शाखा (shaakhaa)

noun A noun meaning 'branch' -- both the literal tree branch and the extended organizational sense of a branch/division of an office, bank, or institution.
Sense 1 : branch (of an organization, bank, office)
noun, feminine
Synonyms: ब्रांच (braanch, common in banking/business contexts)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Walk into any nationalized bank in Delhi and you will see शाखा (shaakhaa) printed right on the building, often paired with the branch code -- it is the formal, official-register word, while ब्रांच (braanch) dominates in spoken conversation.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often reach only for the English loanword ब्रांच (braanch) in casual speech, but शाखा (shaakhaa) is the standard word on signage, forms, and official contexts -- e.g. a bank's शाखा (shaakhaa) is written this way on the branch nameplate itself.
Sample Sentences:
इस बैंक की दिल्ली में बारह शाखाएँ हैं। This bank has twelve branches in Delhi.
(is baink kii dillii men baarah shaakhaaen hain।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
कृपया अपनी नज़दीकी शाखा में जाकर फॉर्म जमा करें। Please go to your nearest branch and submit the form.
(kripyaa apnii nazdiikii shaakhaa men jaakar phorm jamaa karen।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
कंपनी ने पिछले साल मुंबई में एक नई शाखा खोली थी। The company had opened a new branch in Mumbai last year.
(kampnii ne pichhle saal mumbaii men ek naii shaakhaa kholii thii।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
इस शाखा में यह सुविधा उपलब्ध नहीं करवाई जाती। This facility is not made available at this branch.
(is shaakhaa men yah suvidhaa uplabdh nahiin karvaaii jaatii।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
अगर मुझे तनख़्वाह ज़्यादा मिलती, तो मैं इसी शाखा में बना रहता। If I got a higher salary, I would stay on at this very branch.
(agar mujhe tanakhvaah zyaadaa miltii, to main isii shaakhaa men banaa rahtaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
शायद वे अगले महीने चंडीगढ़ में शाखा शुरू करें। Perhaps they will start a branch in Chandigarh next month.
(shaayad ve agle mahiine chandiigadh men shaakhaa shuroo karen।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Active
मैनेजर आज कल शाखा का ऑडिट करा रहे हैं। The manager is having the branch audited these days.
(mainejar aaj kal shaakhaa kaa odit karaa rahe hain।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
यह खाता जिस शाखा में खोला गया था, वह अब बंद हो गई है। The branch where this account was opened has now closed down.
(yah khaataa jis shaakhaa men kholaa gayaa thaa, vah ab band ho gaii hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Passive
बैंक अगले साल तक बीस नई शाखाएँ खोलेगा। The bank will open twenty new branches by next year.
(baink agle saal tak biis naii shaakhaaen kholegaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Active
उस शाखा का कर्मचारी काउंटर पर बैठा है। That branch's employee is sitting at the counter.
(us shaakhaa kaa karmchaarii kaauntar par baithaa hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
मुख्य कार्यालय ने सभी शाखाओं को नई नीति भेजी। The head office sent the new policy to all branches.
(mukhy kaaryaalay ne sabhii shaakhaaon ko naii niiti bhejii।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
Sense 2 : branch (of a tree or plant)
noun, feminine
Synonyms: डाल (daal), टहनी (tahnii, smaller twig-like branch)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: In everyday nature talk, डाल (daal) is actually the more common word for a tree branch you'd point at in a park; शाखा (shaakhaa) leans slightly more literary or descriptive, the kind of word you'd meet in a school essay or nature documentary narration.
Sample Sentences:
पेड़ की एक शाखा तूफ़ान में टूट गई। One branch of the tree broke in the storm.
(ped kii ek shaakhaa toofaan men toot gaii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
इस पेड़ की शाखाएँ बहुत ऊँची तक फैली हैं। This tree's branches spread very high up.
(is ped kii shaakhaaen bahut oonchii tak phailii hain।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
वसंत में हर शाखा पर नई कलियाँ खिलती हैं। In spring, new buds bloom on every branch.
(vasant men har shaakhaa par naii kaliyaan khiltii hain।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
माली शाखाओं को सावधानी से काट रहा है। The gardener is carefully cutting the branches.
(maalii shaakhaaon ko saavdhaanii se kaat rahaa hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
पुरानी शाखाओं को समय-समय पर काटा जाना चाहिए। Old branches should be pruned from time to time.
