महानगर (mahaangar)
noun
A compound noun meaning 'metropolis, big city' -- built from महा (mahaa, 'great') plus नगर (nagar, 'town/city'). One core sense, used both literally and with a hint of the sociocultural weight a big city carries.
Sense
1
:
metropolis, large city
noun, masculine
Synonyms: बड़ा शहर (badaa shahar), शहर (shahar, covers 'city' more broadly, not just large ones)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This word shows up constantly in news and civic contexts -- traffic reports, pollution updates, crime stories -- almost always about Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, or Chennai. It carries a faint editorial flavor, evoking the fast pace, anonymity, and pressures of city life (महानगर की भागदौड़ mahaangar kii bhaagdaud, 'the hustle-bustle of the metropolis'), so it appears far more in writing and broadcast Hindi than in casual chat, where लोग बस 'शहर' ही बोलते हैं (log bas 'shahar' hii bolte hain, 'people just say city')।
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often use it as a casual synonym for शहर (shahar) 'city' -- महानगर (mahaangar) is reserved for genuinely large, often capital-tier cities (दिल्ली dillii, मुंबई mumbaii) and sounds odd applied to a small town. 2) It is grammatically countable and behaves like an ordinary masculine noun, but learners sometimes leave it unmarked for oblique case before postpositions, e.g. forgetting महानगर में (mahaangar men) needs the oblique form when pluralized: महानगरों में (mahaanagron men).
Sample Sentences:
दिल्ली भारत के सबसे बड़े महानगरों में से एक है।
Delhi is one of the largest metropolises in India.
(dillii bhaarat ke sabse bade mahaanagron men se ek hai।)
महानगर की भागदौड़ में लोग अक्सर अपने पड़ोसियों को भी नहीं जानते।
In the hustle-bustle of the metropolis, people often don't even know their neighbors.
(mahaangar kii bhaagdaud men log aksar apne padosiyon ko bhii nahiin jaante।)
आज सुबह महानगर में भारी बारिश के कारण जगह-जगह जलभराव हो गया।
This morning, due to heavy rain, waterlogging occurred at many places across the metropolis.
(aaj subah mahaangar men bhaarii baarish ke kaaran jagah-jagah jalabhraav ho gayaa।)
महानगर की सड़कों पर हर घंटे हज़ारों वाहन दौड़ते हैं।
Thousands of vehicles race along the metropolis's roads every hour.
(mahaangar kii sadkon par har ghante hazaaron vaahan daudte hain।)
प्रदूषण की समस्या से जूझते इस महानगर में सांस लेना भी मुश्किल हो गया है।
In this metropolis struggling with the pollution problem, even breathing has become difficult.
(pradooshan kii samasyaa se joojhte is mahaangar men saans lenaa bhii mushkil ho gayaa hai।)
अगर यह महानगर होता तो यहाँ इतनी सुविधाएँ ज़रूर होतीं।
If this were a metropolis, there would surely be so many amenities here.
(agar yah mahaangar hotaa to yahaan itnii suvidhaaen zaroor hotiin।)
पुलिस का कहना है कि महानगर में अपराध की दर पिछले साल से बढ़ी है।
The police say that the crime rate in the metropolis has increased compared to last year.
(pulis kaa kahnaa hai ki mahaangar men apraadh kii dar pichhle saal se badhii hai।)
महानगर की चमक-दमक के पीछे कई लोगों का संघर्ष छिपा होता है।
Behind the glitter of the metropolis lies the hidden struggle of many people.
(mahaangar kii chamak-damak ke piichhe kaii logon kaa sangharsh chhipaa hotaa hai।)
इस महानगर में मेट्रो का जाल बहुत तेज़ी से फैलाया जा रहा है।
The metro network in this metropolis is being expanded very rapidly.
(is mahaangar men metro kaa jaal bahut tezii se phailaayaa jaa rahaa hai।)
काश हम किसी शांत गाँव में रहते, इस महानगर के शोर से दूर।
If only we lived in some quiet village, far from the noise of this metropolis.
(kaash ham kisii shaant gaanv men rahte, is mahaangar ke shor se door।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
महानगर
(mahaangar)
(sg.m.oblique):
महानगर
(mahaangar)
(pl.m.direct):
महानगर
(mahaangar)
(pl.m.oblique):
महानगरों
(mahaanagron)