गुब्बारा (gubbaaraa)
noun
A concrete everyday noun meaning 'balloon' -- both the toy/party object and, by extension, a hot-air balloon.
Sense
1
:
balloon (toy/party balloon)
noun, masculine
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Every Indian birthday party or Independence Day/Republic Day celebration is decked out with strings of गुब्बारे (gubbaare, 'balloons'), and vendors selling them outside parks and metro stations are a familiar sight in Delhi-NCR. Kids also use the word playfully to mean someone or something 'puffed up' -- see the figurative sense below.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often forget गुब्बारा (gubbaaraa) is masculine, so its adjectives and verb agreement must follow the masculine pattern, e.g. लाल गुब्बारा (laal gubbaaraa, 'red balloon'), not the feminine form.
Sample Sentences:
जन्मदिन की पार्टी में दीवारों पर रंग-बिरंगे गुब्बारे लगे थे।
Colorful balloons were stuck on the walls at the birthday party.
(janmdin kii paartii men diivaaron par rang-birange gubbaare lage the।)
बच्चा पार्क में गुब्बारा लिए दौड़ रहा है।
The kid is running around the park holding a balloon.
(bachchaa paark men gubbaaraa lie daud rahaa hai।)
मेट्रो स्टेशन के बाहर एक आदमी गुब्बारे बेच रहा था।
A man was selling balloons outside the metro station.
(metro steshan ke baahar ek aadmii gubbaare bech rahaa thaa।)
स्वतंत्रता दिवस पर हम हर साल छत पर गुब्बारे फोड़ते हैं।
On Independence Day, we burst balloons on the roof every year.
(svatantrtaa divas par ham har saal chhat par gubbaare phodte hain।)
प्लीज़ मेरे लिए भी एक गुब्बारा ले आना।
Please bring a balloon for me too.
(pliiz mere lie bhii ek gubbaaraa le aanaa।)
अगर मुझे पहले पता होता तो मैं और गुब्बारे खरीद लाता।
If I had known earlier, I would have brought more balloons.
(agar mujhe pahle pataa hotaa to main aur gubbaare khariid laataa।)
काश किसी ने गुब्बारे इतनी ज़ोर से न फोड़े होते, बच्ची डर गई।
I wish someone hadn't burst the balloons so loudly, the little girl got scared.
(kaash kisii ne gubbaare itnii zor se n phode hote, bachchii dar gaii।)
समारोह में मंच को सजाने के लिए हज़ारों गुब्बारे फुलाए गए।
Thousands of balloons were inflated to decorate the stage at the ceremony.
(samaaroh men manch ko sajaane ke lie hazaaron gubbaare phulaae gae।)
अगर तुम गुब्बारा उड़ाओ तो शायद वह छत तक पहुँच जाए।
If you release the balloon, maybe it will reach the ceiling.
(agar tum gubbaaraa udaao to shaayad vah chhat tak pahunch jaae।)
पार्टी खत्म होने तक सारे गुब्बारे पिचक जाएँगे।
By the time the party ends, all the balloons will have gone flat.
(paartii khatm hone tak saare gubbaare pichak jaaenge।)
दुकान की छत से सैकड़ों गुब्बारे लटक रहे थे, हवा में हल्के-हल्के हिलते हुए।
Hundreds of balloons were hanging from the shop's ceiling, swaying gently in the breeze.
(dukaan kii chhat se saikdon gubbaare latak rahe the, havaa men halke-halke hilte hue।)
Sense
2
:
hot-air balloon
noun, masculine
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: The same word covers the large hot-air balloon used in fairs, festivals like Pushkar, or news reports about ballooning -- Hindi doesn't distinguish it from the party balloon with a separate word, so context alone tells you the size.
Sample Sentences:
पुश्कर मेले में हर साल गुब्बारे उड़ाए जाते हैं।
Hot-air balloons are flown every year at the Pushkar fair.
(pushkar mele men har saal gubbaare udaae jaate hain।)
आसमान में एक बड़ा गुब्बारा धीरे-धीरे ऊपर जा रहा था।
A big hot-air balloon was slowly rising into the sky.
(aasmaan men ek badaa gubbaaraa dhiire-dhiire oopar jaa rahaa thaa।)
हमने पहाड़ों पर गुब्बारे की सवारी की थी।
We had gone on a hot-air balloon ride in the hills.
(hamne pahaadon par gubbaare kii savaarii kii thii।)
अगर मौसम साफ होता तो हम गुब्बारे में बैठकर पूरी घाटी देख पाते।
If the weather had been clear, we could have sat in the hot-air balloon and seen the whole valley.
