पैर (pair)
noun
Basic word for the leg/foot (pair), and the anchor for many common idioms about status, respect, and being grounded.
Sense
1
:
leg / foot (body part)
noun, masculine
Synonyms: टांग (taang, leg specifically, informal), चरण (charan, literary/respectful)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Touching someone's पैर (pair) -- पैर छूना (pair chhoonaa, to touch someone's feet) -- is a real everyday gesture of respect to elders, teachers, and at weddings, not just a book phrase. Feet are also considered the 'lowest' and least pure part of the body, which is why pointing your feet at someone or at a deity is a genuine faux pas worth knowing.
Common Mistakes: 1) पैर (pair) covers both 'leg' and 'foot' in everyday speech; Hindi does not force the distinction English does, so learners often hunt for a separate 'foot' word when none is needed. 2) टांग (taang) is used specifically for the leg (and can sound a bit crude/informal in some contexts), while पैर (pair) is the neutral, polite default for the whole limb.
Sample Sentences:
मेरे पैर में दर्द हो रहा है।
My leg is hurting.
(mere pair men dard ho rahaa hai।)
उसने गिरकर अपना पैर तुड़वा लिया।
He fell and broke his leg.
(usne girkar apnaa pair tudvaa liyaa।)
शादी में बहू ने सबसे पहले अपनी सास के पैर छुए।
At the wedding, the bride first touched her mother-in-law's feet.
(shaadii men bahoo ne sabse pahle apnii saas ke pair chhue।)
जूते पहनने से पहले अपने पैर धो लो।
Wash your feet before putting on your shoes.
(joote pahanne se pahle apne pair dho lo।)
मंदिर में किसी की ओर पैर करके मत बैठो, यह अपमान माना जाता है।
Don't sit with your feet pointed at anyone in the temple, it's considered disrespectful.
(mandir men kisii kii or pair karke mat baitho, yah apmaan maanaa jaataa hai।)
बच्चा दिन भर नंगे पैर बाहर दौड़ता रहता है।
The child keeps running around outside barefoot all day.
(bachchaa din bhar nange pair baahar daudtaa rahtaa hai।)
अगर मेरा पैर मोच न आया होता तो मैं दौड़ में हिस्सा लेता।
If I hadn't sprained my leg, I would have taken part in the race.
(agar meraa pair moch n aayaa hotaa to main daud men hissaa letaa।)
डॉक्टर ने कहा कि उसका पैर अगले हफ्ते तक ठीक हो जाएगा।
The doctor said that his leg would heal by next week.
(doktar ne kahaa ki uskaa pair agle haphte tak thiik ho jaaegaa।)
काश मेरे पैर इतने कमजोर न होते।
I wish my legs weren't so weak.
(kaash mere pair itne kamjor n hote।)
थकान से उसके पैर सूज गए थे।
His feet had swollen up from exhaustion.
(thakaan se uske pair sooj gae the।)
गुरु के आशीर्वाद के लिए शिष्य उनके पैर छूकर खड़ा रहा।
For the guru's blessing, the disciple stood having touched his feet.
(guru ke aashiirvaad ke lie shishy unke pair chhookar khadaa rahaa।)
Sense
2
:
foot/base of an object (extended/figurative)
noun, masculine
Synonyms: तल (tal, base, more formal/technical)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Just like English says 'foot of the hill' or 'leg of the table,' Hindi extends पैर (pair) the same way -- मेज़ का पैर (mez kaa pair, the table's leg), पहाड़ के पैर में (pahaad ke pair men, at the foot of the mountain). It is a natural metaphor that maps almost one-to-one onto English, so it is an easy extension for learners to pick up.
Sample Sentences:
मेज़ का एक पैर टूटा हुआ है।
One leg of the table is broken.
(mez kaa ek pair tootaa huaa hai।)
गाँव पहाड़ के पैर में बसा है।
The village is settled at the foot of the mountain.
(gaanv pahaad ke pair men basaa hai।)
कुर्सी के पैर लकड़ी के बने होते हैं।
Chair legs are usually made of wood.
(kursii ke pair lakdii ke bane hote hain।)
बढ़ई ने सोफे का पैर ठीक कर दिया।
The carpenter fixed the sofa's leg.
(badhaii ne sophe kaa pair thiik kar diyaa।)
अगर मेज़ का पैर मज़बूत होता, तो वह यूँ न डगमगाती।
If the table's leg were strong, it wouldn't wobble like this.
(agar mez kaa pair mazboot hotaa, to vah yoon n dagamgaatii।)
पहाड़ के पैर में एक छोटा-सा मंदिर है।
There is a small temple at the foot of the mountain.
