What are common mistakes with शरीर के मुहावरे?

Translating an idiom word for word into Hindi from Russian when the image does not exist there. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: the overlap is large enough to be dangerous - several images match, which encourages inventing the ones that do not.

शरीर के मुहावरे: rules, examples & exercises | Hindi Grammar B1

शरीर के मुहावरे

B1 — मुहावरा

दिल से, सिर पर, हाथ में — रोज़मर्रा के मुहावरे

I can understand and use common body-part idioms

Examples

— The exam is upon us.
— I say this sincerely.
— I don't feel like it today.

मुहावराB1

Idioms Built on the Body

Everyday idioms using parts of the body

Learning Goal

I can understand and use common body-part idioms

Exam Skills:बोलनालिखना

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

The exam is upon us.

I say this sincerely.

I don't feel like it today.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

A selection

दिल से	sincerely, from the heart
मन लगना	to enjoy, to feel settled
सिर पर होना	to be imminent, hanging over one
हाथ बँटाना	to lend a hand
आँख लगना	to doze off
ज़बान पर होना	to be on the tip of the tongue
नाक कटना	to lose face

परीक्षा सिर पर है। - The exam is upon us.
मेरा मन नहीं लग रहा। - I can't settle to anything.
नाम ज़बान पर है। - The name is on the tip of my tongue.

मन has no single translation

मन covers mind, heart and inclination at once. मन करना is to feel like doing something: मेरा मन कर रहा है - I feel like it.

Apply this grammar in B1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Translating an idiom word for word into Hindi from Russian when the image does not exist there.

Common Error Patterns

Russian idiom translated literally into Hindi

Learn the Hindi image; matching ones are a bonus, not a rule.

man translated as a single word

man covers mind, heart and inclination together.

The exam is upon us.

The image matches the Russian one almost exactly.

I say this sincerely.

dil se is dushi, both from the heart.

I don't feel like it today.

man karna is built from man "mind" plus a light verb, where Russian packs the same meaning into the single impersonal khochetsya - so the parts do not line up even though the meaning does.

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in B1 course exercises

B1 Course

← Back to topics

Frequently asked questions

When is शरीर के मुहावरे used?: मन covers mind, heart and inclination at once. मन करना is to feel like doing something: मेरा मन कर रहा है - I feel like it.
What are common mistakes with शरीर के मुहावरे?: Translating an idiom word for word into Hindi from Russian when the image does not exist there. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: the overlap is large enough to be dangerous - several images match, which encourages inventing the ones that do not.

Sources

हिन्दी व्याकरण — काशी नागरी प्रचारिणी सभा, 1920
Kamta Prasad Guru's grammar, the standard prescriptive reference for Hindi morphology and syntax.
Hindi (London Oriental and African Language Library 12) — John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2006
Yamuna Kachru's reference grammar; the descriptive account relied on for aspect, valency and clause structure.