आबादी (aabaadii)

noun A single-sense word meaning 'population' -- used both for the total number of people living in a place and, by extension, for a settled/inhabited area itself.
Sense 1 : population (of a place)
noun, feminine
Synonyms: जनसंख्या (jansankhyaa, formal/statistical)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this word constantly in news reports about शहर की आबादी (shahar kii aabaadii, 'the city's population') or गाँव की आबादी (gaanv kii aabaadii, 'the village's population') -- it is the natural, spoken word, while जनसंख्या (jansankhyaa) leans bureaucratic, the kind of word you'd meet on a government form or in a Class 10 social studies textbook.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach for जनसंख्या (jansankhyaa) by default because it looks like a direct dictionary equivalent, but आबादी (aabaadii) is the word actually used in everyday speech and news broadcasts -- जनसंख्या (jansankhyaa) sounds more like a textbook or census-report term. 2) आबादी (aabaadii) is feminine, so learners sometimes wrongly give it masculine agreement -- e.g. correctly भारत की आबादी बहुत बड़ी है (bhaarat kii aabaadii bahut badii hai, 'India's population is very large'), not बड़ा (badaa).
Sample Sentences:
दिल्ली की आबादी दो करोड़ से ज़्यादा है। Delhi's population is more than twenty million.
(dillii kii aabaadii do karod se zyaadaa hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
पिछले दस सालों में इस शहर की आबादी तेज़ी से बढ़ी है। In the last ten years, this city's population has increased rapidly.
(pichhle das saalon men is shahar kii aabaadii tezii se badhii hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
गाँव की आबादी लगातार घट रही है क्योंकि लोग शहरों की ओर जा रहे हैं। The village's population is continuously declining because people are moving toward the cities.
(gaanv kii aabaadii lagaataar ghat rahii hai kyonki log shahron kii or jaa rahe hain।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
अगर सरकार समय पर कदम नहीं उठाती, तो शहर की आबादी और भी तेज़ी से बढ़ जाती। If the government hadn't taken action in time, the city's population would have grown even faster.
(agar sarkaar samay par kadam nahiin uthaatii, to shahar kii aabaadii aur bhii tezii se badh jaatii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
अगली जनगणना में देश की आबादी का सही आँकड़ा पता चलेगा। The country's exact population figure will be known in the next census.
(aglii jangannaa men desh kii aabaadii kaa sahii aankdaa pataa chalegaa।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Active
इस इलाके की ज़्यादातर आबादी खेती पर निर्भर करती है। Most of this area's population depends on farming.
(is ilaake kii zyaadaatar aabaadii khetii par nirbhar kartii hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
यार, सुना है मुंबई की आबादी दिल्ली से भी ज़्यादा है। Dude, I heard Mumbai's population is even more than Delhi's.
(yaar, sunaa hai mumbaii kii aabaadii dillii se bhii zyaadaa hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
क्या तुम्हें इस शहर की कुल आबादी का अंदाज़ा है? Do you have an idea of this city's total population?
(kyaa tumhen is shahar kii kul aabaadii kaa andaazaa hai?)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
राज्य सरकार ने बढ़ती आबादी को देखते हुए नई नीति बनाई है। The state government has made a new policy in view of the growing population.
(raajy sarkaar ne badhtii aabaadii ko dekhte hue naii niiti banaaii hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
आबादी बढ़ने से संसाधनों पर दबाव बढ़ता जाता है। As the population grows, the pressure on resources keeps increasing.
(aabaadii badhne se sansaadhnon par dabaav badhtaa jaataa hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
काश आबादी इतनी तेज़ी से न बढ़ती, तो शहर की हालत इतनी खराब न होती। If only the population hadn't grown so fast, the city's condition wouldn't have become so bad.
(kaash aabaadii itnii tezii se n badhtii, to shahar kii haalat itnii kharaab n hotii।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
Sense 2 : settled/inhabited area, habitation
noun, feminine
Synonyms: बस्ती (bastii)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This extended sense shows up in real-estate and civic contexts -- a phrase like आबादी क्षेत्र (aabaadii kshetr, 'inhabited/populated zone') distinguishes built-up, lived-in land from empty or agricultural land in official land records, a distinction that matters a lot in Indian property and municipal law.
Sample Sentences:
यह ज़मीन आबादी क्षेत्र में आती है, इसलिए यहाँ खेती नहीं हो सकती। This land falls within the inhabited zone, so farming cannot be done here.
(yah zamiin aabaadii kshetr men aatii hai, islie yahaan khetii nahiin ho saktii।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
नगर निगम के रिकॉर्ड में इस जगह को आबादी दर्शाया गया है। In the municipal corporation's records, this place is shown as an inhabited settlement.
(nagar nigam ke rikord men is jagah ko aabaadii darshaayaa gayaa hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
गाँव की आबादी से बाहर की ज़मीन सस्ती मिलती है। Land outside the village's inhabited area is available cheaply.
(gaanv kii aabaadii se baahar kii zamiin sastii miltii hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
अगर यह इलाका आबादी घोषित हो जाता, तो ज़मीन की कीमत दोगुनी हो जाती। If this area were declared an inhabited zone, the land price would have doubled.
(agar yah ilaakaa aabaadii ghoshit ho jaataa, to zamiin kii kiimat dogunii ho jaatii।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
वकील ने कहा कि पहले यह पता करो कि ज़मीन आबादी में है या कृषि भूमि में। The lawyer said, first find out whether the land is in the inhabited zone or agricultural land.
(vakiil ne kahaa ki pahle yah pataa karo ki zamiin aabaadii men hai yaa krishi bhoomi men।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
पटवारी ने नक़्शे में आबादी क्षेत्र की सीमा लाल रंग से खींची थी। The land record keeper had marked the boundary of the inhabited zone on the map in red.
(patvaarii ne naqshe men aabaadii kshetr kii siimaa laal rang se khiinchii thii।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
क्या यह प्लॉट आबादी में शामिल किया जा सकता है? Can this plot be included within the inhabited zone?
(kyaa yah plot aabaadii men shaamil kiyaa jaa saktaa hai?)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
सरकार चाहती है कि हर गाँव की आबादी और खेत की ज़मीन अलग-अलग दर्ज हो। The government wants the inhabited area and farmland of every village to be recorded separately.
(sarkaar chaahtii hai ki har gaanv kii aabaadii aur khet kii zamiin alag-alag darj ho।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
उस समय यह जगह जंगल थी, अब घनी आबादी बन गई है। At that time this place was a forest; now it has become a dense settlement.
(us samay yah jagah jangal thii, ab ghanii aabaadii ban gaii hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct): आबादी (aabaadii)
(sg.f.oblique): आबादी (aabaadii)
(pl.f.direct): आबादियाँ (aabaadiyaan)
(pl.f.oblique): आबादियों (aabaadiyon)