बू (boo)
noun
A feminine noun meaning a smell or odor -- almost always used for a bad or foul smell rather than a pleasant one.
Sense
1
:
bad smell, foul odor
noun, feminine
Synonyms: गंध (gandh), दुर्गंध (durgandh, specifically bad smell), महक (mahak, usually pleasant, contrast)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Notice how Hindi treats smell as something involuntary that comes to you -- मुझे बू आ रही है (mujhe boo aa rahii hai, 'I'm smelling something / a smell is coming to me') -- rather than something you actively do, which mirrors other dative-subject verbs like लगना (lagnaa). This is the same root seen in खुशबू (khushboo, 'good smell, fragrance'), literally 'happy-smell', so once you know बू (boo) you already half-know that word too.
Common Mistakes: 1) बू (boo) is almost always negative -- for a pleasant smell (perfume, flowers, food), native speakers reach for महक (mahak) or खुशबू (khushboo) instead. Using बू (boo) for something nice can sound odd or even insulting. 2) The common verb pairing is बू आना (boo aanaa, 'a smell to come/arise') rather than a verb meaning 'to smell' taking बू as its object -- the smell is treated as arriving on its own, similar to how नींद आना (niind aanaa) frames sleep.
Sample Sentences:
कमरे में अजीब सी बू आ रही है।
There's a strange smell coming from the room.
(kamre men ajiib sii boo aa rahii hai।)
मुझे यहाँ से जलने की बू आ रही है।
I'm smelling something burning from here.
(mujhe yahaan se jalne kii boo aa rahii hai।)
फ्रिज खोलते ही सड़ी हुई सब्ज़ी की बू आई।
As soon as I opened the fridge, the smell of rotten vegetables hit me.
(phrij kholte hii sadii huii sabzii kii boo aaii।)
उसके कपड़ों से पसीने की बू आती थी।
His clothes used to smell of sweat.
(uske kapdon se pasiine kii boo aatii thii।)
अगर नाली साफ़ नहीं की गई, तो बदबू पूरे मोहल्ले में फैल जाएगी।
If the drain isn't cleaned, the stink will spread through the whole neighborhood.
(agar naalii saaf nahiin kii gaii, to badboo poore mohalle men phail jaaegii।)
खिड़की खोल दो, कमरे से बू आ रही है।
Open the window, there's a bad smell coming from the room.
(khidkii khol do, kamre se boo aa rahii hai।)
अगर मछली ताज़ी होती तो उसमें से ऐसी बू न आती।
If the fish were fresh, it wouldn't smell like this.
(agar machhlii taazii hotii to usmen se aisii boo n aatii।)
शायद कूड़े की वजह से यह बू आ रही हो।
Maybe this smell is coming because of the garbage.
(shaayad koode kii vajah se yah boo aa rahii ho।)
जूतों की बू से पूरा कमरा भर गया था।
The whole room had filled up with the stink of shoes.
(jooton kii boo se pooraa kamraa bhar gayaa thaa।)
बू इतनी तेज़ थी कि किसी से बर्दाश्त नहीं हो रही थी।
The stink was so strong that no one could bear it.
(boo itnii tez thii ki kisii se bardaasht nahiin ho rahii thii।)
प्याज़ काटने के बाद हाथों से बू नहीं जाती।
The smell doesn't go away from your hands after cutting onions.
(pyaaz kaatne ke baad haathon se boo nahiin jaatii।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct):
बू
(boo)
(sg.f.oblique):
बू
(boo)
(pl.f.direct):
बूएँ
(booen)
(pl.f.oblique):
बूओं
(booon)