ग़लती (ghaltii)
noun
A single core sense: a mistake or error, used constantly in everyday speech about slip-ups big and small. Also commonly spelled without the nuqta as गलती (galtii).
Sense
1
:
mistake, error, fault
noun, feminine Common frame: ग़लती करना (ghaltii karnaa, 'to make a mistake') is transitive; ग़लती होना (ghaltii honaa, 'a mistake to happen/occur') uses a से-marked or को-marked experiencer, as in मुझसे ग़लती हुई (mujhse ghaltii huii, 'I made a mistake' -- literally 'a mistake happened from me').
Synonyms: भूल (bhool), त्रुटि (truti, formal), चूक (chook, a slip/oversight), कमी (kamii, shortcoming)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Notice how ग़लती से (ghaltii se, 'by mistake') is one of the most useful adverbial phrases in daily Hindi, covering everything from bumping into someone on the metro to sending a text to the wrong person. The से-marked 'mistake happened from me' pattern (मुझसे ग़लती हुई, mujhse ghaltii huii) reflects a broader Hindi habit of framing unintentional acts as things that happen to or through a person rather than things a person actively does -- softer and less accusatory than English 'I made a mistake.'
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often say मैंने ग़लती हुई (mainne ghaltii huii) by analogy with ने-marked verbs, but होना (honaa) here takes से (se), not ने (ne): the correct form is मुझसे ग़लती हुई (mujhse ghaltii huii). 2) ग़लती करना (ghaltii karnaa, 'to make a mistake') and ग़लती होना (ghaltii honaa, 'a mistake to happen') shade the blame differently -- करना (karnaa) frames it as your deliberate act, होना (honaa) frames it as something that just occurred, softening responsibility -- and learners often pick the wrong one when apologizing.
Sample Sentences:
माफ़ कीजिए, मुझसे बड़ी ग़लती हुई।
I'm sorry, I made a big mistake.
(maaf kiijie, mujhse badii ghaltii huii।)
मैंने ग़लती से तुम्हें वो मैसेज भेज दिया।
I sent you that message by mistake.
(mainne ghaltii se tumhen vo maisej bhej diyaa।)
हर कोई ग़लतियाँ करता है, इसमें शर्माने की कोई बात नहीं।
Everyone makes mistakes, there's nothing to be embarrassed about.
(har koii ghaltiyaan kartaa hai, ismen sharmaane kii koii baat nahiin।)
यह ग़लती दोबारा मत करना।
Don't make this mistake again.
(yah ghaltii dobaaraa mat karnaa।)
अगर उसने वह ग़लती न की होती, तो आज नौकरी नहीं जाती।
If he hadn't made that mistake, he wouldn't have lost his job today.
(agar usne vah ghaltii n kii hotii, to aaj naukrii nahiin jaatii।)
रिपोर्ट में यह ग़लती किसी ने पकड़ ही नहीं पाई।
No one managed to catch this mistake in the report.
(riport men yah ghaltii kisii ne pakad hii nahiin paaii।)
क्या तुम्हें लगता है कि यह मेरी ग़लती है?
Do you think this is my mistake?
(kyaa tumhen lagtaa hai ki yah merii ghaltii hai?)
मुझसे ग़लती हुई है, मैं इसे सुधार लूँगा।
A mistake happened from my end, I will fix it.
(mujhse ghaltii huii hai, main ise sudhaar loongaa।)
अनुबंध में हुई इस ग़लती को तुरंत ठीक किया जाए।
This mistake in the contract should be corrected immediately.
(anubandh men huii is ghaltii ko turant thiik kiyaa jaae।)
उसकी सबसे बड़ी ग़लती यह थी कि उसने किसी की बात नहीं सुनी।
His biggest mistake was that he didn't listen to anyone.
(uskii sabse badii ghaltii yah thii ki usne kisii kii baat nahiin sunii।)
शायद यह मेरी ग़लती ही रही हो, पता नहीं।
Maybe it was actually my mistake, I don't know.
(shaayad yah merii ghaltii hii rahii ho, pataa nahiin।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct):
ग़लती
(ghaltii)
(sg.f.oblique):
ग़लती
(ghaltii)
(pl.f.direct):
ग़लतियाँ
(ghaltiyaan)
(pl.f.oblique):
ग़लतियों
(ghaltiyon)