होटल (hotal)
noun
A borrowed word from English 'hotel', but in everyday Hindi it usually means a restaurant or eatery, not a lodging place -- that distinction is the main thing to learn here.
Sense
1
:
restaurant/eatery
noun, masculine
Synonyms: रेस्टोरेंट (restorent), ढाबा (dhaabaa, smaller/roadside eatery), भोजनालय (bhojnaalay, formal)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: In much of North India, especially Delhi-NCR, when someone says वहाँ का होटल अच्छा है (vahaan kaa hotal achchhaa hai, 'that restaurant is good'), they are almost certainly talking about the food, not the rooms. Small local eateries, even very modest dhaba-style ones, are routinely called होटल (hotal) -- it is one of those English loanwords whose meaning drifted once it settled into Hindi.
Common Mistakes: 1) The default, most common sense of होटल (hotal) in spoken Hindi is a place to eat, not a place to stay -- saying चलो होटल में खाना खाते हैं (chalo hotal men khaanaa khaate hain, 'let's go eat at the restaurant') is completely normal and does not imply lodging. 2) Learners often assume होटल (hotal) always means 'hotel' in the English sense and get confused when someone suggests going to one just for a meal.
Sample Sentences:
यह होटल खाने के लिए बहुत मशहूर है।
This restaurant is very famous for its food.
(yah hotal khaane ke lie bahut mashahoor hai।)
हम रोज़ शाम को उस होटल में खाना खाते हैं।
We eat food at that restaurant every evening.
(ham roz shaam ko us hotal men khaanaa khaate hain।)
कल हमने नए होटल में परांठे खाए थे।
Yesterday we ate parathas at the new eatery.
(kal hamne nae hotal men paraanthe khaae the।)
मोड़ वाला होटल सुबह छह बजे से खुल जाता है।
The eatery at the turn opens from six in the morning.
(mod vaalaa hotal subah chhah baje se khul jaataa hai।)
वहाँ का होटल अच्छा है, वहीं चलते हैं।
That restaurant is good, let's go there.
(vahaan kaa hotal achchhaa hai, vahiin chalte hain।)
इस होटल में बैठकर खाना खाओ, बड़ा आराम है।
Sit down and eat at this eatery, it's very comfortable.
(is hotal men baithkar khaanaa khaao, badaa aaraam hai।)
अगर वह होटल इतना गंदा न होता, तो हम रुक जाते।
If that eatery weren't so dirty, we would have stayed.
(agar vah hotal itnaa gandaa n hotaa, to ham ruk jaate।)
इस होटल का खाना अभी बनाया जा रहा है।
This restaurant's food is being cooked right now.
(is hotal kaa khaanaa abhii banaayaa jaa rahaa hai।)
स्टेशन के पास एक ढाबानुमा होटल है, वहाँ की दाल बहुत बढ़िया है।
There's a dhaba-style eatery near the station, its lentils are excellent.
(steshan ke paas ek dhaabaanumaa hotal hai, vahaan kii daal bahut badhiyaa hai।)
शायद यह होटल शाम तक बंद हो जाए।
This restaurant might close by evening.
(shaayad yah hotal shaam tak band ho jaae।)
अगले हफ्ते हम उस मशहूर होटल में जाएँगे जहाँ छोले-भटूरे मिलते हैं।
Next week we will go to that famous eatery where they serve chole-bhature.
(agle haphte ham us mashahoor hotal men jaaenge jahaan chhole-bhatoore milte hain।)
Sense
2
:
lodging establishment
noun, masculine
Synonyms: सराय (saraay, older/traditional inn), धर्मशाला (dharmshaalaa, charitable/pilgrim lodging)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the sense closer to English usage and is common in travel, tourism, and business contexts -- booking a होटल (hotal) for a trip. Context (talk of रुकना (ruknaa, staying) or बुकिंग (buking, booking) versus खाना (khaanaa, eating)) tells you which sense is active.
Common Mistakes: 1) When the lodging sense is meant, speakers often clarify with रुकना (ruknaa, 'to stay') -- e.g. हम होटल में रुके थे (ham hotal men ruke the, 'we stayed at a hotel') -- because होटल (hotal) alone defaults to the restaurant meaning in casual speech.
Sample Sentences:
हमने अगले हफ्ते के लिए एक होटल बुक कर लिया है।
We have booked a hotel for next week.
(hamne agle haphte ke lie ek hotal buk kar liyaa hai।)
यह होटल स्टेशन के बहुत पास है।
This hotel is very close to the station.
(yah hotal steshan ke bahut paas hai।)
हम मनाली में किस होटल में रुके थे?
Which hotel did we stay at in Manali?
(ham manaalii men kis hotal men ruke the?)
कृपया अपना होटल का पता फॉर्म में भरें।
Please fill in your hotel's address on the form.
(kripyaa apnaa hotal kaa pataa phorm men bharen।)
अगर पैसे ज़्यादा होते तो हम पाँच सितारा होटल में ठहरते।
If we had more money, we would have stayed in a five-star hotel.
(agar paise zyaadaa hote to ham paanch sitaaraa hotal men thaharte।)
यह होटल हर साल हज़ारों पर्यटकों को ठहराता है।
This hotel accommodates thousands of tourists every year.
(yah hotal har saal hazaaron paryatkon ko thahraataa hai।)
होटल का कमरा अभी साफ किया जा रहा है।
The hotel room is being cleaned right now.
(hotal kaa kamraa abhii saaph kiyaa jaa rahaa hai।)
शायद यह होटल हमारे बजट में आ जाए।
Maybe this hotel will fit our budget.
(shaayad yah hotal hamaare bajat men aa jaae।)
कंपनी ने सभी कर्मचारियों के लिए होटल की व्यवस्था कर दी है।
The company has arranged hotel accommodation for all the employees.
(kampnii ne sabhii karmchaariyon ke lie hotal kii vyavasthaa kar dii hai।)
जब हम पहुँचेंगे, तब तक होटल का कमरा तैयार हो चुका होगा।
By the time we arrive, the hotel room will already be ready.
(jab ham pahunchenge, tab tak hotal kaa kamraa taiyaar ho chukaa hogaa।)
यात्रियों को समुद्र के किनारे वाला होटल सबसे ज़्यादा पसंद आता है।
Travelers like the beachside hotel the most.
(yaatriyon ko samudr ke kinaare vaalaa hotal sabse zyaadaa pasand aataa hai।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
होटल
(hotal)
(sg.m.oblique):
होटल
(hotal)
(pl.m.direct):
होटल
(hotal)
(pl.m.oblique):
होटलों
(hotlon)