जँभाई (jambhaaii)
noun
This word means 'yawn,' the noun form. It is almost always seen paired with the verb आना (aanaa) or लेना (lenaa) in the fixed expression for yawning.
Sense
1
:
yawn
noun, feminine Occurs mainly in the pattern X को जँभाई आना (X ko jambhaaii aanaa), 'a yawn comes to X,' framing yawning as involuntary, like feeling sleepy or hungry.
Synonyms: उबासी (ubaasii)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Like नींद आना (niind aanaa, 'sleep comes') and भूख लगना (bhookh lagnaa, 'hunger strikes'), जँभाई आना (jambhaaii aanaa) belongs to that very Hindi family of involuntary-body verbs where the person is a को-marked dative experiencer, not a doer. If you catch someone yawning in a Delhi household, don't be surprised if an elder says भगवान का नाम लो (bhagvaan kaa naam lo, 'take God's name'), a common superstition-tinged reflex to a yawn or sneeze.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners try to say 'I yawned' with a subject-agent construction like मैंने जँभाई की (mainne jambhaaii kii); native speakers overwhelmingly prefer the दुसरा को-marked pattern मुझे जँभाई आई (mujhe jambhaaii aaii, 'I yawned,' literally 'a yawn came to me'), treating the yawn as something that happens to you rather than something you actively do. 2) Some learners confuse जँभाई (jambhaaii) with उबासी (ubaasii); both mean 'yawn' and are largely interchangeable, though जँभाई (jambhaaii) is the one more often heard in casual home speech in Delhi-NCR.
Sample Sentences:
मुझे जँभाई आ रही है।
I'm yawning.
(mujhe jambhaaii aa rahii hai।)
उसे बार-बार जँभाई आ रही थी, इसलिए मैं समझ गया कि वह थका हुआ है।
He kept yawning again and again, so I understood that he was tired.
(use baar-baar jambhaaii aa rahii thii, islie main samajh gayaa ki vah thakaa huaa hai।)
जब भी लेक्चर बोरिंग होता है, मुझे जँभाई आने लगती है।
Whenever the lecture is boring, I start yawning.
(jab bhii lekchar boring hotaa hai, mujhe jambhaaii aane lagtii hai।)
उसने जँभाई ली और आँखें मलते हुए बोला, "अब सोना है।"
He yawned and said, rubbing his eyes, "Now I need to sleep."
(usne jambhaaii lii aur aankhen malte hue bolaa, "ab sonaa hai।")
जँभाई लो तो कम से कम मुँह पर हाथ रख लिया करो।
If you're going to yawn, at least keep putting your hand over your mouth.
(jambhaaii lo to kam se kam munh par haath rakh liyaa karo।)
दादी ने कहा, "जँभाई आए तो भगवान का नाम लो।"
Grandmother said, "If a yawn comes, take God's name."
(daadii ne kahaa, "jambhaaii aae to bhagvaan kaa naam lo।")
अगर मुझे रात भर नींद न आए तो अगले दिन जँभाई आती रहती है।
If I don't sleep all night, I keep yawning the next day.
(agar mujhe raat bhar niind n aae to agle din jambhaaii aatii rahtii hai।)
मीटिंग इतनी उबाऊ थी कि सबको जँभाई आ रही थी, पर कोई कुछ बोल नहीं रहा था।
The meeting was so boring that everyone was yawning, but no one was saying anything.
(miiting itnii ubaaoo thii ki sabko jambhaaii aa rahii thii, par koii kuchh bol nahiin rahaa thaa।)
अगर उसे इतनी जँभाई आती तो वह सोने चला जाता।
If he had been yawning that much, he would have gone off to sleep.
(agar use itnii jambhaaii aatii to vah sone chalaa jaataa।)
क्लास में इतनी जँभाइयाँ आईं कि टीचर ने खिड़कियाँ खुलवा दीं।
So many yawns came in class that the teacher had the windows opened.
(klaas men itnii jambhaaiyaan aaiin ki tiichar ne khidkiyaan khulvaa diin।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct):
जँभाई
(jambhaaii)
(sg.f.oblique):
जँभाई
(jambhaaii)
(pl.f.direct):
जँभाईएँ
(jambhaaiien)
(pl.f.oblique):
जँभाईओं
(jambhaaiion)