कचरा
kacrā/kət͡ʃ.ɾɑː/masculine
The word for garbage in Hindi is कचरा (kacrā). Another common word is कूड़ा (kūṛā). If unsure, use कचरा.
Meaning: waste material (noun)
Ways to say it
| Hindi | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| कचरा | kacrā | /kət͡ʃ.ɾɑː/ (Hindi, Standard) | masculine |
| कूड़ा | kūṛā | /kuː.ɽɑː/ (Hindi, Standard) | masculine |
कचरा is the general word for trash or waste material in everyday speech. A garbage bin is कचरा पात्र, a more formal term.
Which one should you use?
कचरा is general waste. कूड़ा is a common synonym often used for loose rubbish or street litter.
How does it change in a sentence?
Both words are masculine. Before a postposition they change their ending, so कचरा becomes कचरे and कूड़ा becomes कूड़े.
How do you pronounce it?
Say it as kacrā. The IPA is /kətʃ.ɾɑː/, two syllables.
Did you know?
- The word कचरा is used as a slang term for something of very low quality or a person who is considered useless or a failure.
- In colloquial Hindi, the phrase कचरा करना literally means 'to make garbage' but is used to mean 'to mess something up' or 'to ruin a task'.
- While कचरा is the common term for waste, its distant Sanskrit ancestor कच्चर originally described something 'vile' or 'dirty'.
Examples in context
- यहाँ एक बड़ा कचरे का टीला है।There is a large mound of garbage here.Here कचरे का टीला means a mound of garbage.
- यह कचरा बहुत बदबूदार है।yah kachara bahut badbudar hai.This garbage smells very bad.
- सड़क पर कचरा मत फैलाओ।sadak par kachara mat phailao.Do not scatter garbage on the road.
Example conversation
Amit and Anjali are cleaning their apartment.
- अमित Amitअंजलि, क्या तुमने सारा कचरा फेंक दिया?Anjali, kya tumne saara kachara phenk diya?Anjali, did you throw away all the garbage?
- अंजलि Anjaliनहीं अमित, अभी थोड़ा कचरा बाकी है।nahin Amit, abhi thoda kachara baaki hai.No Amit, there is still some garbage left.
- अमित Amitठीक है, मैं उसे बाहर निकाल देता हूँ।theek hai, main use baahar nikaal deta hoon.Okay, I will take it outside.
- अंजलि Anjaliशुक्रिया, वह बहुत भारी है।shukriya, vah bahut bhaari hai.Thank you, it is very heavy.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “garbage” translations and entries कचरा, कूड़ा, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries कचरा, कूड़ा, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