(pahaad ke pair men ek chhotaa-saa mandir hai।)
पलंग का पैर टूट जाए, तो पूरा गद्दा तिरछा हो जाएगा।
If the bed's leg breaks, the whole mattress will tilt.
(palang kaa pair toot jaae, to pooraa gaddaa tirchhaa ho jaaegaa।)
टेबल के पैर को हल्का-सा उठाकर देखो, नीचे कुछ अटका है।
Lift the table's leg a little and look, something's stuck underneath.
(tebal ke pair ko halkaa-saa uthaakar dekho, niiche kuchh atkaa hai।)
पहाड़ के पैर से चोटी तक चढ़ने में पूरा दिन लग गया।
It took a whole day to climb from the foot of the mountain to the peak.
(pahaad ke pair se chotii tak chadhne men pooraa din lag gayaa।)
अलमारी के पैरों के नीचे रबड़ के टुकड़े लगा दो, फर्श खराब नहीं होगा।
Put rubber pieces under the cupboard's legs, the floor won't get damaged.
(almaarii ke pairon ke niiche rabad ke tukde lagaa do, pharsh kharaab nahiin hogaa।)
Sense
3
:
footing, ground, standing (idiomatic, as in stability/position)
noun, masculine This sense lives almost entirely inside fixed idioms rather than as a freestanding noun meaning -- see CulturalNote.
Synonyms: जगह (jagah, place/foothold, meaning scope: only covers the 'place' sense, not the idiom)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Think of business or career talk in Delhi: लोग कहते हैं 'बाज़ार में पैर जमा लिए' (baazaar men pair jamaa lie, 'they've established a foothold in the market') -- the same body-grounded logic as 'get a foothold' in English, but पैर (pair) does double duty as both the literal foot and this figurative sense of stability.
Common Mistakes: 1) पैर जमाना (pair jamaanaa, to establish a foothold/get settled) and पैर उखड़ना (pair ukhadnaa, to lose one's footing/be destabilized) are compound-verb idioms; learners sometimes try to translate them word-for-word instead of learning them as set phrases.
Sample Sentences:
उसने बाज़ार में अपने पैर जमा लिए हैं।
He has established a foothold in the market.
(usne baazaar men apne pair jamaa lie hain।)
नई कंपनी अभी इस इंडस्ट्री में पैर जमा रही है।
The new company is currently establishing a foothold in this industry.
(naii kampnii abhii is indastrii men pair jamaa rahii hai।)
अगर हम मेहनत करें तो इस शहर में हमारे पैर मज़बूती से टिक सकते हैं।
If we work hard, we could gain a firm footing in this city.
(agar ham mehnat karen to is shahar men hamaare pair mazbootii se tik sakte hain।)
पहले तो उसके पैर नहीं टिक रहे थे, फिर धीरे-धीरे उसने जगह बना ली।
At first he had no footing at all, but slowly he made a place for himself.
(pahle to uske pair nahiin tik rahe the, phir dhiire-dhiire usne jagah banaa lii।)
यदि उस समय हमने सही निर्णय लिया होता, तो हमारे पैर यहाँ पहले ही जम गए होते।
If we had made the right decision back then, our footing here would have been established much earlier.
(yadi us samay hamne sahii nirnay liyaa hotaa, to hamaare pair yahaan pahle hii jam gae hote।)
इस प्रतियोगी बाज़ार में अपने पैर जमाना आसान नहीं है।
Establishing a foothold in this competitive market is not easy.
(is pratiyogii baazaar men apne pair jamaanaa aasaan nahiin hai।)
अपने करियर में पैर जमाने के लिए धैर्य रखो।
Have patience in order to establish your footing in your career.
(apne kariyar men pair jamaane ke lie dhairy rakho।)
विदेशी कंपनियों के लिए भारतीय बाज़ार में पैर जमाना हमेशा चुनौतीपूर्ण रहा है।
For foreign companies, establishing a foothold in the Indian market has always been challenging.
(videshii kampniyon ke lie bhaartiiy baazaar men pair jamaanaa hameshaa chunautiipoorn rahaa hai।)
एक बार पैर जम जाएँ, तो फिर तरक्की खुद-ब-खुद होने लगती है।
Once a foothold is gained, progress starts happening on its own.
(ek baar pair jam jaaen, to phir tarakkii khud-b-khud hone lagtii hai।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
पैर
(pair)
(sg.m.oblique):
पैर
(pair)
(pl.m.direct):
पैर
(pair)
(pl.m.oblique):
पैरों
(pairon)