जान निकलना (jaan nikalnaa)
verb
A vivid compound expression built on जान (jaan, 'life/vital breath') and निकलना (nikalnaa, 'to emerge/exit'); used almost entirely for intense fear or relief, not literal death.
Sense
1
:
to be terrified, scared out of one's wits
verb, intransitive Used with a dative subject: जान + possessor marked by का/की/के or expressed via की जान, e.g. मेरी जान निकल गई (merii jaan nikal gaii, 'I was scared to death'). The verb almost always appears in perfective form with निकल जाना (nikal jaanaa) rather than bare निकलना.
Synonyms: डर के मारे बुरा हाल होना (dar ke maare buraa haal honaa), हवा निकलना (havaa nikalnaa, colloquial), होश उड़ना (hosh udnaa)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You'll hear this constantly after a near-miss on the road or a sudden jump-scare: मेरी तो जान ही निकल गई! (merii to jaan hii nikal gaii, 'my soul nearly left my body!'). It pairs naturally with दिल की धड़कन बढ़ना (dil kii dhadkan badhnaa) in the same breathless retelling of a scary moment.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes treat जान as the grammatical subject taking ने (ne), but निकलना (nikalnaa) is intransitive here and the experiencer is marked with का/की/के, not ने. 2) This phrase is figurative even when the trigger is minor (a loud noise, a scare in a movie) -- it does not imply real danger to life.
Sample Sentences:
अचानक कुत्ते के भौंकने से मेरी तो जान ही निकल गई!
The dog's sudden barking scared me to death!
(achaanak kutte ke bhaunkne se merii to jaan hii nikal gaii!)
जब बाइक वाला अचानक सामने आ गया, मेरी जान निकल गई और दिल की धड़कन बढ़ गई।
When the biker suddenly appeared in front of me, I was scared out of my wits and my heart started racing.
(jab baaik vaalaa achaanak saamne aa gayaa, merii jaan nikal gaii aur dil kii dhadkan badh gaii।)
बिजली की तेज़ कड़क से बच्चों की जान निकल जाती है।
A loud thunderclap scares the kids to death.
(bijlii kii tez kadak se bachchon kii jaan nikal jaatii hai।)
अरे भूत की कहानी मत सुना, वरना मेरी जान निकल जाएगी!
Hey, don't tell me a ghost story, or I'll be scared to death!
(are bhoot kii kahaanii mat sunaa, varnaa merii jaan nikal jaaegii!)
जिस पल ट्रक हॉर्न बजाता हुआ पास से निकला, मेरी जान निकल रही थी।
The moment the truck zoomed past honking, I was scared out of my wits.
(jis pal trak horn bajaataa huaa paas se niklaa, merii jaan nikal rahii thii।)
अगर वह अचानक कमरे में कूदकर न डराता, तो मेरी जान न निकलती।
If he hadn't jumped into the room and scared me, I wouldn't have been scared to death.
(agar vah achaanak kamre men koodkar n daraataa, to merii jaan n nikaltii।)
मत उछलकर डराओ, यार, मेरी जान निकल जाएगी!
Don't jump out and scare me, man, I'll be scared to death!
(mat uchhalkar daraao, yaar, merii jaan nikal jaaegii!)
डर के मारे उसकी जान निकल गई और वह चीख पड़ी।
She was scared to death and let out a scream.
(dar ke maare uskii jaan nikal gaii aur vah chiikh padii।)
परीक्षा के परिणाम की घोषणा सुनते ही छात्रों की जान निकल जाती है।
The moment the exam results are announced, the students are scared to death.
(pariikshaa ke parinaam kii ghoshnaa sunte hii chhaatron kii jaan nikal jaatii hai।)
क्या तुम्हारी जान निकल गई थी जब लाइट अचानक चली गई थी?
Were you scared to death when the power suddenly went out?
(kyaa tumhaarii jaan nikal gaii thii jab laait achaanak chalii gaii thii?)
