कला
kalā/kə.lɑː/
The word for art in Hindi is कला (kalā).
कला is used for the fine arts, such as painting and also for a skill or craft, like the art of cooking or the art of war.
Which one should you use?
The art of painting is Chitrakala, and sculpting is Murtikala. An artist is कलाकार (kalākār).
How does it change in a sentence?
कला is a feminine noun. To say of art, use कला का before a masculine noun and कला की before a feminine one.
How do you pronounce it?
Say it as kalā. The IPA is /kə.lɑː/, two syllables with a long vowel at the end.
Did you know?
- Classical Indian tradition identifies 64 different कला or arts, including things like the art of interpreting dreams and the art of training parrots to speak.
- In traditional Indian philosophy, the word कला does not just mean 'art' but also refers to the different phases or 'aspects' of the moon.
- The term कला traces its roots back to Sanskrit, where it originally described the different 'arts' or 'disciplines' one could master to achieve spiritual or intellectual perfection.
Examples in context
- कला क्या होती है?What is art?Here कला is the subject of the question what is art.Tatoeba #4065146 by sabretou, translation #1532239 by Spamster
- कराटे निहत्थे रक्षा की कला है।Karate is an art of unarmed defense.Here कला means art in the sense of a skill, the art of unarmed defense.Tatoeba #450330 by minshirui, translation #18180 by Zifre
- वह कला का अध्ययन करने पेरिस गई।She went to Paris in order to study art.Here कला का shows art as the thing she went to study.Tatoeba #2075227 by sabretou, translation #318163 by CN
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are looking at paintings in a gallery.
- विकास Vikasनेहा, देखो यह कला कितनी अद्भुत है!neha, dekho yah kalā kitnī adbhut hai!Neha, look how wonderful this art is!
- नेहा Nehaहाँ विकास, यह बहुत प्रभावशाली है।hā̃ vikās, yah bahut prabhāvshālī hai.Yes Vikas, it is very impressive.
- विकास Vikasक्या तुम्हें ऐसी कला पसंद है?kyā tumhē̃ aisī kalā pasand hai?Do you like this kind of art?
- नेहा Nehaहाँ, मुझे ऐसी कला बहुत पसंद है।hā̃, mujhe aisī kalā bahut pasand hai.Yes, I like such art very much.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry कला, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries कला, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
