पत्थर (patthar)
noun
The everyday word for a physical stone or rock, with a well-worn figurative extension to something emotionally hard or unfeeling.
Sense
1
:
stone, rock
noun, masculine
Synonyms: शिला (shilaa, literary), चट्टान (chattaan, boulder/rock face)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the word you'll hear at a construction site, in a garden, or when someone trips on the road and grumbles about a पत्थर (patthar) in their path. It's completely concrete and everyday, the base meaning from which the emotional sense (below) grows.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes confuse पत्थर (patthar) with चट्टान (chattaan) -- पत्थर (patthar) is a general or loose stone, while चट्टान (chattaan) is a large rock face or boulder, like something you'd see on a cliff.
Sample Sentences:
रास्ते में एक बड़ा पत्थर पड़ा था।
There was a big stone lying on the road.
(raaste men ek badaa patthar padaa thaa।)
मेरा पैर पत्थर से टकरा गया।
My foot hit a stone.
(meraa pair patthar se takraa gayaa।)
मजदूर दिन भर पत्थर तोड़ते हैं।
The laborers break stones all day long.
(majdoor din bhar patthar todte hain।)
बगीचे की दीवार पत्थर से बनाई गई है।
The garden wall has been built with stone.
(bagiiche kii diivaar patthar se banaaii gaii hai।)
यह मूर्ति संगमरमर के पत्थर से बनी है।
This statue is made of marble stone.
(yah moorti sangmarmar ke patthar se banii hai।)
पत्थर मत फेंको, किसी को चोट लग जाएगी।
Don't throw stones, someone will get hurt.
(patthar mat phenko, kisii ko chot lag jaaegii।)
अगर वहाँ पत्थर न होता, तो मैं गिर न जाता।
If there had not been a stone there, I would not have fallen.
(agar vahaan patthar n hotaa, to main gir n jaataa।)
नदी के किनारे कई तरह के चमकीले पत्थर मिलते हैं।
Many kinds of shiny stones are found along the riverbank.
(nadii ke kinaare kaii tarah ke chamkiile patthar milte hain।)
मकान की नींव में मजबूत पत्थर लगाए जाते हैं।
Strong stones are laid in the foundation of a house.
(makaan kii niinv men majboot patthar lagaae jaate hain।)
शायद इस खदान में कीमती पत्थर मिल जाएँ।
Perhaps precious stones might be found in this quarry.
(shaayad is khadaan men kiimtii patthar mil jaaen।)
बच्चे तालाब में पत्थर फेंक कर खेल रहे थे।
The children were playing, throwing stones into the pond.
(bachche taalaab men patthar phenk kar khel rahe the।)
Sense
2
:
emotionally hard, unfeeling (of a person or heart)
noun, masculine Used predicatively or in set phrases like दिल पत्थर का हो जाना (dil patthar kaa ho jaanaa, 'the heart turns to stone') and पत्थर दिल (patthar dil, 'stone-hearted') rather than as a plain noun on its own.
Synonyms: संगदिल (sangdil, literary/poetic), निर्दयी (nirdyii, cruel, broader sense)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Hindi loves this body-as-container image: the heart itself doesn't feel, so it 'becomes stone' -- दिल पत्थर का हो गया (dil patthar kaa ho gayaa, 'the heart became stone') -- rather than the person simply 'being' unfeeling. You'll hear this a lot in film dialogue and songs about heartbreak.
Common Mistakes: 1) This sense almost always appears bundled with दिल (dil, heart) -- learners sometimes try to use पत्थर (patthar) alone to mean 'cruel person,' which sounds incomplete; you need the heart-frame to make the metaphor land.
Sample Sentences:
उसका दिल पत्थर का हो गया है।
Her heart has become stone.
(uskaa dil patthar kaa ho gayaa hai।)
इतना मत रो, वह तो पत्थर दिल इंसान है, उसे कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ेगा।
Don't cry so much, he's a stone-hearted person, it won't make any difference to him.
(itnaa mat ro, vah to patthar dil insaan hai, use koii phark nahiin padegaa।)
मेरी इतनी मिन्नतों के बाद भी उसका पत्थर दिल नहीं पसीजा।
Even after all my pleading, his stone heart didn't soften.
(merii itnii minnton ke baad bhii uskaa patthar dil nahiin pasiijaa।)
क्या तुम्हारा दिल पत्थर का बना है कि किसी की तकलीफ ही नहीं दिखती?
Is your heart made of stone, that you can't even see anyone's pain?
(kyaa tumhaaraa dil patthar kaa banaa hai ki kisii kii takliiph hii nahiin dikhtii?)
अगर उसका दिल पत्थर का न होता, तो वह अपनी बूढ़ी माँ को इस तरह न छोड़ता।
If his heart weren't made of stone, he wouldn't have abandoned his old mother like this.
(agar uskaa dil patthar kaa n hotaa, to vah apnii boodhii maan ko is tarah n chhodtaa।)
बरसों के दर्द ने उसके दिल को पत्थर बना दिया था।
Years of pain had turned her heart to stone.
(barson ke dard ne uske dil ko patthar banaa diyaa thaa।)
पत्थर दिल हो जाओ, वरना यह दुनिया तुम्हें तोड़ देगी।
Become stone-hearted, or this world will break you.
(patthar dil ho jaao, varnaa yah duniyaa tumhen tod degii।)
फिल्म के आखिरी सीन में सबसे पत्थर दिल दर्शक की भी आँखें भीग गईं।
In the film's last scene, even the most stone-hearted viewer's eyes welled up.
(philm ke aakhirii siin men sabse patthar dil darshak kii bhii aankhen bhiig gaiin।)
उम्मीद है वह पत्थर दिल न बन जाए, चाहे कितनी भी मुसीबतें आएँ।
I hope he doesn't become stone-hearted, no matter how many troubles come his way.
(ummiid hai vah patthar dil n ban jaae, chaahe kitnii bhii musiibten aaen।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
पत्थर
(patthar)
(sg.m.oblique):
पत्थर
(patthar)
(pl.m.direct):
पत्थर
(patthar)
(pl.m.oblique):
पत्थरों
(patthron)