बकरा (bakraa)
noun
Literally a male goat; also a very common colloquial metaphor for someone who gets exploited, cheated, or made a scapegoat/victim in a scheme.
Sense
1
:
male goat
noun, masculine
Synonyms: छेला (chhelaa, regional/less common)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: बकरा (bakraa) is the animal families across North India buy and fatten before Bakr-Eid (bakriid) for sacrifice, which is exactly why the word also carries the 'sacrificial victim' sense below -- the metaphor comes straight from the ritual.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes use बकरा (bakraa) for any goat regardless of sex; बकरी (bakrii) is the female goat and is the more general word used in idioms about goats/milk, so don't default to बकरा (bakraa) when गender is unspecified or female is meant.
Sample Sentences:
उस आदमी ने बाज़ार से एक बकरा खरीदा।
That man bought a male goat from the market.
(us aadmii ne baazaar se ek bakraa khariidaa।)
हमारा बकरा छत पर चढ़ गया है।
Our goat has climbed onto the roof.
(hamaaraa bakraa chhat par chadh gayaa hai।)
बकरीद से पहले लोग बकरा पालते हैं।
Before Bakr-Eid, people raise a male goat.
(bakriid se pahle log bakraa paalte hain।)
वह बकरा दिन-रात मैदान में घास चरता रहता है।
That goat keeps grazing in the field day and night.
(vah bakraa din-raat maidaan men ghaas chartaa rahtaa hai।)
बकरे को अभी मत बाँधो, उसे थोड़ा घूमने दो।
Don't tie up the goat right now, let him wander a bit.
(bakre ko abhii mat baandho, use thodaa ghoomne do।)
अगर तुम बकरा नहीं पाल सकते, तो मत खरीदो।
If you can't raise a goat, then don't buy one.
(agar tum bakraa nahiin paal sakte, to mat khariido।)
मंडी में बकरे की क़ीमत हर साल बढ़ जाती है।
The price of a male goat rises every year in the market.
(mandii men bakre kii qiimat har saal badh jaatii hai।)
काश हमारे पास इतना बड़ा बकरा होता।
If only we had such a big goat.
(kaash hamaare paas itnaa badaa bakraa hotaa।)
बकरे को कुर्बानी के लिए तैयार किया जा रहा है।
The male goat is being prepared for the sacrifice.
(bakre ko kurbaanii ke lie taiyaar kiyaa jaa rahaa hai।)
पड़ोसी का बकरा गली में मेमने के साथ खड़ा है।
The neighbor's goat is standing in the lane with the kid.
(padosii kaa bakraa galii men memne ke saath khadaa hai।)
उन्होंने अपने बकरे को सजाकर मेले में ले जाया।
They decorated their male goat and took it to the fair.
(unhonne apne bakre ko sajaakar mele men le jaayaa।)
Sense
2
:
dupe, scapegoat, easy target (figurative)
noun, masculine Most often seen in the fixed expression बकरा बनाना (bakraa banaanaa, 'to make someone a scapegoat/fool, to dupe someone') and बकरा बनना (bakraa bannaa, 'to become the dupe/fall for it').
Synonyms: शिकार (shikaar, broader: 'prey/victim' in general)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is classic Delhi bazaar and office-banter language -- if a friend gets conned into paying the whole bill or believing an obvious lie, someone will laugh and say उसे बकरा बना दिया (use bakraa banaa diyaa, 'they made him the goat'), painting the person as led to slaughter just like the animal at Eid.
Common Mistakes: 1) This sense is almost always used with बनाना (banaanaa) or बनना (bannaa) -- saying बकरा (bakraa) alone to mean 'victim' sounds incomplete to native ears without that verb frame. 2) It's informal; avoid it in formal writing or polite/professional contexts where शिकार (shikaar) or धोखे का शिकार (dhokhe kaa shikaar, 'victim of deceit') fits better.
Sample Sentences:
पार्टी में सबने मिलकर उसे बकरा बना दिया।
At the party, everyone ganged up and made him the patsy.
(paartii men sabne milkar use bakraa banaa diyaa।)
दुकानदार ने मुझे पूरा बकरा समझ लिया, पर मैं इतना भी भोला नहीं हूँ।
The shopkeeper thought I was a total sucker, but I'm not that naive.
(dukaandaar ne mujhe pooraa bakraa samajh liyaa, par main itnaa bhii bholaa nahiin hoon।)
ऑफिस में जब भी कोई गड़बड़ होती है, बकरा मैं ही बनता हूँ।
Whenever something goes wrong in the office, I'm the one who ends up being the scapegoat.
(ophis men jab bhii koii gadbad hotii hai, bakraa main hii bantaa hoon।)
देख लेना, इस बार बॉस किसी और को बकरा बनाएगा, तुझे नहीं।
Watch, this time the boss will make someone else the fall guy, not you.
(dekh lenaa, is baar bos kisii aur ko bakraa banaaegaa, tujhe nahiin।)
अरे भाई, बकरा मत बन, बिल सबको बराबर बाँटना पड़ेगा।
Come on, don't be a sucker, everyone has to split the bill equally.
(are bhaaii, bakraa mat ban, bil sabko baraabar baantnaa padegaa।)
अगर तू सबकी बात मान लेता, तो हर बार बकरा बनता।
If you agreed to everything everyone said, you'd end up the patsy every single time.
(agar too sabkii baat maan letaa, to har baar bakraa bantaa।)
क्या पता उसे भी बकरा बनाया गया हो, वो भी तो नया-नया है यहाँ।
Who knows, he might have been made the scapegoat too, he's new here as well.
(kyaa pataa use bhii bakraa banaayaa gayaa ho, vo bhii to nayaa-nayaa hai yahaan।)
इस पूरे घोटाले में सबसे छोटे कर्मचारी को बकरा बनाया गया।
In this whole scam, the most junior employee was made the scapegoat.
(is poore ghotaale men sabse chhote karmchaarii ko bakraa banaayaa gayaa।)
साहब, मुझे बकरा मत समझिए, मुझे सब पता है असली कहानी क्या है।
Sir, please don't take me for a fool, I know exactly what the real story is.
(saahab, mujhe bakraa mat samjhie, mujhe sab pataa hai aslii kahaanii kyaa hai।)
मीटिंग में यह तय हो रहा था कि इस बार बकरा किसे बनाया जाए।
In the meeting, they were deciding who would be made the scapegoat this time.
(miiting men yah tay ho rahaa thaa ki is baar bakraa kise banaayaa jaae।)
सारी योजना ऐसे बनाई गई थी कि आखिर में सारा इल्ज़ाम बकरे पर आ जाए।
The whole plan was designed so that, in the end, all the blame would fall on the scapegoat.
(saarii yojnaa aise banaaii gaii thii ki aakhir men saaraa ilzaam bakre par aa jaae।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
बकरा
(bakraa)
(sg.m.oblique):
बकरे
(bakre)
(pl.m.direct):
बकरे
(bakre)
(pl.m.oblique):
बकरों
(bakron)