लंबाई (lambaaii)

noun A noun meaning 'length' or 'height', derived from the adjective लंबा (lambaa, 'long/tall'); the two senses below track physical length versus a person's height.
Sense 1 : length (of an object, distance, duration)
noun, feminine
Synonyms: दूरी (doorii, distance, not identical but overlaps for spans)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this constantly in markets and tailoring shops -- कपड़े की लंबाई (kapde kii lambaaii, 'the length of the cloth') is a everyday phrase when getting clothes stitched, since a tailor always asks for measurements in लंबाई (lambaaii) and चौड़ाई (chaudaaii, 'width').
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes try to use लंबा (lambaa) itself where the noun is needed -- to ask 'what is the length', you need लंबाई (lambaaii) क्या है (kyaa hai), not लंबा (lambaa) क्या है.
Sample Sentences:
इस कपड़े की लंबाई कितनी है? What is the length of this cloth?
(is kapde kii lambaaii kitnii hai?)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
दर्जी ने पहले कमीज़ की लंबाई नापी। The tailor first measured the length of the shirt.
(darjii ne pahle kamiiz kii lambaaii naapii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
कृपया मुझे लंबाई और चौड़ाई दोनों बता दें। Please tell me both the length and the width.
(kripyaa mujhe lambaaii aur chaudaaii donon bataa den।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
अगर पर्दे की लंबाई सही होती, तो इतना कपड़ा नहीं बचता। If the length of the curtain had been right, this much cloth wouldn't have been left over.
(agar parde kii lambaaii sahii hotii, to itnaa kapdaa nahiin bachtaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
इस सड़क की लंबाई लगभग दस किलोमीटर होगी। The length of this road must be about ten kilometers.
(is sadak kii lambaaii lagbhag das kilomiitar hogii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Future -- Voice: Active
मेज़ की लंबाई मापी जा रही है। The length of the table is being measured.
(mez kii lambaaii maapii jaa rahii hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Passive
शायद इस रस्सी की लंबाई काफी न हो। Perhaps the length of this rope may not be enough.
(shaayad is rassii kii lambaaii kaaphii n ho।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Active
फिल्म की लंबाई सुनकर लोग बोर हो गए। Hearing about the length of the movie, people got bored.
(philm kii lambaaii sunkar log bor ho gae।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
बैठक की लंबाई पर हम बहस करते रहते हैं। We keep debating over the length of the meeting.
(baithak kii lambaaii par ham bahas karte rahte hain।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
साड़ी की लंबाई इतनी अधिक थी कि उसे मोड़ना पड़ा। The length of the sari was so great that it had to be folded.
(saadii kii lambaaii itnii adhik thii ki use modnaa padaa।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
इस लेख की लंबाई आवश्यकता से अधिक है। The length of this article is more than necessary.
(is lekh kii lambaaii aavashyaktaa se adhik hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
Sense 2 : height (of a person)
noun, feminine Used with होना (honaa) or the dative-subject frame, e.g. उसकी लंबाई पाँच फ़ुट है (uskii lambaaii paanch fut hai, 'his/her height is five feet').
Synonyms: ऊँचाई (oonchaaii, more common for height of things/structures than people)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: Height comes up a lot in matchmaking and job contexts in India -- लड़के की लंबाई कितनी है (ladke kii lambaaii kitnii hai, 'how tall is the boy') is a classic question in arranged-marriage conversations, right alongside details about salary and family background.
Common Mistakes: 1) For people, लंबाई (lambaaii) is the natural word for height; ऊँचाई (oonchaaii) sounds odd applied to a person and is reserved more for buildings, mountains, walls, etc.
Sample Sentences:
लड़के की लंबाई कितनी है? How tall is the boy?
(ladke kii lambaaii kitnii hai?)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
मेरी लंबाई पाँच फुट सात इंच है। My height is five feet seven inches.
(merii lambaaii paanch phut saat inch hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
पिछले एक साल में उसकी लंबाई बहुत बढ़ गई है। His height has increased a lot in the last one year.
(pichhle ek saal men uskii lambaaii bahut badh gaii hai।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
इस नौकरी के लिए उम्मीदवार की लंबाई कम से कम पाँच फुट होनी चाहिए। For this job, the candidate's height should be at least five feet.
(is naukrii ke lie ummiidvaar kii lambaaii kam se kam paanch phut honii chaahie।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
अगर उसकी लंबाई थोड़ी और होती, तो वह मॉडलिंग में जा सकता था। If his height were a bit more, he could have gone into modeling.
(agar uskii lambaaii thodii aur hotii, to vah modling men jaa saktaa thaa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Habitual -- Voice: Active
बचपन में मेरी लंबाई सबसे कम थी क्लास में। In childhood, my height was the shortest in the class.
(bachpan men merii lambaaii sabse kam thii klaas men।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
डॉक्टर हर महीने बच्चे की लंबाई नाप रहे हैं। The doctor is measuring the child's height every month.
(doktar har mahiine bachche kii lambaaii naap rahe hain।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
फॉर्म में अपनी लंबाई और वज़न ज़रूर भरिए। Please fill in your height and weight in the form.
(phorm men apnii lambaaii aur vazan zaroor bharie।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
आर्मी में भर्ती के लिए लंबाई की एक तय सीमा होती है। There is a fixed height limit for recruitment in the army.
(aarmii men bhartii ke lie lambaaii kii ek tay siimaa hotii hai।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
शायद उसकी लंबाई छह फुट के आसपास हो। Maybe his height is around six feet.
(shaayad uskii lambaaii chhah phut ke aaspaas ho।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Active
रिश्ते की बात करते हुए उन्होंने पहला सवाल यही पूछा कि लड़की की लंबाई कितनी है। While discussing the match, the very first question they asked was how tall the girl is.
(rishte kii baat karte hue unhonne pahlaa savaal yahii poochhaa ki ladkii kii lambaaii kitnii hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
Morphology
Noun
(sg.f.direct): लंबाई (lambaaii)
(sg.f.oblique): लंबाई (lambaaii)
(pl.f.direct): लंबाईएँ (lambaaiien)
(pl.f.oblique): लंबाईओं (lambaaiion)