राम-कहानी (raam-kahaanii)
noun
A single idiomatic noun meaning a long, tedious tale of personal troubles -- literally 'Ram's story' -- used almost always with verbs like सुनाना (sunaanaa) or शुरू करना (shuroo karnaa).
Sense
1
:
a long, rambling account of one's troubles or complaints
noun, feminine
Synonyms: दुखड़ा (dukhdaa), किस्सा (kissaa, meaning scope: any story, not necessarily one of complaint)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This is the kind of phrase you say with a small eye-roll: जब भी मिलती है, अपनी राम-कहानी सुनाने लगती है (jab bhii miltii hai, apnii raam-kahaanii sunaane lagtii hai, 'whenever she meets me, she starts telling her sob story'). The 'Ram' here has faded into pure idiom, much like 'for Pete's sake' in English -- nobody consciously thinks of the god or the epic when they say it.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes take this literally as being about the deity Ram; it has nothing to do with the epic Ramayana in modern speech -- it is a fixed idiom for 'a whole long saga' (usually of complaints or hardships). 2) Almost always appears with सुनाना (sunaanaa, 'to narrate/tell') or the phrase राम-कहानी शुरू हो गई (raam-kahaanii shuroo ho gaii, 'the sob story started') -- using it as a neutral synonym for 'story' in other contexts sounds odd.
Sample Sentences:
जब भी मिलती है, अपनी राम-कहानी सुनाने लगती है।
Whenever she meets me, she starts telling her sob story.
(jab bhii miltii hai, apnii raam-kahaanii sunaane lagtii hai।)
उसने फिर अपनी वही पुरानी राम-कहानी शुरू कर दी।
He started that same old sob story of his again.
(usne phir apnii vahii puraanii raam-kahaanii shuroo kar dii।)
अरे यार, अपनी राम-कहानी मत सुनाओ, सीधे बात बताओ क्या चाहिए।
Come on man, don't launch into your sob story, just tell me straight what you need.
(are yaar, apnii raam-kahaanii mat sunaao, siidhe baat bataao kyaa chaahie।)
मुझे लगता है वह हर बार नई मुसीबत की राम-कहानी बनाकर लाता है।
I feel like he cooks up a fresh sob story of troubles every single time.
(mujhe lagtaa hai vah har baar naii musiibat kii raam-kahaanii banaakar laataa hai।)
अगर वह अपनी राम-कहानी न सुनाता तो शायद मीटिंग जल्दी खत्म हो जाती।
If he hadn't gone on with his sob story, the meeting might have ended early.
(agar vah apnii raam-kahaanii n sunaataa to shaayad miiting jaldii khatm ho jaatii।)
दफ्तर में सबको उसकी राम-कहानी सुनाई जाती है, चाहे कोई सुनना चाहे या न चाहे।
His sob story gets told to everyone in the office, whether anyone wants to hear it or not.
(daphtar men sabko uskii raam-kahaanii sunaaii jaatii hai, chaahe koii sunnaa chaahe yaa n chaahe।)
क्या तुम्हें नहीं लगता कि उसकी यह राम-कहानी अब थोड़ी थकाने वाली हो गई है?
Don't you think this sob story of his has gotten a bit tiresome by now?
(kyaa tumhen nahiin lagtaa ki uskii yah raam-kahaanii ab thodii thakaane vaalii ho gaii hai?)
पड़ोसी आंटी हर हफ्ते अपनी बहू के खिलाफ एक नई राम-कहानी लेकर आ जाती हैं।
The neighbor aunty shows up every week with a fresh sob story against her daughter-in-law.
(padosii aantii har haphte apnii bahoo ke khilaaph ek naii raam-kahaanii lekar aa jaatii hain।)
बॉस ने कहा कि छुट्टी चाहिए तो सीधे बोलो, राम-कहानी की जरूरत नहीं।
The boss said if you need leave just say so directly, no need for a sob story.
(bos ne kahaa ki chhuttii chaahie to siidhe bolo, raam-kahaanii kii jaroorat nahiin।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct):
राम-कहानी
([[राम-कहानी]])
(sg.f.oblique):
राम-कहानी
([[राम-कहानी]])
(pl.f.direct):
राम-कहानियाँ
([[राम-कहानियाँ]])
(pl.f.oblique):
राम-कहानियों
([[राम-कहानियों]])