मैल (mail)
noun
Mainly a concrete noun for physical grime or dirt (especially the kind that rubs off skin or collects in clothes/water), with a common figurative extension to inner impurity like malice or ill feeling.
Sense
1
:
physical dirt/grime
noun, masculine
Synonyms: गंदगी (gandgii), मलिनता (malintaa, literary)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Think of the satisfying scrub in an Indian bathroom -- rubbing your arm with a loofah or soap and seeing the मैल (mail) roll off in little grey strands; that visual is exactly what a Hindi speaker pictures with this word. It is also the word used for the dark ring of grime that collects on a shirt collar or the inside of a used pot.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for गंदगी (gandgii) for all kinds of dirt, but मैल (mail) is specifically the grime that builds up on skin, clothes, or utensils and rubs/washes off -- not general mess or trash on the ground. 2) मैल (mail) is grammatically masculine despite ending in ऐ, which can trip up learners expecting feminine agreement.
Sample Sentences:
नहाते वक्त शरीर से मैल निकलती है।
Dirt comes off the body while bathing.
(nahaate vakt shariir se mail nikaltii hai।)
उसकी कमीज़ के कॉलर पर मैल जमा हो गई थी।
Grime had built up on his shirt collar.
(uskii kamiiz ke kolar par mail jamaa ho gaii thii।)
अपने हाथों से मैल रगड़-रगड़कर साफ़ करो।
Scrub the grime off your hands properly.
(apne haathon se mail ragad-ragadkar saaf karo।)
बर्तन के अंदर इतनी मैल जमी है कि वह काला दिख रहा है।
So much grime has collected inside the pot that it looks black.
(bartan ke andar itnii mail jamii hai ki vah kaalaa dikh rahaa hai।)
अगर तुम रोज़ नहाओ तो मैल जमने ही नहीं देगी।
If you bathe every day, the grime won't even get a chance to settle.
(agar tum roz nahaao to mail jamne hii nahiin degii।)
साबुन से रगड़ने पर मैल छूट जाती है।
The grime comes off when you scrub with soap.
(saabun se ragadne par mail chhoot jaatii hai।)
अगर मैं पूरे दिन बाहर धूल में न घूमता, तो शरीर पर इतनी मैल न होती।
If I hadn't wandered outside in the dust all day, there wouldn't have been so much grime on my body.
(agar main poore din baahar dhool men n ghoomtaa, to shariir par itnii mail n hotii।)
लूफ़े से रगड़ते ही मैल की धारियाँ हाथ पर बनने लगीं।
As soon as she scrubbed with the loofah, streaks of grime started forming on her arm.
(loofe se ragadte hii mail kii dhaariyaan haath par banne lagiin।)
गर्म पानी से नहाने पर मैल आसानी से निकल जाती है।
When bathing with hot water, the grime comes off easily.
(garm paanii se nahaane par mail aasaanii se nikal jaatii hai।)
इस पुराने टब की मैल तो बरसों से साफ़ नहीं की गई।
The grime in this old tub hasn't been cleaned in years.
(is puraane tab kii mail to barson se saaf nahiin kii gaii।)
मज़दूर का शरीर पूरे दिन की मेहनत से मैल और पसीने से लथपथ था।
The laborer's body was covered in grime and sweat from the whole day's toil.
(mazdoor kaa shariir poore din kii mehnat se mail aur pasiine se lathpath thaa।)
Sense
2
:
figurative impurity of mind/heart, malice
noun, masculine Common in the phrase दिल का मैल (dil kaa mail, 'the grime of the heart' -- i.e., lingering resentment or ill will) and in expressions about मैल निकालना/धोना (mail nikaalnaa/mail dhonaa, to purge one's ill feeling).
Synonyms: खोट (khot), कपट (kapat, more literary/formal), द्वेष (dvesh)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Hindi treats grudges and bad feeling as a kind of residue that clings to the heart, the same way grime clings to skin -- so making peace with someone is often described as washing away this मैल (mail), echoing the very physical, everyday image behind the word's literal sense.
Common Mistakes: 1) This figurative sense only works with heart/mind words like दिल (dil) or मन (man) attached -- मैल (mail) alone in a sentence about a person's character can sound incomplete or ambiguous to a listener expecting the literal-dirt sense.
Sample Sentences:
उसके मन में किसी के लिए भी मैल नहीं है।
There is no malice in his heart for anyone.
(uske man men kisii ke lie bhii mail nahiin hai।)
इतने सालों बाद भी उसके दिल में मैल भरा हुआ है।
Even after so many years, his heart is still full of malice.
(itne saalon baad bhii uske dil men mail bharaa huaa hai।)
मिलकर बात करो, दिल का मैल धुल जाएगा।
Meet and talk it out, the ill feeling in your heart will wash away.
(milkar baat karo, dil kaa mail dhul jaaegaa।)
काश उसके मन का मैल कभी का धुल गया होता।
If only the malice in his heart had washed away long ago.
(kaash uske man kaa mail kabhii kaa dhul gayaa hotaa।)
भाइयों के बीच का सारा मैल एक ही रात में धुल गया।
All the bad feeling between the brothers washed away in a single night.
(bhaaiyon ke biich kaa saaraa mail ek hii raat men dhul gayaa।)
वह ऐसा इंसान है जो मन में मैल नहीं रखता।
He's the kind of person who doesn't hold malice in his heart.
(vah aisaa insaan hai jo man men mail nahiin rakhtaa।)
क्या तुम्हारे दिल में अब भी उसके लिए मैल है?
Do you still have ill feeling for him in your heart?
(kyaa tumhaare dil men ab bhii uske lie mail hai?)
संत कहते हैं कि सच्ची भक्ति के लिए मन का मैल मिटाना ज़रूरी है।
Saints say that for true devotion, it is necessary to erase the impurity of the mind.
(sant kahte hain ki sachchii bhakti ke lie man kaa mail mitaanaa zaroorii hai।)
अगर वह माफी माँग ले, तो शायद मन का मैल कुछ कम हो जाए।
If he apologizes, maybe the ill feeling in the heart will lessen a little.
(agar vah maaphii maang le, to shaayad man kaa mail kuchh kam ho jaae।)
गुरु जी के सत्संग से भक्तों के मन का मैल धीरे-धीरे साफ़ होता जाता है।
Through the guru's satsang, the impurity in the devotees' hearts is gradually cleansed.
(guru jii ke satsang se bhakton ke man kaa mail dhiire-dhiire saaf hotaa jaataa hai।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
मैल
(mail)
(sg.m.oblique):
मैल
(mail)
(pl.m.direct):
मैल
(mail)
(pl.m.oblique):
मैलों
(mailon)