नुक़ता (nuqtaa)
noun
Primarily the diacritical dot placed under certain Devanagari consonants (like क़, ख़, ग़, ज़, फ़) to represent sounds borrowed from Persian/Arabic; also has an extended sense meaning 'point' or 'subtlety' in a discussion.
Sense
1
:
the dot diacritic under a Devanagari letter marking a Persian/Arabic-derived sound
noun, masculine
Synonyms: बिंदु (bindu, generic dot, not specific to this diacritic)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: In everyday Delhi speech, most people drop the नुक़्ता (nuqtaa) entirely -- ज़रूर (zaroor) becomes जरूर (jaroor) in casual writing and nobody blinks. You'll see it taken seriously mainly in Urdu-influenced print, News Hindi, or when someone is being careful about words of Persian/Arabic origin like क़िला (qilaa) or ख़ुशी (khushii).
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners often ignore the नुक़्ता (nuqtaa) in writing and pronunciation, saying काम (kaam, 'work') for ख़ाम (khaam) type distinctions -- but note ज़रूरत (zaroorat) and जरूरत (jaroorat) are both accepted, so dropping the नुक़्ता (nuqtaa) is common and not always 'wrong', just a style/register choice. 2) The word itself has a variant spelling नुक्ता (nuktaa) without the nuqta on the क़ -- both are seen, even though this is ironic given the word's own meaning.
Sample Sentences:
इस लफ़्ज़ में नुक़्ता ज़रूर लगाना चाहिए।
You must definitely put a nuqta in this word.
(is lafz men nuqtaa zaroor lagaanaa chaahie।)
आजकल लोग लिखते वक़्त नुक़्ता लगाना भूल जाते हैं।
These days people forget to put the nuqta when writing.
(aajkal log likhte vaqt nuqtaa lagaanaa bhool jaate hain।)
अख़बार वालों ने 'क़िला' शब्द में नुक़्ता सही जगह लगाया था।
The newspaper people had put the nuqta correctly in the word 'qila'.
(akhbaar vaalon ne 'qilaa' shabd men nuqtaa sahii jagah lagaayaa thaa।)
इस किताब में नुक़्ता कहीं-कहीं छोड़ दिया गया है।
In this book, the nuqta has been left out in a few places.
(is kitaab men nuqtaa kahiin-kahiin chhod diyaa gayaa hai।)
अगर तुम नुक़्ता लगाओ तो 'ज़रूर' 'जरूर' से अलग दिखेगा।
If you add the nuqta, 'zaroor' will look different from 'jaroor'.
(agar tum nuqtaa lagaao to 'zaroor' 'jaroor' se alag dikhegaa।)
कृपया 'ख़ुशी' शब्द में नुक़्ता लगाना न भूलें।
Please don't forget to put the nuqta in the word 'khushi'.
(kripyaa 'khushii' shabd men nuqtaa lagaanaa n bhoolen।)
अगर पुराने ज़माने में नुक़्ता न होता, तो उर्दू के कई शब्द हिंदी शब्दों जैसे ही लिखे जाते।
If the nuqta hadn't existed in olden times, many Urdu words would have been written just like Hindi words.
(agar puraane zamaane men nuqtaa n hotaa, to urdoo ke kaii shabd hindii shabdon jaise hii likhe jaate।)
समाचार-पत्रों में फ़ारसी-अरबी मूल के शब्दों पर नुक़्ता लगाने की परंपरा अब भी क़ायम है।
In newspapers, the tradition of putting the nuqta on words of Persian-Arabic origin still persists.
(samaachaar-patron men faarsii-arbii mool ke shabdon par nuqtaa lagaane kii parampraa ab bhii qaayam hai।)
अध्यापिका ने समझाया कि नुक़्ता किन अक्षरों के नीचे लगता है।
The teacher explained under which letters the nuqta is placed.
(adhyaapikaa ne samjhaayaa ki nuqtaa kin akshron ke niiche lagtaa hai।)
इस फ़ॉन्ट में नुक़्ता ठीक से दिखता ही नहीं है।
In this font, the nuqta doesn't even show up properly.
(is font men nuqtaa thiik se dikhtaa hii nahiin hai।)
Sense
2
:
a fine point, subtlety, or nuance in an argument or matter
noun, masculine
Synonyms: बात (baat), बारीकी (baariikii, emphasizes fine detail)
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: You'll hear this in phrases like इस बात में एक नुक़्ता है (is baat men ek nuqtaa hai, 'there is a subtlety in this matter') -- it's the kind of word a sharp debater or a thoughtful uncle at a chai stall uses when pointing out that something isn't as simple as it looks.
Sample Sentences:
इस बात में एक नुक़्ता है जिसे तुम समझ नहीं रहे।
There is a subtlety in this matter that you are not understanding.
(is baat men ek nuqtaa hai jise tum samajh nahiin rahe।)
वकील साहब ने बहस में एक बारीक नुक़्ता उठाया।
The lawyer raised a fine point in the argument.
(vakiil saahab ne bahas men ek baariik nuqtaa uthaayaa।)
चाय की दुकान पर बैठे बूढ़े ने कहा, इस मसले का असली नुक़्ता तो कोई और है।
The old man sitting at the tea stall said, the real point of this issue is something else entirely.
(chaay kii dukaan par baithe boodhe ne kahaa, is masle kaa aslii nuqtaa to koii aur hai।)
क्या तुम्हें इस दलील का नुक़्ता समझ आया?
Did you get the subtlety of this argument?
(kyaa tumhen is daliil kaa nuqtaa samajh aayaa?)
अगर तुम यह नुक़्ता नज़रअंदाज़ कर दो, तो पूरी बात बेमानी हो जाएगी।
If you ignore this point, the whole matter will become meaningless.
(agar tum yah nuqtaa nazraandaaz kar do, to poorii baat bemaanii ho jaaegii।)
काश तुम उस नुक़्ते को पहले ही समझ लेते, तो झगड़ा न होता।
If only you had understood that point earlier, the quarrel wouldn't have happened.
(kaash tum us nuqte ko pahle hii samajh lete, to jhagdaa n hotaa।)
इस किताब में लेखक ने कई गहरे नुक़्ते छुए हैं।
In this book, the author has touched upon several deep subtleties.
(is kitaab men lekhak ne kaii gahre nuqte chhue hain।)
उसकी बात में एक नुक़्ता छिपा हुआ था, जो सबकी समझ में देर से आया।
There was a subtlety hidden in what he said, which everyone understood only later.
(uskii baat men ek nuqtaa chhipaa huaa thaa, jo sabkii samajh men der se aayaa।)
ज़रा इस नुक़्ते पर ग़ौर करो, फिर फैसला करना।
Just consider this subtlety, then decide.
(zaraa is nuqte par ghaur karo, phir phaislaa karnaa।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
नुक़ता
(nuqtaa)
(sg.m.oblique):
नुक़ता
(nuqtaa)
(pl.m.direct):
नुक़ता
(nuqtaa)
(pl.m.oblique):
नुक़ताओं
(nuqtaaon)