Hindi Idioms and Proverbs: Learn 76 Muhavare and Kahavat, Literal Meanings Included

Hindi has two kinds of fixed expressions, and the Hindi Idioms & Proverbs deck (code OQ0307, 76 cards) mixes them without saying so. A muhāvarā (मुहावरा) is an idiom built around a verb ending in -nā, so you conjugate it inside a sentence: नौ दो ग्यारह होना becomes vo nau do gyārah ho gaye, "they ran off." A lokokti or kahāvat (लोकोक्ति / कहावत) is a complete proverb that you quote as is. Learning which is which is what turns these cards into speech.

What the cards look like

Each front gives the Devanagari, an IAST transliteration and a literal gloss; the back gives the English meaning.

You'll also meet आँख का तारा, चोर की दाढ़ी में तिनका, मुँह में राम बगल में छुरी, दूध का दूध पानी का पानी, कान भरना, आँखों में धूल झोंकना, दाँत खट्टे करना, घी के दिये जलाना, अपना हाथ जगन्नाथ, गागर में सागर, कोयले की दलाली में हाथ काले, दूर के ढोल सुहावने, बूंद-बूंद से तालाब भरता है and जाको राखे साइयाँ.

Study the 12 verb idioms first

Cards 25-36 are the real muhāvare: आँख मूंदकर, कान भरना, मुँह में पानी आना, हाथ धोना, पेट में चूहे कूदना, कलेजा मुँह को आना, सिर पर भूत सवार होना… They are the ones you will actually use in conversation. Write one sentence in the past tense for each (mere peṭ mẽ chūhe kūd rahe haĩ, "I'm starving"). One nuance: हाथ धोना is usually heard as हाथ धो बैठना, "to lose for good."

Cards to fix as you go

• Card 18 पहाड़ और चूहा is not a saying: it is a fragment of card 7, खोदा पहाड़, निकली चुहिया. Card 7 means huge effort, trivial result, not "making a mountain out of a molehill." Suspend 18.
• Card 20: a छींका is a rope sling hung from the ceiling to keep food away from cats, not a pitcher. That is the whole joke.
• Card 60 is usually quoted the other way round: सावन सूखे न भादों हरे.
• Cards 61, 67, 69 and 76 are ordinary sentences or English proverbs translated into Hindi (time and tide, a lesson at every turn). Native speakers won't recognise them as proverbs. Suspend them, or swap card 71 for the real एक चुप सौ को हराए.

Make a contrast table for the twins

The deck repeats meanings: four "two birds" cards (एक तीर से दो शिकार, एक पंथ दो काज, आम के आम…), two "cut your coat" cards (59 and the Braj couplet 62, तेते पाँव पसारिये) and two karma cards (13 and 68). Give each one its own trigger word: tīr = two goals in one action, ām = a bonus on top of a gain. Also note the archaic Braj verb forms in the couplets (होत, जाय, कोय). They are poetic, so don't copy them into modern sentences.

For the everyday words these idioms are built from, read Learn the Top 100 Hindi Words. Find OQ0307 in the library after signing in at flip-it.app.