कटोरा
kaṭorā/kə.ʈoː.ɾɑː/masculine
The word for bowl in Hindi is कटोरा (kaṭorā). A small bowl is कटोरी (kaṭorī). If unsure, use कटोरा.
Meaning: container for food (noun)
Ways to say it
| Hindi | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| कटोरा | kaṭorā | /kə.ʈoː.ɾɑː/ (Hindi, Standard) | masculine |
| कटोरी | kaṭorī | /kə.ʈoː.ɾiː/ (Hindi, Standard) | feminine |
कटोरा is a container for food, a bowl in general.
Which one should you use?
कटोरा is a bowl of ordinary size and is masculine. कटोरी is a small bowl and is feminine. In a typical Indian meal, कटोरी is the more common word for the small metal or ceramic bowls that hold lentils, sambar or chutney.
How does it change in a sentence?
Before a postposition such as में, meaning in, कटोरा changes to the oblique form कटोरे, as in कटोरे में, in the bowl.
How do you pronounce it?
Say it as kaṭorā. The IPA is /kə.ʈoː.ɾɑː/, three syllables.
Did you know?
- The word कटोरा can be used to refer specifically to the begging bowl used by ascetics or monks, rather than just a kitchen utensil.
- In many Indian kitchens, the कटोरी serves as a standard informal unit of measurement for ingredients like oil or flour when a scale is not used.
- In Hindi, the grammatical gender of a word can signal the size of an object. While कटोरा is masculine and refers to a general bowl, the feminine कटोरी specifically denotes a smaller version.
Examples in context
- दही को कटोरे में डालो।Put the curd in the bowl.Here कटोरे में means in the bowl.
- मेज पर एक कटोरा रखा है।mej par ek katoṛā rakhā hai.A bowl is kept on the table.
- क्या मुझे वह कटोरा मिल सकता है?kyā mujhe vah katoṛā mil saktā hai?Can I have that bowl?
Example conversation
In a kitchen, Pooja is setting the table for lunch.
- पूजा Poojaविकास, क्या तुमने कटोरा साफ किया?vikās, kyā tumne katoṛā sāf kiyā?Vikas, did you clean the bowl?
- विकास Vikasहाँ, कटोरा बिल्कुल साफ है।hā̃, katoṛā bilkul sāf hai.Yes, the bowl is perfectly clean.
- पूजा Poojaठीक है, अब इसमें दाल डाल दो।ṭhīk hai, ab isme dāl ḍāl do.Okay, now pour the dal into it.
- विकास Vikasअभी डालता हूँ।abhī ḍāltā hū̃.I'm pouring it now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bowl” translations and entries कटोरा, कटोरी, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
