पौधा (paudhaa)
noun
A concrete noun meaning 'plant' or 'sapling' -- the small, living, growing kind you'd find in a nursery or a garden pot, as opposed to a full-grown tree (ped).
Sense
1
:
plant, sapling
noun, masculine
Synonyms: पादप (paadap, literary/botanical)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Every Delhi balcony seems to have at least one गमला (gamlaa, 'flowerpot') with a तुलसी का पौधा (tulsii kaa paudhaa, 'basil plant') in it -- tulsi is watered daily and often treated with real reverence, not just as decoration. The verb pairing पौधा लगाना (paudhaa lagaanaa, 'to plant a sapling') is also the standard phrase used in tree-planting drives and environmental campaigns you'll see on posters and news reports.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes use पौधा (paudhaa) and पेड़ (ped) interchangeably, but Hindi speakers keep a fairly firm size distinction: पौधा (paudhaa) is a young or small plant (something you'd grow in a pot or nursery), while पेड़ (ped) is a proper tree with a trunk. Calling a mango tree a पौधा (paudhaa) would sound odd unless it is genuinely still a sapling.
Sample Sentences:
मेरी बालकनी में तुलसी का पौधा है।
There is a basil plant on my balcony.
(merii baalaknii men tulsii kaa paudhaa hai।)
दादी हर सुबह पौधे को पानी देती हैं।
Grandma waters the plant every morning.
(daadii har subah paudhe ko paanii detii hain।)
हमने पिछले हफ्ते बगीचे में एक आम का पौधा लगाया था।
We had planted a mango sapling in the garden last week.
(hamne pichhle haphte bagiiche men ek aam kaa paudhaa lagaayaa thaa।)
यह पौधा बहुत तेज़ी से बढ़ रहा है।
This plant is growing very fast.
(yah paudhaa bahut tezii se badh rahaa hai।)
कृपया इस पौधे को छाँव में रखिए, वरना यह मुरझा जाएगा।
Please keep this plant in the shade, or it will wilt.
(kripyaa is paudhe ko chhaanv men rakhie, varnaa yah murjhaa jaaegaa।)
स्कूल में बच्चों से कहा गया कि हर छात्र एक पौधा लगाए।
At school, the children were told that every student should plant a sapling.
(skool men bachchon se kahaa gayaa ki har chhaatr ek paudhaa lagaae।)
अगर तुम इसे रोज़ पानी देते तो यह पौधा अब तक बड़ा हो गया होता।
If you had watered it daily, this plant would have grown big by now.
(agar tum ise roz paanii dete to yah paudhaa ab tak badaa ho gayaa hotaa।)
पर्यावरण दिवस पर कॉलोनी के लोगों ने मिलकर सौ पौधे लगाए।
On Environment Day, the people of the colony planted a hundred saplings together.
(paryaavran divas par kolonii ke logon ne milkar sau paudhe lagaae।)
नर्सरी में गुलाब के पौधे बेचे जाते हैं।
Rose plants are sold at the nursery.
(narsrii men gulaab ke paudhe beche jaate hain।)
अगर हर घर में एक पौधा लगे, तो शहर हरा-भरा हो जाएगा।
If every house plants one sapling, the city will become lush and green.
(agar har ghar men ek paudhaa lage, to shahar haraa-bharaa ho jaaegaa।)
खिड़की के पास वाला गमले का पौधा सूख चुका है।
The potted plant near the window has already dried up.
(khidkii ke paas vaalaa gamle kaa paudhaa sookh chukaa hai।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
पौधा
(paudhaa)
(sg.m.oblique):
पौधे
(paudhe)
(pl.m.direct):
पौधे
(paudhe)
(pl.m.oblique):
पौधों
(paudhon)