(agar mausam saaph hotaa to ham gubbaare men baithkar poorii ghaatii dekh paate।)
खबर है कि तेज हवा के कारण गुब्बारा किसी खेत में जा गिरा।
The news says that due to strong wind, the hot-air balloon fell into a field somewhere.
(khabar hai ki tej havaa ke kaaran gubbaaraa kisii khet men jaa giraa।)
क्या तुमने कभी गुब्बारे में उड़ने की कोशिश की है?
Have you ever tried flying in a hot-air balloon?
(kyaa tumne kabhii gubbaare men udne kii koshish kii hai?)
उत्सव के आयोजकों ने घोषणा की कि इस बार गुब्बारा उड़ाया जाएगा।
The festival organizers announced that a hot-air balloon would be flown this time.
(utsav ke aayojkon ne ghoshnaa kii ki is baar gubbaaraa udaayaa jaaegaa।)
गुब्बारे की टोकरी में सिर्फ चार लोग बैठ सकते थे।
Only four people could sit in the hot-air balloon's basket.
(gubbaare kii tokrii men sirph chaar log baith sakte the।)
गुब्बारा उड़ाने से पहले उसमें गर्म हवा भरी जाती है।
Before flying the hot-air balloon, it is filled with hot air.
(gubbaaraa udaane se pahle usmen garm havaa bharii jaatii hai।)
Sense
3
:
something inflated/exaggerated, empty bluster (figurative)
noun, masculine Used mainly in fixed expressions like गुब्बारा फूटना (gubbaaraa phootnaa, 'the balloon bursts,' i.e. pretensions collapse) or गुब्बारा फुलाना (gubbaaraa phulaanaa, 'to inflate the balloon,' i.e. to talk something up).
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Just as English speakers say someone's 'balloon got burst,' Hindi speakers use गुब्बारा फूटना (gubbaaraa phootnaa) for a boast or grand plan collapsing suddenly -- a nice case where the two languages share almost the exact same image.
Common Mistakes: 1) This figurative sense only surfaces inside set phrases about inflating or bursting -- learners sometimes try to use गुब्बारा (gubbaaraa) alone to mean 'bragging,' which doesn't work without the verb (फूटना (phootnaa) or फुलाना (phulaanaa)) that carries the metaphor.
Sample Sentences:
उसके सारे दावे सिर्फ गुब्बारा थे।
All his claims were just hot air.
(uske saare daave sirph gubbaaraa the।)
जैसे ही सच सामने आया, उसका गुब्बारा फूट गया।
As soon as the truth came out, his bubble burst.
(jaise hii sach saamne aayaa, uskaa gubbaaraa phoot gayaa।)
यह कंपनी बड़ी-बड़ी बातें करती है, पर सब गुब्बारा है।
This company talks big, but it's all hot air.
(yah kampnii badii-badii baaten kartii hai, par sab gubbaaraa hai।)
अगर उसकी योजनाओं की जाँच होती, तो उसका गुब्बारा पहले ही फूट जाता।
If his plans had been scrutinized, his bluster would have collapsed much sooner.
(agar uskii yojnaaon kii jaanch hotii, to uskaa gubbaaraa pahle hii phoot jaataa।)
नेता जी के वादे तो हवा में उड़ता गुब्बारा निकले।
The leader's promises turned out to be nothing but a balloon floating in the air.
(netaa jii ke vaade to havaa men udtaa gubbaaraa nikle।)
उसका आत्मविश्वास इतना बड़ा गुब्बारा बन गया था कि किसी की बात सुनना ही बंद कर दिया।
His confidence had become such an inflated balloon that he stopped listening to anyone at all.
(uskaa aatmvishvaas itnaa badaa gubbaaraa ban gayaa thaa ki kisii kii baat sunnaa hii band kar diyaa।)
देखना, इसका गुब्बारा जल्दी ही फूटेगा।
Just watch, his hot air will burst soon enough.
(dekhnaa, iskaa gubbaaraa jaldii hii phootegaa।)
उसकी शान का गुब्बारा सबके सामने फोड़ दिया गया।
His pompous bubble was burst in front of everyone.
(uskii shaan kaa gubbaaraa sabke saamne phod diyaa gayaa।)
काश उसका गुब्बारा इतना जल्दी न फूटता, बेचारा शर्मिंदा हो गया।
If only his bluster hadn't collapsed so quickly, poor guy got embarrassed.
(kaash uskaa gubbaaraa itnaa jaldii n phoottaa, bechaaraa sharmindaa ho gayaa।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
गुब्बारा
(gubbaaraa)
(sg.m.oblique):
गुब्बारे
(gubbaare)
(pl.m.direct):
गुब्बारे
(gubbaare)
(pl.m.oblique):
गुब्बारों
(gubbaaron)