सच (sach)
noun/adjective/adverb
Means 'truth' as a noun and 'true/truthful' as an adjective; also works as an adverb/interjection meaning 'truly, really' and appears in the very common phrase सच में (sach men).
Sense
1
:
truth, the true facts
noun, masculine
Synonyms: सत्य (saty, literary/formal)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: सच (sach) is the word you hear in real confrontations and confessions -- a parent saying 'सच बोलो' (sach bolo, 'tell the truth') or a friend insisting 'ये सच है' (ye sach hai, 'this is true'). सत्य (saty) sits one register up, at home in proverbs, philosophy, and Gandhian vocabulary like सत्याग्रह (satyaagrah).
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for सत्य (saty) by default because it looks like the 'dictionary' word for truth, but in daily speech सच (sach) is what people actually say -- 'सच बताओ' (sach bataao, 'tell the truth'), not सत्य बताओ (saty bataao).
Sample Sentences:
मुझे सच बताओ, क्या हुआ था?
Tell me the truth, what happened?
(mujhe sach bataao, kyaa huaa thaa?)
ये सच है कि उसने नौकरी छोड़ दी है।
It is true that he has quit his job.
(ye sach hai ki usne naukrii chhod dii hai।)
पुलिस के सामने आखिरकार उसने सच बोल दिया।
In front of the police, he finally spoke the truth.
(pulis ke saamne aakhirkaar usne sach bol diyaa।)
मुझे नहीं पता था कि सच क्या था।
I did not know what the truth was.
(mujhe nahiin pataa thaa ki sach kyaa thaa।)
अगर तुमने सच बताया होता, तो इतनी परेशानी नहीं होती।
If you had told the truth, there wouldn't have been so much trouble.
(agar tumne sach bataayaa hotaa, to itnii pareshaanii nahiin hotii।)
सच छुपाना भी एक तरह का झूठ ही है।
Hiding the truth is also a kind of lie.
(sach chhupaanaa bhii ek tarah kaa jhooth hii hai।)
अदालत में सच सामने आ ही जाता है।
The truth does come out in court, eventually.
(adaalat men sach saamne aa hii jaataa hai।)
क्या तुम्हें यकीन है कि यही सच है?
Are you sure that this is the truth?
(kyaa tumhen yakiin hai ki yahii sach hai?)
बच्चे से सच उगलवाने में उसे घंटों लग गए।
It took him hours to get the truth out of the child.
(bachche se sach ugalvaane men use ghanton lag gae।)
सच को हमेशा के लिए दबाया नहीं जा सकता।
The truth cannot be suppressed forever.
(sach ko hameshaa ke lie dabaayaa nahiin jaa saktaa।)
पत्रकार का काम है सच को जनता तक पहुँचाना।
A journalist's job is to bring the truth to the public.
(patrkaar kaa kaam hai sach ko jantaa tak pahunchaanaa।)
Sense
2
:
true, truthful
adjective
Synonyms: सत्य (saty, literary/formal)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Used just like English 'true' -- 'ये बात सच है' (ye baat sach hai, 'this thing is true'). It pairs naturally with झूठ (jhooth, 'lie/false'), and Hindi speakers love the contrast pair सच-झूठ (sach-jhooth, 'truth and lies') when talking about honesty.
Sample Sentences:
ये बात सच है।
This thing is true.
(ye baat sach hai।)
उसकी कहानी सच निकली।
Her story turned out to be true.
(uskii kahaanii sach niklii।)
क्या तुम्हारी बात सच होगी?
Will what you're saying be true?
(kyaa tumhaarii baat sach hogii?)
काश उसकी बात सच होती।
If only what he said were true.
(kaash uskii baat sach hotii।)
अगर उसकी बात सच होती, तो हमें पहले पता चल जाता।
If what he said were true, we would have found out earlier.
(agar uskii baat sach hotii, to hamen pahle pataa chal jaataa।)
हो सकता है कि उसकी बात सच हो।
It's possible that what he's saying is true.
(ho saktaa hai ki uskii baat sach ho।)
सच बातें हमेशा आसान नहीं होतीं।
True things are not always easy.
(sach baaten hameshaa aasaan nahiin hotiin।)
इस मामले में सच और झूठ के बीच फ़र्क़ करना मुश्किल है।
In this matter, it's hard to tell the true from the false.
(is maamle men sach aur jhooth ke biich farq karnaa mushkil hai।)
अदालत में यह साबित हुआ कि उसका बयान सच था।
It was proven in court that his statement was true.
(adaalat men yah saabit huaa ki uskaa bayaan sach thaa।)
मुझे यकीन है कि यह ख़बर सच है।
I'm sure this news is true.
(mujhe yakiin hai ki yah khabar sach hai।)
बच्चों को सच और झूठ की पहचान सिखानी चाहिए।
Children should be taught to recognize what is true and what is false.
(bachchon ko sach aur jhooth kii pahchaan sikhaanii chaahie।)
Sense
3
:
truly, really, honestly
adverb Used to intensify a statement, often at the start of a sentence: सच, मुझे पता नहीं था (sach, mujhe pataa nahiin thaa, 'honestly, I did not know').
Synonyms: सच में (sach men, set phrase), सचमुच (sachmuch)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is the सच (sach) you hear as a stand-alone reaction -- someone shares surprising news and you just say 'सच?' (sach?), raising your eyebrows, exactly like English 'really?'. सचमुच (sachmuch) is the fuller, slightly more emphatic cousin of this same word.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes translate 'really?' word for word instead of using the natural exclamation सच? (sach?) which alone means 'really?/is that true?' in conversation.
Sample Sentences:
सच?
Really?
(sach?)
सच, मुझे बहुत खुशी हुई।
Really, I was very happy.
(sach, mujhe bahut khushii huii।)
क्या तुम सच कह रहे हो कि वो कल आ रहा है?
Are you really saying that he's coming tomorrow?
(kyaa tum sach kah rahe ho ki vo kal aa rahaa hai?)
सच बताऊँ तो मुझे यह फ़िल्म पसंद नहीं आई।
If I tell you truly, I didn't like this film.
(sach bataaoon to mujhe yah film pasand nahiin aaii।)
मैं सच कहती हूँ, मैंने तुम्हारा फ़ोन नहीं देखा।
I'm really telling you, I didn't see your phone.
(main sach kahtii hoon, mainne tumhaaraa fon nahiin dekhaa।)
सच में, मुझे इस बात का ज़रा भी अंदाज़ा नहीं था।
Really, I had no idea about this at all.
(sach men, mujhe is baat kaa zaraa bhii andaazaa nahiin thaa।)
अगर तुम सच में उससे प्यार करते तो उसे इस तरह नहीं छोड़ते।
If you really loved her, you wouldn't have left her like that.
(agar tum sach men usse pyaar karte to use is tarah nahiin chhodte।)
क्या यह सच संभव है कि वह इतनी जल्दी ठीक हो गया?
Is it really possible that he recovered so quickly?
(kyaa yah sach sambhav hai ki vah itnii jaldii thiik ho gayaa?)
सच कहूँ तो मुझे इस शहर में रहना पसंद नहीं है।
To be honest, I don't like living in this city.
(sach kahoon to mujhe is shahar men rahnaa pasand nahiin hai।)
आपने सच में इतना बड़ा फ़ैसला अकेले लिया?
Did you really make such a big decision alone?
(aapne sach men itnaa badaa faislaa akele liyaa?)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
सच
(sach)
(sg.m.oblique):
सच
(sach)
(pl.m.direct):
सच
(sach)
(pl.m.oblique):
सचों
(sachon)
Adjective (invariant)
invariant:
सच
(sach)