گدھا

Urdu

Alternative forms

• גַּדָּא (gadʱā) (Judeo-Urdu)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Sanskrit गर्दभ (gardabha)

Prakrit 𑀕𑀤𑁆𑀤𑀳 (gaddaha)

Urdu گَدھا (gadhā)

Inherited from Prakrit 𑀕𑀤𑁆𑀤𑀳 (gaddaha), from Sanskrit गर्दभ (gardabha). Compare Saraiki گَڈّاں (gaḍḍāṉ) / ڳَݙّا (g̈aḏḏā) and Sindhi گَڏَھُ (gaḏahu).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /ɡə.d̪ʱɑː/
• Rhymes: -ɑː
• Hyphenation: گَ‧دھا

Noun

گَدھا • (gadhā) m (feminine گدھی, Hindi spelling गधा)

1. donkey, ass

   Synonym: خر (xar)

   • 1978, رَوشنی [rauśnī], page 154:

     حضور نے ایک بار دیکھا کہ کسی شخص نے ایک گدھے کا منہ داغا تھا بے چارے کی ناک سے مسلسل خون بہہ رہا تھا۔

     ḥuẓūr ne ayk bār dekhā kih kisī śaxṣ ne ayk gadhe kā muṉh dāġā thā be cāre kī nāk se masalsal xūn bah rahā thā.

     His highness once noticed a man who had stained his donkey's face, the poor [thing]'s nose was constantly bleeding.

2. (figuratively) fool, ass

   Synonym: کھوتا (khotā)

Declension

Declension of گدھا
	singular	plural
direct	گدھا (gadhā)	گدھے (gadhe)
oblique	گدھے (gadhe)	گدھوں (gadhõ)
vocative	گدھے (gadhe)	گدھو (gadho)

Adjective

گَدھا • (gadhā) (Hindi spelling गधा)

1. (figuratively) a fool; ass

Declension

Declension of گدھا
	masculine			feminine
	singular	plural		singular	plural
direct	گَدھا (gadhā)	گَدھے (gadhe)		گَدھی (gadhī)	گَدھی (gadhī)
indirect	گَدھے (gadhe)	گَدھے (gadhe)		گَدھی (gadhī)	گَدھی (gadhī)
vocative	گَدھے (gadhe)	گَدھے (gadhe)		گَدھی (gadhī)	گَدھی (gadhī)

Further reading

More information

• “گدھا”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “گدھا”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2024.
• Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad (1971) “گدها”, in Kitabistan's 20th Century Standard Dictionary‎, Lahore: Kitabistan Pub. Co.
• Platts, John T. (1884) “گدها”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co., page 900
• S. W. Fallon (1879) “گدها”, in A New Hindustani-English Dictionary, Banaras, London: Trubner and Co., page 993
• John Shakespear (1834) “گدھا”, in A dictionary, Hindustani and English: with a copious index, fitting the work to serve, also, as a dictionary of English and Hindustani, 3^rd edition, London: J.L. Cox and Son, →OCLC