सूँड़ (soond)
noun
A concrete noun meaning an elephant's trunk, or by extension a similar tube-like snout/proboscis on another creature.
Sense
1
:
elephant's trunk
noun, feminine
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This is one of the first animal-body-part words Hindi-speaking kids learn, right alongside हाथी (haathii, 'elephant') itself -- picture books and nursery rhymes about हाथी almost always mention his सूँड़. Elephants are common sights at temples and in wedding processions across North India, so the word comes up naturally in everyday cultural conversation, not just in zoo vocabulary.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes confuse सूँड़ (soond) with सूंड (soond) -- both spellings (with chandrabindu nasalization vowel vs. anusvara consonant) are seen for this word, so do not treat one as wrong if you encounter the other. 2) This word is unrelated to सुंदर (sundar, 'beautiful') despite the superficial similarity in sound -- a beginner's-ear mix-up, not a real cognate.
Sample Sentences:
हाथी की सूँड़ बहुत लंबी होती है।
An elephant's trunk is very long.
(haathii kii soond bahut lambii hotii hai।)
हाथी अपनी सूँड़ से पानी पीता है।
The elephant drinks water with its trunk.
(haathii apnii soond se paanii piitaa hai।)
बच्चे ने हाथी की सूँड़ देखकर ताली बजाई।
The child clapped upon seeing the elephant's trunk.
(bachche ne haathii kii soond dekhkar taalii bajaaii।)
मंदिर के हाथी ने अपनी सूँड़ मेरे सिर पर रखकर आशीर्वाद दिया।
The temple elephant placed its trunk on my head and blessed me.
(mandir ke haathii ne apnii soond mere sir par rakhkar aashiirvaad diyaa।)
हाथी अपनी सूँड़ उठाकर तुरही जैसी आवाज़ निकाल रहा है।
The elephant is raising its trunk and making a trumpet-like sound.
(haathii apnii soond uthaakar turahii jaisii aavaaz nikaal rahaa hai।)
जुलूस वाला हाथी अपनी सूँड़ हिलाते हुए धीरे-धीरे आगे बढ़ रहा था।
The elephant in the procession was slowly moving forward, swinging its trunk.
(juloos vaalaa haathii apnii soond hilaate hue dhiire-dhiire aage badh rahaa thaa।)
अपनी सूँड़ मत हिलाओ, वरना पानी छलक जाएगा।
Don't swing your trunk, or the water will spill.
(apnii soond mat hilaao, varnaa paanii chhalak jaaegaa।)
अगर हाथी की सूँड़ न होती, तो वह पेड़ों की ऊँची शाखाएँ कैसे तोड़ता?
If the elephant didn't have a trunk, how would it break the high branches of trees?
(agar haathii kii soond n hotii, to vah pedon kii oonchii shaakhaaen kaise todtaa?)
गणेश जी की सूँड़ को देखकर बच्चा मुस्कुरा उठा।
Seeing Lord Ganesh's trunk, the child broke into a smile.
(ganesh jii kii soond ko dekhkar bachchaa muskuraa uthaa।)
हाथी की सूँड़ में लगभग चालीस हज़ार मांसपेशियाँ होती हैं।
An elephant's trunk has almost forty thousand muscles.
(haathii kii soond men lagbhag chaaliis hazaar maanspeshiyaan hotii hain।)
Sense
2
:
trunk/snout of other animals (e.g. a pig, or a proboscis-like organ)
noun, feminine Extended by shape-resemblance from the primary elephant-trunk sense to describe similar tube-like snouts on other creatures, such as a pig's snout.
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: Native speakers reach for सूँड़ (soond) any time something looks like a trunk -- a pig's snout, sometimes even a mosquito's proboscis in a science-class context -- rather than switching to a separate word, much as English speakers stretch 'trunk' occasionally beyond elephants.
Sample Sentences:
सुअर की सूँड़ मिट्टी में घुसी हुई थी।
The pig's snout was buried in the mud.
(suar kii soond mittii men ghusii huii thii।)
मच्छर अपनी सूँड़ से खून चूसता है।
A mosquito sucks blood through its proboscis.
(machchhar apnii soond se khoon choostaa hai।)
देखो, सुअर अपनी सूँड़ हिला रहा है।
Look, the pig is wagging its snout.
(dekho, suar apnii soond hilaa rahaa hai।)
शिक्षक ने बताया कि मच्छर की सूँड़ बहुत पतली होती है।
The teacher explained that a mosquito's proboscis is very thin.
(shikshak ne bataayaa ki machchhar kii soond bahut patlii hotii hai।)
अगर सुअर की सूँड़ इतनी संवेदनशील न होती, तो वह भोजन ढूँढ़ ही न पाता।
If a pig's snout weren't so sensitive, it wouldn't be able to find food at all.
(agar suar kii soond itnii sanvedanshiil n hotii, to vah bhojan dhoondh hii n paataa।)
अपनी सूँड़ कीचड़ से हटाओ।
Get your snout out of the mud.
(apnii soond kiichad se hataao।)
प्रयोगशाला में मच्छर की सूँड़ को माइक्रोस्कोप से देखा गया।
In the laboratory, the mosquito's proboscis was examined under a microscope.
(prayogshaalaa men machchhar kii soond ko maaikroskop se dekhaa gayaa।)
शायद सुअर की सूँड़ ही उसे सुरक्षा का एहसास दिलाती हो।
Perhaps it's the pig's snout itself that gives it a sense of security.
(shaayad suar kii soond hii use surakshaa kaa ehsaas dilaatii ho।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct):
सूँड़
(soond)
(sg.f.oblique):
सूँड़
(soond)
(pl.f.direct):
सूँड़ें
(soonden)
(pl.f.oblique):
सूँड़ों
(soondon)