यह सोचकर ही मेरी जान निकली जाती है कि इंटरव्यू में क्या पूछा जाएगा।
Just thinking about what will be asked in the interview scares me to death.
(yah sochkar hii merii jaan niklii jaatii hai ki intravyoo men kyaa poochhaa jaaegaa।)
Sense
2
:
to be utterly exhausted or drained (by hard work, worry, etc.)
verb, intransitive Often occurs with a cause expressed via में or से: काम करते-करते जान निकल गई (kaam karte-karte jaan nikal gaii, 'I was worn out from working').
Synonyms: थक कर चूर होना (thak kar choor honaa), दम निकलना (dam nikalnaa)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: A tired rickshaw-puller or an exam-weary student might sigh पढ़ते-पढ़ते जान निकल गई (padhte-padhte jaan nikal gaii, 'studying wore the life out of me') -- the same phrase as the fear-sense, but context (effort vs. shock) tells you which is meant.
Sample Sentences:
पढ़ते-पढ़ते जान निकल गई।
Studying wore the life out of me.
(padhte-padhte jaan nikal gaii।)
सारा दिन धूप में मजदूरी करके उसकी जान निकल जाती है।
Working all day in the sun, he gets utterly drained.
(saaraa din dhoop men majdoorii karke uskii jaan nikal jaatii hai।)
यह पहाड़ी चढ़ते-चढ़ते तो मेरी जान निकल रही है।
Climbing this hill is completely wearing me out.
(yah pahaadii chadhte-chadhte to merii jaan nikal rahii hai।)
इतना काम एक दिन में करोगे तो जान निकल जाएगी।
If you do this much work in one day, you'll be completely drained.
(itnaa kaam ek din men karoge to jaan nikal jaaegii।)
अगर मुझे भी यह ओवरटाइम करना पड़ता तो मेरी भी जान निकल जाती।
If I had to do this overtime too, I'd have been utterly worn out as well.
(agar mujhe bhii yah ovartaaim karnaa padtaa to merii bhii jaan nikal jaatii।)
रिक्शा खींचते-खींचते बेचारे की जान निकल गई।
Pulling the rickshaw all day left the poor fellow utterly exhausted.
(rikshaa khiinchte-khiinchte bechaare kii jaan nikal gaii।)
इतना मत दौड़ो, नहीं तो जान निकल जाएगी।
Don't run so much, or you'll wear yourself out completely.
(itnaa mat daudo, nahiin to jaan nikal jaaegii।)
लगता है कि लगातार रात की शिफ्ट करने से उसकी जान निकल जाए।
It seems like doing back-to-back night shifts might just wear him out completely.
(lagtaa hai ki lagaataar raat kii shipht karne se uskii jaan nikal jaae।)
परीक्षा की तैयारी में तो जान ही निकल जाती है।
Exam preparation just completely drains the life out of you.
(pariikshaa kii taiyaarii men to jaan hii nikal jaatii hai।)
Sense
3
:
to die, to pass away (literal, of the life-breath leaving the body)
verb, intransitive Literal use is less common in casual conversation than the figurative fear/exhaustion senses; it appears more in narrative, storytelling, or solemn description of a death.
Synonyms: मर जाना (mar jaanaa), प्राण निकलना (praan nikalnaa, literary), दम टूटना (dam tootnaa)
Frequency: low
Cultural Note: This is the phrase's original, literal meaning -- जान (jaan) as the vital breath leaving the body at the moment of death -- from which the everyday 'scared to death' sense grew as a natural exaggeration.
Common Mistakes: 1) This literal sense can be confused with the far more frequent figurative 'terrified' sense -- context (a death scene vs. an everyday scare) is the only real disambiguator, since the words themselves don't change.
Sample Sentences:
बूढ़े आदमी की जान निकल गई।
The old man's life left him (he passed away).
(boodhe aadmii kii jaan nikal gaii।)
डॉक्टर के आने से पहले ही उसकी जान निकल चुकी थी।
Even before the doctor arrived, her life had already left her.
