घंटा (ghantaa)
noun
Primarily means 'hour' as a unit of time, and also 'bell' (the large hanging kind, like at a temple); a related sense uses it colloquially to mean 'a whole lot of nothing' or express dismissive sarcasm.
Sense
1
:
hour
noun, masculine
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You'll hear this constantly in daily complaints about traffic or waiting: एक घंटा हो गया (ek ghantaa ho gayaa, 'it's been an hour already') is a classic Delhi-NCR grumble, often said while stuck at a signal or waiting for chai to arrive.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often forget that घंटा (ghantaa) needs a number or quantifier before it to mean a specific duration, e.g. दो घंटे (do ghante, 'two hours') -- used alone it defaults to 'an hour' or 'the hour' depending on context. 2) Don't confuse with घड़ी (ghadii), which means 'clock/watch' or a shorter moment in time, not a duration of sixty minutes.
Sample Sentences:
मुझे दफ़्तर पहुँचने में एक घंटा लगता है।
It takes me an hour to reach the office.
(mujhe daftar pahunchne men ek ghantaa lagtaa hai।)
हमें सिग्नल पर रुके हुए एक घंटा हो गया है।
It's been an hour since we got stuck at the signal.
(hamen signal par ruke hue ek ghantaa ho gayaa hai।)
चाय आने में अभी आधा घंटा और लगेगा।
The tea will take another half hour to arrive.
(chaay aane men abhii aadhaa ghantaa aur lagegaa।)
मैं दो घंटे से तुम्हारा इंतज़ार कर रहा हूँ।
I have been waiting for you for two hours.
(main do ghante se tumhaaraa intzaar kar rahaa hoon।)
अगर मुझे एक घंटा मिलता तो मैं ये काम खत्म कर लेता।
If I had gotten an hour, I would have finished this work.
(agar mujhe ek ghantaa miltaa to main ye kaam khatm kar letaa।)
कृपया कम से कम एक घंटा पहले पहुँचिए।
Please arrive at least an hour early.
(kripyaa kam se kam ek ghantaa pahle pahunchie।)
बैठक में शायद एक घंटा और लगे।
The meeting might take another hour.
(baithak men shaayad ek ghantaa aur lage।)
एक घंटे में सारा सामान बाँट दिया गया।
All the material was distributed within an hour.
(ek ghante men saaraa saamaan baant diyaa gayaa।)
पिछले घंटे में बिजली तीन बार गई।
In the last hour, the power went out three times.
(pichhle ghante men bijlii tiin baar gaii।)
यार, एक घंटा हो गया, अब तो निकल भी नहीं सकते।
Man, it's been an hour already, now we can't even leave.
(yaar, ek ghantaa ho gayaa, ab to nikal bhii nahiin sakte।)
डॉक्टर ने कहा कि हर घंटे यह दवा लेनी है।
The doctor said this medicine has to be taken every hour.
(doktar ne kahaa ki har ghante yah davaa lenii hai।)
Sense
2
:
bell (large, hanging)
noun, masculine
Synonyms: घड़ियाल (ghadiyaal, a large gong-like bell)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Ringing the घंटा (ghantaa) at a temple entrance before entering is a common devotional gesture across North India -- the sound is believed to announce your arrival to the deity and clear the mind of distractions.
Common Mistakes: 1) घंटा (ghantaa) refers to the big bell you'd see at a temple entrance or on a bell-tower, whereas घंटी (ghantii) is its diminutive -- a small bell, like a doorbell or cycle bell -- learners sometimes use these interchangeably, but native speakers keep them distinct by size and context.
Sample Sentences:
मंदिर के दरवाजे पर एक बड़ा घंटा लगा है।
There is a big bell hanging at the temple door.
(mandir ke darvaaje par ek badaa ghantaa lagaa hai।)
मंदिर में घुसने से पहले वह घंटा बजाती है।
She rings the bell before entering the temple.
(mandir men ghusne se pahle vah ghantaa bajaatii hai।)
पुजारी ने आरती के समय घंटा बजाया।
The priest rang the bell during the aarti.
(pujaarii ne aartii ke samay ghantaa bajaayaa।)
घंटा बजाओ, भगवान को अपने आने की खबर दो।
Ring the bell, let god know you have arrived.
