उम्मीदवार (ummiidvaar)
noun
A single-sense noun meaning 'candidate' -- someone standing for election, applying for a job, or appearing for an exam. Related to उम्मीद (ummiid, 'hope'), since a candidate is literally 'one who holds hope' for a position.
Sense
1
:
candidate, applicant
noun, masculine
Synonyms: प्रत्याशी (pratyaashii, formal, especially for elections), आवेदक (aavedak, for job/exam applicants)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this word constantly during Indian election season, on the news and on posters, as parties announce their उम्मीदवार (ummiidvaar) for each seat. It comes from Persian, built on उम्मीद (ummiid, 'hope') plus the agentive suffix -वार, so a candidate is quite literally 'a hope-bearer' -- a lovely image once you notice it.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes assume this word is limited to election contexts because of its frequent use in news Hindi, but it is used just as naturally for job applicants (नौकरी के उम्मीदवार, naukrii ke ummiidvaar, 'job candidates') and exam candidates. 2) The gender is fixed masculine grammatically (ummiidvaar takes masculine agreement on verbs/adjectives) even when referring to a woman -- e.g. वह उम्मीदवार अच्छी है (vah ummiidvaar achchhii hai, 'that [female] candidate is good') shows the adjective agreeing with the woman's gender, but articles/verbs tied to the noun itself stay in the masculine pattern typical of such loan-based nouns.
Sample Sentences:
इस सीट से हमारी पार्टी का उम्मीदवार कौन है?
Who is our party's candidate from this seat?
(is siit se hamaarii paartii kaa ummiidvaar kaun hai?)
पार्टी ने कल शाम अपने उम्मीदवारों की सूची जारी की।
The party released its list of candidates yesterday evening.
(paartii ne kal shaam apne ummiidvaaron kii soochii jaarii kii।)
चुनाव से पहले हर पार्टी अपने उम्मीदवार तय करती है।
Every party decides its candidates before the election.
(chunaav se pahle har paartii apne ummiidvaar tay kartii hai।)
इस नौकरी के लिए सैकड़ों उम्मीदवारों ने आवेदन किया है।
Hundreds of candidates have applied for this job.
(is naukrii ke lie saikdon ummiidvaaron ne aavedan kiyaa hai।)
अगर मैं उम्मीदवार होता, तो मैं गाँव-गाँव जाकर वोट माँगता।
If I were a candidate, I would go from village to village asking for votes.
(agar main ummiidvaar hotaa, to main gaanv-gaanv jaakar vot maangtaa।)
क्या आप इस पद के लिए योग्य उम्मीदवार हैं?
Are you a qualified candidate for this position?
(kyaa aap is pad ke lie yogy ummiidvaar hain?)
साक्षात्कार के बाद कंपनी ने तीन उम्मीदवारों को चुना।
After the interview, the company selected three candidates.
(saakshaatkaar ke baad kampnii ne tiin ummiidvaaron ko chunaa।)
उम्मीदवार को चुनाव आयोग में अपना नामांकन भरना होगा।
The candidate will have to file his nomination with the Election Commission.
(ummiidvaar ko chunaav aayog men apnaa naamaankan bharnaa hogaa।)
विपक्षी उम्मीदवार द्वारा उठाए गए सवालों का अभी तक जवाब नहीं दिया गया है।
The questions raised by the opposition candidate have not been answered yet.
(vipakshii ummiidvaar dvaaraa uthaae gae savaalon kaa abhii tak javaab nahiin diyaa gayaa hai।)
बेहतर उम्मीदवार चुनने के लिए हमें उनके पुराने काम भी देखने चाहिए।
In order to choose a better candidate, we should also look at their past work.
(behtar ummiidvaar chunne ke lie hamen unke puraane kaam bhii dekhne chaahie।)
उम्मीदवार साहब, कृपया अपना परिचय दीजिए।
Candidate sir, please introduce yourself.
(ummiidvaar saahab, kripyaa apnaa parichay diijie।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
उम्मीदवार
(ummiidvaar)
(sg.m.oblique):
उम्मीदवार
(ummiidvaar)
(pl.m.direct):
उम्मीदवार
(ummiidvaar)
(pl.m.oblique):
उम्मीदवारों
(ummiidvaaron)