(doktar ke aane se pahle hii uskii jaan nikal chukii thii।)
कहते हैं कि आखिरी साँस के साथ ही जान निकलती है।
They say the life leaves (the body) with the very last breath.
(kahte hain ki aakhirii saans ke saath hii jaan nikaltii hai।)
अगर समय पर इलाज न मिलता, तो उसकी जान निकल जाती।
If treatment hadn't come in time, he would have died.
(agar samay par ilaaj n miltaa, to uskii jaan nikal jaatii।)
वैद्य ने कहा कि रोगी की जान निकल रही है, अब कुछ नहीं हो सकता।
The physician said the patient's life is slipping away, nothing can be done now.
(vaidy ne kahaa ki rogii kii jaan nikal rahii hai, ab kuchh nahiin ho saktaa।)
युद्ध के मैदान में न जाने कितने सैनिकों की जान निकल गई।
On the battlefield, who knows how many soldiers' lives were lost.
(yuddh ke maidaan men n jaane kitne sainikon kii jaan nikal gaii।)
क्या सचमुच मरते समय शरीर से जान निकलती हुई महसूस होती है?
Does the life leaving the body actually feel like something at the moment of death?
(kyaa sachmuch marte samay shariir se jaan nikaltii huii mahsoos hotii hai?)
संत ने आशीर्वाद देते हुए कहा, प्रभु के चरणों में ही जान निकले।
Giving his blessing, the saint said, may my life leave me only at the Lord's feet.
(sant ne aashiirvaad dete hue kahaa, prabhu ke charnon men hii jaan nikle।)
Morphology
Verb
infinitive:
जान निकलना
(jaan nikalnaa)
infinitive oblique:
जान निकलने
(jaan nikalne)
habitual/simple (sg.m):
जान निकलता
(jaan nikaltaa)
habitual/simple (pl.m):
जान निकलते
(jaan nikalte)
habitual/simple (sg.f):
जान निकलती
(jaan nikaltii)
habitual/simple (pl.f):
जान निकलतीं
(jaan nikaltiin)
continuous (sg.m):
जान निकल रहा
(jaan nikal rahaa)
continuous (pl.m):
जान निकल रहे
(jaan nikal rahe)
continuous (sg.f):
जान निकल रही
(jaan nikal rahii)
continuous (pl.f):
जान निकल रहीं
(jaan nikal rahiin)
perfective (sg.m):
जान निकला
(jaan niklaa)
perfective (pl.m):
जान निकले
(jaan nikle)
perfective (sg.f):
जान निकली
(jaan niklii)
perfective (pl.f):
जान निकलीं
(jaan nikliin)
imperative (informal):
जान निकल
(jaan nikal)
imperative (neutral):
जान निकलो
(jaan niklo)
imperative (formal):
जान निकलिए
(jaan niklie)
future (1sg.m):
जान निकलूँगा
(jaan nikloongaa)
future (1sg.f):
जान निकलूँगी
(jaan nikloongii)
future (1pl.m):
जान निकलेंगे
(jaan niklenge)
future (1pl.f):
जान निकलेंगी
(jaan niklengii)
future (2sg.m):
जान निकलेगा
(jaan niklegaa)
future (2sg.f):
जान निकलेगी
(jaan niklegii)
future (2pl.m):
जान निकलोगे
(jaan nikloge)
future (2pl.f):
जान निकलोगी
(jaan niklogii)
future (3sg.m):
जान निकलेगा
(jaan niklegaa)
future (3sg.f):
जान निकलेगी
(jaan niklegii)
future (3pl.m):
जान निकलेंगे
(jaan niklenge)
future (3pl.f):
जान निकलेंगी
(jaan niklengii)
subjunctive (1sg):
जान निकलूँ
(jaan nikloon)
subjunctive (1pl):
जान निकलें
(jaan niklen)
subjunctive (2sg):
जान निकले
(jaan nikle)
subjunctive (2pl):
जान निकलो
(jaan niklo)
subjunctive (3sg):
जान निकले
(jaan nikle)
subjunctive (3pl):
जान निकलें
(jaan niklen)