ભાઈ

Gujarati

Alternative forms

• ભૈ (bhai) — dialectal
• ભાઉ (bhāu)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Gujarati भाई (bhāī), from Sauraseni Prakrit 𑀪𑀸𑀇 (bhāi), from Sanskrit भ्रातृ (bhrā́tṛ), from Proto-Indo-Aryan *bʰráHtā, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *bʰráHtā, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr (“brother”). Doublet of બિરાદર (birādar).

Cognates

Cognates include Assamese ভাই (bhai), Bengali ভাই (bhai), Dhivehi ބޭބެ (bēbe), Hindustani بھائی (bhāī) / भाई (bhāī), Kashmiri بوے (bōē), Kachchi ભા (bhā), Konkani भाव (bhāv), Marwari भाई (bhāī), Marathi भाऊ (bhāū), Odia ଭାଇ (bhāi), Punjabi بھائی / ਭਾਈ (bhāī), Romani phral, and Sindhi ڀاء (bhāu).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Gujarati) IPA^(key): /ˈbʱɑi/
• (Parsi Gujarati) IPA^(key): /ˈbɑi/
• (Saurashtra) IPA^(key): /ˈbʱəɪ/
• (Patan, Charotar) IPA^(key): /ˈbʱəi/
• Rhymes: -ɑi
• Hyphenation: ભાઈ

Noun

ભાઈ • (bhāī) m

1. brother

   Synonyms: માજાયો (mājāyo), બંધુ (bandhu), સહોદર (sahodar)

   Coordinate term: બહેન (bahen)

   મોટા ભાઈ ― moṭā bhāī ― Older brother

   હિંદી ચીની ભાઈ ભાઈ ― hindī cīnī bhāī bhāī ― Indians and Chinese are brothers.

2. male cousin
3. friend, companion, comrade

   Synonyms: સ્નેહી (snehī), દોસ્ત (dost), મિત્ર (mitra)

4. (informal) dude, bro

Declension

Declension of ભાઈ
	singular	plural
nominative	ભાઈ (bhāī)	ભાઈઓ (bhāīo)
oblique	ભાઈ (bhāī)	ભાઈઓ (bhāīo)
vocative	ભાઈ (bhāī)	ભાઈઓ (bhāīo)
instrumental	ભાઈએ (bhāīe)	ભાઈઓએ (bhāīoe)
locative	ભાઈએ (bhāīe)	ભાઈઓએ (bhāīoe)

Derived terms

• ભાઈપણું (bhāīpaṇũ)
• ભાઈબંદ (bhāīband)
• ભાઈબંધ (bhāībandh)
• ભાઈબાપા (bhāībāpā)
• ભાઈસાહેબ (bhāīsāheb)

 

Related terms

• ભાભી (bhābhī)