डर (dar)
noun
Mainly a noun meaning 'fear', with a closely related intransitive verb sense डरना (darnaa, 'to be afraid') sharing the same root -- this entry covers the noun; the verb is its own lemma.
Sense
1
:
fear, fright
noun, masculine
Synonyms: भय (bhay, formal), खौफ़ (khauf), भीति (bhiiti, literary)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You'll most often meet this word in the phrase डर लगना (dar lagnaa, 'to feel scared'), used with a को-marked experiencer: मुझे डर लगता है (mujhe dar lagtaa hai, 'I feel scared') -- fear here is something that 'arrives' or is 'felt to' you, not something you actively do, which is a very Hindi way of framing involuntary emotion. Parents often warn children with डर मत (dar mat, 'don't be afraid') using the related verb, so the two forms live side by side in everyday speech.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often say मुझे डर है (mujhe dar hai, 'I am afraid') as डर is a noun and takes a दिखना-style dative-subject construction, not a subject-verb pattern like the English 'I fear.' 2) Confusing डर (dar) with the verb डरना (darnaa) -- मुझे डर लगता है (mujhe dar lagtaa hai, 'I feel afraid') and मैं डरता हूँ (main dartaa hoon, 'I am afraid/get scared') both work but come from different grammatical frames, and mixing them (e.g. मुझे डरता है) is a common error.
Sample Sentences:
मुझे अंधेरे से डर लगता है।
I feel scared of the dark.
(mujhe andhere se dar lagtaa hai।)
बचपन में मुझे कुत्तों से बहुत डर लगता था।
In my childhood, I used to be very scared of dogs.
(bachpan men mujhe kutton se bahut dar lagtaa thaa।)
उसकी आँखों में डर साफ़ दिख रहा था।
The fear was clearly visible in his eyes.
(uskii aankhon men dar saaf dikh rahaa thaa।)
जब बिजली गिरी, तो सबके मन में डर बैठ गया।
When the lightning struck, fear settled into everyone's heart.
(jab bijlii girii, to sabke man men dar baith gayaa।)
अगर उसे थोड़ा भी डर होता, तो वह कभी वहाँ नहीं जाता।
If he had had even a little fear, he would never have gone there.
(agar use thodaa bhii dar hotaa, to vah kabhii vahaan nahiin jaataa।)
डर मत, मैं यहीं हूँ।
Don't be afraid, I'm right here.
(dar mat, main yahiin hoon।)
हो सकता है उसे नौकरी छूटने का डर हो।
It's possible that he has a fear of losing his job.
(ho saktaa hai use naukrii chhootne kaa dar ho।)
समाज में यह डर फैलाया जा रहा है कि हालात और बिगड़ेंगे।
This fear is being spread in society that things will get worse.
(samaaj men yah dar phailaayaa jaa rahaa hai ki haalaat aur bigdenge।)
आतंक और डर के इस माहौल में कोई भी सुरक्षित नहीं है।
In this atmosphere of terror and fear, no one is safe.
(aatank aur dar ke is maahaul men koii bhii surakshit nahiin hai।)
क्या तुम्हें ऊँचाई से डर लगता है?
Are you scared of heights?
(kyaa tumhen oonchaaii se dar lagtaa hai?)
परीक्षा के नतीजे का डर उसे रात भर सोने नहीं दे रहा था।
The fear of the exam result wasn't letting him sleep all night.
(pariikshaa ke natiije kaa dar use raat bhar sone nahiin de rahaa thaa।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
डर
(dar)
(sg.m.oblique):
डर
(dar)
(pl.m.direct):
डर
(dar)
(pl.m.oblique):
डरों
(daron)