(puraanii shaakhaaon ko samay-samay par kaataa jaanaa chaahie।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
अगर वह शाखा और मज़बूत होती, तो झूला उस पर टिक जाता। If that branch were stronger, the swing would have held on it.
(agar vah shaakhaa aur mazboot hotii, to jhoolaa us par tik jaataa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
दस्तावेज़ी फ़िल्म में कैमरा एक शाखा से दूसरी शाखा तक धीरे-धीरे घूमता है। In the documentary, the camera slowly pans from one branch to another.
(dastaavezii film men kaimraa ek shaakhaa se doosrii shaakhaa tak dhiire-dhiire ghoomtaa hai।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
उस शाखा को मत तोड़ो, उस पर चिड़िया का घोंसला है। Don't break that branch, there's a bird's nest on it.
(us shaakhaa ko mat todo, us par chidiyaa kaa ghonslaa hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
कवि ने वृक्ष की झुकी हुई शाखा की तुलना माँ की ममता से की। The poet compared the tree's bent branch to a mother's affection.
(kavi ne vriksh kii jhukii huii shaakhaa kii tulnaa maan kii mamtaa se kii।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
Sense 3 : branch (of a field of study, subject, or knowledge)
noun, feminine Used with genitive constructions like विज्ञान की शाखा (vigyaan kii shaakhaa, 'a branch of science') to describe subfields or divisions of a discipline.
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: You'll hear this in academic and school contexts -- a teacher explaining that भौतिकी विज्ञान की एक शाखा है (bhautikii vigyaan kii ek shaakhaa hai, 'physics is a branch of science') is a very typical classroom sentence structure.
Sample Sentences:
भौतिकी विज्ञान की एक शाखा है। Physics is a branch of science.
(bhautikii vigyaan kii ek shaakhaa hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
अर्थशास्त्र सामाजिक विज्ञान की एक महत्वपूर्ण शाखा है। Economics is an important branch of social science.
(arthshaastr saamaajik vigyaan kii ek mahatvpoorn shaakhaa hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
ज्योतिष को गणित की एक शाखा माना जाता है। Astrology is considered a branch of mathematics.
(jyotish ko ganit kii ek shaakhaa maanaa jaataa hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
आगे चलकर मैंने रसायन विज्ञान की किस शाखा में विशेषज्ञता हासिल की, यह पूछने लायक सवाल है। Which branch of chemistry I specialized in later on is a question worth asking.
(aage chalkar mainne rasaayan vigyaan kii kis shaakhaa men visheshagytaa haasil kii, yah poochhne laayak savaal hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
अगर वह विज्ञान की किसी शाखा में शोध करता, तो शायद कोई नई खोज कर पाता। If he had done research in some branch of science, he might have made a new discovery.
(agar vah vigyaan kii kisii shaakhaa men shodh kartaa, to shaayad koii naii khoj kar paataa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
कृपया बताइए कि आप ज्ञान की किस शाखा में स्नातक करना चाहते हैं। Please tell me which branch of knowledge you want to graduate in.
(kripyaa bataaie ki aap gyaan kii kis shaakhaa men snaatak karnaa chaahte hain।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
प्राचीन काल में दर्शनशास्त्र की कई शाखाएँ विकसित हुई थीं। In ancient times, many branches of philosophy had developed.
(praachiin kaal men darshanshaastr kii kaii shaakhaaen viksit huii thiin।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
शायद भाषाविज्ञान की कोई शाखा इस समस्या का समाधान दे सके। Perhaps some branch of linguistics could offer a solution to this problem.
(shaayad bhaashaavigyaan kii koii shaakhaa is samasyaa kaa samaadhaan de sake।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Active
छात्र यह तय करते हैं कि उन्हें इंजीनियरिंग की किस शाखा में दाखिला लेना है। Students decide which branch of engineering they should take admission in.
(chhaatr yah tay karte hain ki unhen injiiniyring kii kis shaakhaa men daakhilaa lenaa hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
मनोविज्ञान की एक नई शाखा हाल ही में उभर रही है। A new branch of psychology is emerging recently.
(manovigyaan kii ek naii shaakhaa haal hii men ubhar rahii hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct): शाखा (shaakhaa)
(sg.f.oblique): शाखा (shaakhaa)
(pl.f.direct): शाखाएँ (shaakhaaen)
(pl.f.oblique): शाखाओं (shaakhaaon)