नींद (niind)
noun
A feminine noun meaning 'sleep,' almost always paired with आना (aanaa, 'to come') to describe sleep arriving to a person; also extends to a couple of fixed idiomatic uses.
Sense
1
:
sleep (the state or need for it)
noun, feminine Almost always appears with a dative-marked experiencer plus आना (aanaa): मुझे नींद आ रही है (mujhe niind aa rahii hai, 'I am feeling sleepy'). नींद (niind) itself is just the noun 'sleep'; it is not a verb.
Synonyms: निद्रा (nidraa, literary)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: This is a classic example of Hindi's 'body/mind as receiver' pattern: sleep, hunger, anger, and even love are things that arrive to you (आना, aanaa) rather than things you actively produce. मुझे नींद आ रही है (mujhe niind aa rahii hai, 'I'm getting sleepy') is far more natural than any construction where 'I' is the grammatical agent of sleep.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners try to say 'I sleep' with नींद (niind) directly as a subject doing an action, e.g. मैं नींद करता हूँ (main niind kartaa hoon) -- wrong; Hindi treats sleep as something that comes to you, so the natural frame is मुझे नींद आती है (mujhe niind aatii hai) or simply सोना (sonaa, 'to sleep') as the verb. 2) Don't confuse नींद (niind, the noun 'sleep') with सोना (sonaa, the verb 'to sleep') -- they are not interchangeable in a sentence frame.
Sample Sentences:
मुझे बहुत नींद आ रही है।
I'm feeling very sleepy.
(mujhe bahut niind aa rahii hai।)
कल रात मुझे नींद नहीं आई।
I couldn't sleep last night.
(kal raat mujhe niind nahiin aaii।)
उसे रात को जल्दी नींद आ जाती है।
He falls asleep early at night.
(use raat ko jaldii niind aa jaatii hai।)
चिंता की वजह से उसकी नींद उड़ गई है।
His sleep has vanished because of worry.
(chintaa kii vajah se uskii niind ud gaii hai।)
काश मुझे भी इतनी गहरी नींद आती।
I wish I could sleep so deeply too.
(kaash mujhe bhii itnii gahrii niind aatii।)
अगर तुम रात को फ़ोन न चलाओ, तो शायद तुम्हें जल्दी नींद आए।
If you didn't use your phone at night, maybe you'd fall asleep sooner.
(agar tum raat ko fon n chalaao, to shaayad tumhen jaldii niind aae।)
बच्चे को अभी सुला दो, उसे नींद आ रही है।
Put the child to bed now, he's getting sleepy.
(bachche ko abhii sulaa do, use niind aa rahii hai।)
डॉक्टर ने कहा कि पर्याप्त नींद स्वास्थ्य के लिए ज़रूरी है।
The doctor said that adequate sleep is necessary for health.
(doktar ne kahaa ki paryaapt niind svaasthy ke lie zaroorii hai।)
इस दवा से नींद ज़रूर आ जाएगी।
This medicine will surely bring on sleep.
(is davaa se niind zaroor aa jaaegii।)
नींद पूरी न होने की वजह से मरीज़ को यह दवा दी गई।
This medicine was given to the patient because his sleep was incomplete.
(niind poorii n hone kii vajah se mariiz ko yah davaa dii gaii।)
नींद के बिना इंसान ठीक से सोच भी नहीं सकता।
Without sleep, a person can't even think properly.
(niind ke binaa insaan thiik se soch bhii nahiin saktaa।)
Sense
2
:
a period of sleep, nap, or dream-state (idiomatic/extended uses)
noun, feminine Seen in fixed expressions like नींद टूटना (niind tootnaa, 'sleep to break/be interrupted') and नींद उड़ना (niind udnaa, 'to lose one's sleep [from worry]', literally 'sleep to fly away').
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: Worry-driven sleeplessness is almost always phrased as नींद उड़ जाना (niind ud jaanaa, 'for sleep to fly away'), a vivid image Delhi families use constantly when talking about exam stress or a sick relative -- e.g. उसकी नींद उड़ गई है (uskii niind ud gaii hai, 'he/she has lost all sleep [from worry]').
Common Mistakes: 1) नींद उड़ना (niind udnaa) does not mean physically flying anywhere -- it means someone is so worried or anxious that they cannot sleep; learners sometimes take it too literally. 2) नींद टूटना (niind tootnaa, 'to wake up abruptly') uses टूटना (tootnaa, 'to break') rather than खुलना (khulnaa) -- both exist, but टूटना (tootnaa) specifically implies an unwanted, sudden interruption.
Sample Sentences:
बेटे के इम्तिहान की चिंता में माँ की नींद उड़ गई है।
The mother has lost all sleep worrying about her son's exam.
(bete ke imtihaan kii chintaa men maan kii niind ud gaii hai।)
जब से पापा बीमार पड़े हैं, मेरी नींद उड़ी हुई है।
Ever since dad fell ill, I haven't been able to sleep a wink.
(jab se paapaa biimaar pade hain, merii niind udii huii hai।)
कल रात उसे बुरे सपने में नींद टूट गई और फिर वह सो नहीं पाया।
Last night his sleep broke because of a bad dream, and then he couldn't fall asleep again.
(kal raat use bure sapne men niind toot gaii aur phir vah so nahiin paayaa।)
इतना कर्ज़ हो गया है कि उसकी रातों की नींद हराम हो गई है।
The debt has piled up so much that his nights' sleep has been ruined.
(itnaa karz ho gayaa hai ki uskii raaton kii niind haraam ho gaii hai।)
अगर नौकरी चली जाती, तो मेरी नींद उड़ जाती।
If I lost my job, I would lose all my sleep over it.
(agar naukrii chalii jaatii, to merii niind ud jaatii।)
कहीं ऐसा न हो कि यह खबर सुनकर उसकी नींद उड़ जाए।
I hope this news doesn't make him lose all his sleep.
(kahiin aisaa n ho ki yah khabar sunkar uskii niind ud jaae।)
परीक्षा नज़दीक आते ही छात्रों की नींद उड़ने लगती है।
As soon as the exams get close, students start losing their sleep.
(pariikshaa nazdiik aate hii chhaatron kii niind udne lagtii hai।)
उस हादसे की खबर से पूरे मोहल्ले की नींद उड़ गई थी।
The news of that accident had taken away the whole neighborhood's sleep.
(us haadse kii khabar se poore mohalle kii niind ud gaii thii।)
यह चिंता ऐसी है कि इससे किसी की भी नींद उड़ाई जा सकती है।
This worry is the kind that can steal anyone's sleep away.
(yah chintaa aisii hai ki isse kisii kii bhii niind udaaii jaa saktii hai।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct):
नींद
(niind)
(sg.f.oblique):
नींद
(niind)
(pl.f.direct):
नींदें
(niinden)
(pl.f.oblique):
नींदों
(niindon)