हौज़ (hauz)

noun A masculine noun meaning a water tank, cistern, or basin -- the kind of large fixed reservoir found in old havelis, mosques, or gardens. Also spelled हौज (hauj) without the nuqta.
Sense 1 : a built water tank or cistern
noun, masculine
Synonyms: टंकी (tankii), जलाशय (jalaashay, formal)
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: You will meet this word in the names of real places in Delhi -- Hauz Khas (hauz khaas) literally means 'the royal tank/reservoir,' a reminder that these hauz were once vital water-storage structures for palaces and settlements. Today the word feels a bit old-world or historical rather than something you'd use for your kitchen bucket.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes confuse हौज़ (hauz) with टंकी (tankii) -- टंकी is the everyday word for a household or overhead water tank, while हौज़ specifically evokes an older, often stone or masonry, fixed basin, like the ones seen in Mughal-era gardens, mosques, or old city havelis.
Sample Sentences:
पुराने ज़माने में हर हवेली के पास एक हौज़ हुआ करता था। In the old days, every mansion used to have a water tank nearby.
(puraane zamaane men har havelii ke paas ek hauz huaa kartaa thaa।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
हौज़ ख़ास का नाम उसी शाही हौज़ से पड़ा है जो कभी वहाँ था। Hauz Khas got its name from the very royal cistern that once stood there.
(hauz khaas kaa naam usii shaahii hauz se padaa hai jo kabhii vahaan thaa।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
किले के अंदर एक बड़ा हौज़ बना हुआ था जिसमें बारिश का पानी जमा होता था। Inside the fort there was a large cistern built where rainwater would collect.
(kile ke andar ek badaa hauz banaa huaa thaa jismen baarish kaa paanii jamaa hotaa thaa।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
अगर यह हौज़ आज भी बना होता, तो शायद यह इलाका इतना सूखा न होता। If this cistern still existed today, perhaps this area would not be so dry.
(agar yah hauz aaj bhii banaa hotaa, to shaayad yah ilaakaa itnaa sookhaa n hotaa।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Perfective -- Voice: Active
इतिहासकार बताते हैं कि यह हौज़ सुल्तान के महल को पानी देने के लिए बनवाया गया था। Historians say that this cistern was built to supply water to the sultan's palace.
(itihaaskaar bataate hain ki yah hauz sultaan ke mahal ko paanii dene ke lie banvaayaa gayaa thaa।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Passive
क्या तुमने कभी वह पुराना हौज़ देखा है जो मस्जिद के पीछे है? Have you ever seen that old cistern behind the mosque?
(kyaa tumne kabhii vah puraanaa hauz dekhaa hai jo masjid ke piichhe hai?)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
गाँव के बीचोंबीच एक पत्थर का हौज़ है, जहाँ लोग अब भी मवेशियों को पानी पिलाते हैं। In the middle of the village there is a stone tank, where people still water their cattle.
(gaanv ke biichombiich ek patthar kaa hauz hai, jahaan log ab bhii maveshiyon ko paanii pilaate hain।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
उस हौज़ की मरम्मत होनी चाहिए, वरना यह पूरी तरह टूट जाएगा। That cistern should be repaired, or else it will completely fall apart.
(us hauz kii marammat honii chaahie, varnaa yah poorii tarah toot jaaegaa।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
मंदिर के हौज़ में स्नान करने की परंपरा सदियों पुरानी है। The tradition of bathing in the temple's tank is centuries old.
(mandir ke hauz men snaan karne kii parampraa sadiyon puraanii hai।)
Register: Devotional -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct): हौज़ (hauz)
(sg.m.oblique): हौज़ (hauz)
(pl.m.direct): हौज़ (hauz)
(pl.m.oblique): हौज़ों (hauzon)