/evasion)
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: This figurative use draws directly on the physical image of driving round and round a traffic circle without ever reaching your destination -- a vivid, very Delhi way of describing bureaucratic runaround or someone dodging a straight answer.
Common Mistakes: 1) This figurative sense only really works in fixed expressions like गोल-चक्कर खाना (gol-chakkar khaanaa) or गोल-चक्कर में डालना (gol-chakkar men daalnaa, to lead someone in circles/confuse them) -- learners shouldn't use the bare noun alone to mean 'evasion.'
Sample Sentences:
दफ्तर वाले बस गोल-चक्कर में घुमाते रहते हैं, कोई सीधा जवाब नहीं देता।
The office people just keep giving you the runaround, nobody gives a straight answer.
(daphtar vaale bas gol-chakkar men ghumaate rahte hain, koii siidhaa javaab nahiin detaa।)
मुझसे सीधे मत पूछो, गोल-चक्कर में डालने की कोशिश मत करो।
Don't ask me directly -- and don't try to give me the runaround.
(mujhse siidhe mat poochho, gol-chakkar men daalne kii koshish mat karo।)
पूरी मीटिंग में वह गोल-चक्कर की बातें करता रहा, मुद्दे पर कभी नहीं आया।
Throughout the meeting he kept beating around the bush, he never got to the point.
(poorii miiting men vah gol-chakkar kii baaten kartaa rahaa, mudde par kabhii nahiin aayaa।)
अगर वह सीधा बताता तो हमें यह गोल-चक्कर नहीं झेलना पड़ता।
If he had told us straight, we wouldn't have had to suffer this runaround.
(agar vah siidhaa bataataa to hamen yah gol-chakkar nahiin jhelnaa padtaa।)
बैंक वालों ने लोन के मामले में इतना गोल-चक्कर घुमाया कि आखिर में उसने अप्लाई करना ही छोड़ दिया।
The bank people gave him such a runaround over the loan that he finally gave up applying altogether.
(baink vaalon ne lon ke maamle men itnaa gol-chakkar ghumaayaa ki aakhir men usne aplaaii karnaa hii chhod diyaa।)
क्या यह सचमुच इतना पेचीदा मामला है, या सिर्फ गोल-चक्कर बनाया जा रहा है?
Is this really such a complicated matter, or is a runaround just being created?
(kyaa yah sachmuch itnaa pechiidaa maamlaa hai, yaa sirph gol-chakkar banaayaa jaa rahaa hai?)
शायद वह जानबूझकर गोल-चक्कर कर रहा हो ताकि हमें असली बात पता न चले।
Maybe he's deliberately giving us the runaround so that we don't find out the real matter.
(shaayad vah jaanboojhkar gol-chakkar kar rahaa ho taaki hamen aslii baat pataa n chale।)
सरकारी दफ्तरों में गोल-चक्कर एक तरह से आम बात बन गई है।
In government offices, the runaround has, in a way, become common practice.
(sarkaarii daphtron men gol-chakkar ek tarah se aam baat ban gaii hai।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
गोल-चक्कर
([[गोल-चक्कर]])
(sg.m.oblique):
गोल-चक्कर
([[गोल-चक्कर]])
(pl.m.direct):
गोल-चक्कर
([[गोल-चक्कर]])
(pl.m.oblique):
गोल-चक्करों
([[गोल-चक्करों]])