नल (nal)
noun
A common everyday noun meaning 'tap/faucet'; also carries a technical sense as 'tube/pipe' and appears in the name of the mythological king नल (nal) from the Mahabharata.
Sense
1
:
tap, faucet
noun, masculine
Synonyms: टोंटी (tontii)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: In most Indian homes and streets you'll hear नल (nal) constantly: सार्वजनिक नल (saarvajnik nal, 'public tap') is a fixture of neighborhood life in many towns, where people queue up with buckets, especially when piped supply is limited. नल खोलना/बंद करना (nal kholnaa / nal band karnaa, 'to turn the tap on/off') is one of the first practical verb-object pairs learners pick up.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes confuse नल (nal) with नाली (naalii, 'drain/gutter') -- नल is the tap itself, नाली is where the water runs off after. 2) पानी का नल (paanii kaa nal, 'water tap') is the common phrase; don't drop the का (kaa) and just say पानी नल.
Sample Sentences:
नल खोलो, पानी आ रहा है।
Turn on the tap, the water is coming.
(nal kholo, paanii aa rahaa hai।)
सुबह उठकर सबसे पहले वह नल खोलती है।
After waking up in the morning, the first thing she does is turn on the tap.
(subah uthkar sabse pahle vah nal kholtii hai।)
नल बंद कर दो, पानी बह रहा है।
Turn off the tap, the water is running.
(nal band kar do, paanii bah rahaa hai।)
गली के मोड़ पर सार्वजनिक नल है जहाँ लोग सुबह-सुबह लाइन लगाते हैं।
There's a public tap at the corner of the lane where people line up early in the morning.
(galii ke mod par saarvajnik nal hai jahaan log subah-subah laain lagaate hain।)
कल रात नल से पानी नहीं आया, इसलिए हमने बाल्टी में पानी नहीं भरा।
The water didn't come from the tap last night, so we didn't fill up the bucket.
(kal raat nal se paanii nahiin aayaa, islie hamne baaltii men paanii nahiin bharaa।)
अगर उस समय नल बंद होता, तो इतना पानी बर्बाद न होता।
If the tap had been turned off at that time, so much water wouldn't have been wasted.
(agar us samay nal band hotaa, to itnaa paanii barbaad n hotaa।)
नल से टपकता पानी सुनते-सुनते मुझे नींद आ गई।
Listening to the water dripping from the tap, I fell asleep.
(nal se tapaktaa paanii sunte-sunte mujhe niind aa gaii।)
प्लंबर से कहो कि नल जल्दी ठीक कर दे।
Tell the plumber to fix the tap quickly.
(plambar se kaho ki nal jaldii thiik kar de।)
नल इतने जोर से चल रहा है कि पूरा आँगन गीला हो गया।
The tap is running so hard that the whole courtyard has gotten wet.
(nal itne jor se chal rahaa hai ki pooraa aangan giilaa ho gayaa।)
नगर निगम द्वारा हर मोहल्ले में नए नल लगाए गए हैं।
New taps have been installed in every neighborhood by the municipal corporation.
(nagar nigam dvaaraa har mohalle men nae nal lagaae gae hain।)
काश हमारे घर में भी सीधे नल से पीने का पानी आता।
I wish drinking water came directly from the tap in our house too.
(kaash hamaare ghar men bhii siidhe nal se piine kaa paanii aataa।)
बच्चे नल के नीचे खड़े होकर नहा रहे थे।
The children were standing under the tap, bathing.
(bachche nal ke niiche khade hokar nahaa rahe the।)
Sense
2
:
pipe, tube (technical/plumbing)
noun, masculine
Synonyms: पाइप (paaip)
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: In plumbing and construction contexts नल (nal) can mean the pipe or conduit itself, not just the tap at its end -- a plumber might talk about laying नल (nal) under the floor. This sense overlaps heavily with the borrowed word पाइप (paaip), which is more common in casual speech.
Sample Sentences:
प्लंबर ने फर्श के नीचे नया नल बिछाया।
The plumber laid a new pipe under the floor.
(plambar ne pharsh ke niiche nayaa nal bichhaayaa।)
इस इमारत में पानी के नल जंग खा गए हैं।
The water pipes in this building have rusted.
(is imaarat men paanii ke nal jang khaa gae hain।)
दीवार तोड़ने से पहले नक्शे में नल की लाइन देख लो।
Before breaking the wall, check the pipe line in the blueprint.
(diivaar todne se pahle nakshe men nal kii laain dekh lo।)
यह नल लोहे का बना है, प्लास्टिक का नहीं।
This pipe is made of iron, not plastic.
(yah nal lohe kaa banaa hai, plaastik kaa nahiin।)
अगर नल सही ढंग से बिछाया जाता तो रिसाव नहीं होता।
If the pipe had been laid properly, there wouldn't be a leak.
(agar nal sahii dhang se bichhaayaa jaataa to risaav nahiin hotaa।)
ठेकेदार चाहता है कि सारे नल एक ही दिशा में जाएँ।
The contractor wants all the pipes to run in the same direction.
(thekedaar chaahtaa hai ki saare nal ek hii dishaa men jaaen।)
पुराने घर के नल कंक्रीट के अंदर दबे मिले।
The old house's pipes were found buried inside the concrete.
(puraane ghar ke nal kankriit ke andar dabe mile।)
निर्माण कंपनी हर मंजिल के लिए अलग नल बिछाएगी।
The construction company will lay separate pipes for each floor.
(nirmaan kampnii har manjil ke lie alag nal bichhaaegii।)
Morphology
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
नल
(nal)
(sg.m.oblique):
नल
(nal)
(pl.m.direct):
नल
(nal)
(pl.m.oblique):
नलों
(nalon)