بَحْر
bahrmasculine
The English word ocean can be translated into Urdu using several forms, including بَحْر (bahr). Wiktionary also lists مُحِیط (muhīt) and سَمُنْدَر (samundar).
Meaning: one of the large bodies of water (noun)
Ways to say it
| Urdu | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| بَحْر | bahr | masculine |
| مُحِیط | muhīt | |
| سَمُنْدَر | samundar | |
| اُقْیانُوس | uqyānūs | |
| سَمَنْدَر | samandar | masculine |
| ساگَر | sāgar | masculine |
| قامُوس | qāmūs | masculine |
Which one should you use?
سَمُنْدَر is the most common, everyday word used by native speakers to refer to the sea or ocean. مُحِیط is the most precise term for a large ocean and is frequently used in geography and formal contexts. بَحْر is more commonly used in literary or poetic contexts to mean 'sea'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun بَحْر is masculine and will take masculine adjectives and verbs.
How do you pronounce it?
bahr
Did you know?
- The word قَامُوس is a surprising synonym for 'ocean' in certain classical contexts, though today it almost exclusively means 'dictionary' in Urdu.
- In Urdu poetry, the word بَحْر refers to both the sea and the specific rhythmic meter of a poem. This creates a common literary metaphor comparing the flow of a verse to the movement of the tide.
- The word اُقْیانُوس is a direct phonetic adaptation of the Greek word 'okeanos'. It is used primarily in scientific texts to maintain international naming conventions.
Example sentences for Urdu are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Zainab and Omar are looking at a map of the world.
- زینب Zainabیہ نیلا حصہ بَحْر ہے۔Yeh neela hissa bahar hai.This blue part is the ocean.
- عمر Omarیہ کتنا بڑا ہے!Yeh kitna bada hai!How big is it!
- زینب Zainabہاں، بَحْر بہت وسیع ہوتا ہے۔Haan, bahar bahut wasee hota hai.Yes, the ocean is very vast.
- عمر Omarمجھے وہاں جانا ہے۔Mujhe wahan jaana hai.I want to go there.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “ocean” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