(ghantaa bajaao, bhagvaan ko apne aane kii khabar do।)
अगर घंटा न बजाया जाता, तो शायद पूजा अधूरी लगती।
If the bell hadn't been rung, the worship would perhaps have felt incomplete.
(agar ghantaa n bajaayaa jaataa, to shaayad poojaa adhoorii lagtii।)
मंदिर का घंटा तेज़ हवा में खुद ही बजने लगा।
The temple bell started ringing on its own in the strong wind.
(mandir kaa ghantaa tez havaa men khud hii bajne lagaa।)
क्या तुमने कभी इतना बड़ा घंटा देखा है?
Have you ever seen such a big bell?
(kyaa tumne kabhii itnaa badaa ghantaa dekhaa hai?)
शायद यह घंटा किसी पुराने राजा ने दान किया हो।
Perhaps this bell was donated by some old king.
(shaayad yah ghantaa kisii puraane raajaa ne daan kiyaa ho।)
मंदिर परिसर में विशाल घंटे स्तंभों से लटकते हैं।
Enormous bells hang from the pillars in the temple complex.
(mandir parisar men vishaal ghante stambhon se latakte hain।)
सुबह-सुबह घंटे की आवाज़ से पूरा गांव जाग जाता है।
The whole village wakes up early in the morning to the sound of the bell.
(subah-subah ghante kii aavaaz se pooraa gaanv jaag jaataa hai।)
Sense
3
:
nothing at all (sarcastic/dismissive)
noun, masculine Used colloquially, often standalone or in a mock-rhetorical question, to dismiss what someone claims or expects: क्या घंटा मिलेगा? (kyaa ghantaa milegaa?, 'what the heck will you get [i.e. nothing]?').
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This is classic Delhi street-register sass -- घंटा लगा है (ghantaa lagaa hai, roughly 'yeah right, as if') or घंटा मिलेगा (ghantaa milegaa) are the kinds of things you'd hear from friends teasing each other, similar in spirit to saying 'yeah, nothing' with heavy sarcasm in English.
Common Mistakes: 1) This sense is distinctly informal/slangy and can sound rude in polite or formal company -- it's the kind of word you'd use with close friends, not with an elder or in a professional setting. 2) Learners sometimes miss that it's used as a stand-in for 'nothing' with a sarcastic edge, not literally about bells or hours.
Sample Sentences:
उसे घंटा पता है इस बारे में।
He knows jack squat about this.
(use ghantaa pataa hai is baare men।)
तुझे घंटा फर्क पड़ता है मेरी बात से।
My words make zero difference to you, yeah right.
(tujhe ghantaa phark padtaa hai merii baat se।)
घंटा मिलेगा तुझे इस काम से।
You're gonna get jack squat out of this work.
(ghantaa milegaa tujhe is kaam se।)
घंटा लगा है, वो कभी टाइम पर नहीं आता।
Yeah right, as if -- he never comes on time.
(ghantaa lagaa hai, vo kabhii taaim par nahiin aataa।)
मैंने घंटा समझा उसकी बातों में से।
I understood absolutely nothing from what he said.
(mainne ghantaa samjhaa uskii baaton men se।)
अगर तू मेहनत नहीं करेगा तो घंटा मिलेगा।
If you don't work hard, you'll get absolutely nothing.
(agar too mehnat nahiin karegaa to ghantaa milegaa।)
घंटा फायदा हुआ इस मीटिंग से।
This meeting was absolutely useless.
(ghantaa phaaydaa huaa is miiting se।)
वो कहता है सब ठीक हो जाएगा, घंटा ठीक होगा।
He says everything will be fine -- yeah, fine my foot.
(vo kahtaa hai sab thiik ho jaaegaa, ghantaa thiik hogaa।)
इतनी महंगी क्लास ली और घंटा सीखा।
Took such an expensive class and learned absolutely nothing.
(itnii mahangii klaas lii aur ghantaa siikhaa।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
घंटा
(ghantaa)
(sg.m.oblique):
घंटे
(ghante)
(pl.m.direct):
घंटे
(ghante)
(pl.m.oblique):
घंटों
(ghanton)