बिछौना (bichhaunaa)

noun A bed or bedding -- specifically the mattress/spread laid out on the floor or a cot to sleep on. Related in root to बिछाना (bichhaanaa, 'to spread out'), which describes the act of laying it down.
Sense 1 : bedding, a laid-out bed
noun, masculine
Synonyms: बिस्तर (bistar), शय्या (shayyaa, literary)
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: Picture a grandmother's room in a village or old Delhi haveli: a बिछौना (bichhaunaa) is that cotton-stuffed mattress or quilt rolled out on the floor at night and rolled back up in the morning, rather than a fixed Western-style bed. It carries a slightly homely, traditional flavor that बिस्तर (bistar) doesn't always have.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for बिस्तर (bistar) by default since it is more common in everyday speech; बिछौना (bichhaunaa) is not wrong but sounds a touch more old-fashioned or rural, especially for a simple mattress/quilt spread on the floor rather than a proper bed.
Sample Sentences:
दादी ने आँगन में बिछौना बिछा दिया। Grandmother laid out the bedding in the courtyard.
(daadii ne aangan men bichhaunaa bichhaa diyaa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
सुबह होते ही बिछौना समेट दिया जाता है। As soon as morning comes, the bedding is rolled up and put away.
(subah hote hii bichhaunaa samet diyaa jaataa hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
पुराने दिनों में लोग फर्श पर बिछौना डालकर सोते थे। In the old days people used to sleep on bedding laid out on the floor.
(puraane dinon men log pharsh par bichhaunaa daalkar sote the।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
मेहमानों के लिए एक अलग बिछौना तैयार रखो। Keep a separate set of bedding ready for the guests.
(mehmaanon ke lie ek alag bichhaunaa taiyaar rakho।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
अगर बारिश न होती तो हम छत पर बिछौना बिछाकर सोते। If it hadn't rained, we would have slept on the roof with the bedding laid out.
(agar baarish n hotii to ham chhat par bichhaunaa bichhaakar sote।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
बच्चा अपने छोटे से बिछौने पर सोया हुआ है। The child is asleep on his little bedding.
(bachchaa apne chhote se bichhaune par soyaa huaa hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
हवेली के उस कमरे में एक पुराना बिछौना बरसों से रखा है। In that room of the haveli, an old bedding has been kept for years.
(havelii ke us kamre men ek puraanaa bichhaunaa barson se rakhaa hai।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
काश मेरे पास भी दादी जैसा नरम बिछौना होता। I wish I too had soft bedding like grandmother's.
(kaash mere paas bhii daadii jaisaa naram bichhaunaa hotaa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Voice: Active
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct): बिछौना (bichhaunaa)
(sg.m.oblique): बिछौने (bichhaune)
(pl.m.direct): बिछौने (bichhaune)
(pl.m.oblique): बिछौनों (bichhaunon)