Ways to say it
| Hindi | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| आज | āj | /ɑːd͡ʒ/ (Hindi, Standard) |
| यौम | yaum | /jɔːm/ (Hindi, Standard) /joːm/ (Hindi, Standard) |
| अद्य | adya | /əd̪.jᵊ/ (Hindi, Standard) |
आज usually comes near the start of the sentence, as in it will rain today. It combines into useful phrases. Aaj hi means today itself and stresses that something happens right away. Aaj raat means tonight. Aaj ke din means on this day.
Which one should you use?
आज is the standard word for today in everyday conversation, while अद्य is reserved for formal writing and यौम for poetic expression. यौम is really a poetic or archaic word for day, found in Urdu-influenced poetry or older literature.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
अद्य is a highly formal word of Sanskrit origin, used in academic or very formal literary contexts. Aaj ke din has a more formal tone than plain आज. यौम is poetic and rare.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
आज also works as a noun, so it can take postpositions, as in Aaj ke din, on this day.
How do you pronounce it?
Say it as āj, IPA /ɑːdʒ/. It is one syllable, a long a as in father followed by the j of English jam.
Did you know?
- While आज is a simple word for 'today', its usage in common idioms can shift the meaning to 'this era' or 'the modern age' in certain literary contexts.
- The poetic word यौम is not native to India but was borrowed from Classical Persian, which in turn took it from Arabic.
- Because Hindi has several words for 'day', the choice between आज and यौम is not just about formality but about the cultural identity of the text, shifting from an indigenous feel to a Perso-Arabic one.
Examples in context
- आज बारिश होगी ।It will rain today.आज opens the sentence, today it will rain.Tatoeba #8876338 by simranbansal, translation #7931196 by adiante19
- आज बारिश नहीं हुई।It didn't rain today.Here आज sits before the negative, it did not rain today.Tatoeba #11371316 by Sorcien, translation #11325383 by CK
- आज क्या समस्या है?What seems to be the problem today?आज comes first in this question, today what is the problem.Tatoeba #1005691 by thevikas, translation #242723 by CK
- 76 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two colleagues are discussing their workload in an office.
- विकास Vikasआज बहुत काम है, क्या आप व्यस्त हैं?aaj bahut kaam hai, kya aap vyast hain?There is a lot of work today, are you busy?
- अंजलि Anjaliहाँ, आज मैं बहुत व्यस्त हूँ।haan, aaj main bahut vyast hoon.Yes, I am very busy today.
- विकास Vikasक्या मैं आपकी मदद कर सकता हूँ?kya main aapki madad kar sakta hoon?Can I help you?
- अंजलि Anjaliनहीं, धन्यवाद, मैं संभाल लूँगी।nahi, dhanyavaad, main sambhaal loongi.No, thank you, I will handle it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “today” translations and entries आज, यौम, अद्य, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries अद्य, आज, यौम, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
