less
/les/determiner, pronoun
उच्चारण लेस
कम, थोड़ा
Basic word
- 1
(comparative of little) a smaller amount of; not as much
कम, थोड़ा
- less sugar
- less than an hour
- I try to drink less tea these days.
+ 2 more examples
- There was less traffic on the road because of the holiday.
- Less than half the students passed the test.
Synonyms smaller lower reduced not so much fewer
Opposite more greater
- 1
to a smaller degree; not so much
कम
- less important
- less often
- You will feel less tired if you sleep earlier.
+ 2 more examples
- The new route is less crowded than the old one.
- He talks less now than he did as a child.
Synonyms to a lesser degree not so much
Opposite more
- 1
used before a particular amount that must be taken away from the amount just mentioned
घटाकर
- salary less tax
- The bill came to five thousand rupees, less a discount of ten per cent.
- Her monthly pay, less tax, is about forty thousand.
+ 1 more example
- The price is one hundred rupees less the cost of delivery.
§Structures (grammar patterns) 4
less + uncountable noun
Use less before uncountable nouns: less water, less time, less money.
Uncountable nouns से पहले less आता है: less water, less time, less money।
- I have less time than you.
- We need less sugar in the tea.
fewer for countable nouns
With countable plural nouns, careful English uses fewer: fewer books, fewer students.
Countable plural nouns के साथ सावधान English में fewer आता है: fewer books, fewer students।
- There are fewer students today.
- Fewer mistakes were made this time.
less + adjective / adverb
Less forms the opposite of more: less difficult, less carefully.
Less, more का विपरीत रूप बनाता है: less difficult, less carefully।
- This paper is less difficult than the last.
- She drives less carefully than he does.
less than / no less than
Less than introduces a smaller amount; no less than stresses a surprisingly large amount.
Less than कम मात्रा बताता है; no less than आश्चर्यजनक रूप से बड़ी मात्रा पर बल देता है।
- It cost less than a hundred rupees.
- He scored no less than ninety per cent.
+Collocations 4
less + noun
timemoneyeffortnoisepressure
- Students feel less pressure after a good revision.
less + adjective
difficultexpensiveimportantlikelyserious
- The second question was less difficult.
less and less / more or less
less and lessmore or lessmuch lesseven less
- It was more or less ready by evening.
verb + less
spendeattalkworrycost
- If you worry less, you will sleep better.
“More examples 5
- The new bus service takes less time than the train.
नई बस सेवा रेलगाड़ी से कम समय लेती है।
- Radhika spends less time on her phone during exams.
राधिका परीक्षा के दिनों में फ़ोन पर कम समय बिताती है।
- The shop sold the notebooks for less than the printed price.
दुकान ने कॉपियाँ छपे दाम से कम में बेचीं।
- The less you talk, the more you learn.
जितना कम आप बोलते हैं, उतना अधिक सीखते हैं।
- Eight minus three, less two, leaves three.
आठ में से तीन, और दो घटाने पर तीन बचते हैं।
!Common mistakes 2
✗ There are less students in the class today.
✓ There are fewer students in the class today.
Students is countable, so use fewer, not less.
Students countable है, इसलिए fewer आएगा, less नहीं।
✗ He is less taller than his brother.
✓ He is not as tall as his brother.
Do not put less before a comparative with -er.
-er वाले comparative से पहले less नहीं लगता।
≠Thesaurus: which synonym when
These come from the same idea of smallness, but less, fewer and lesser follow different grammar patterns.
तीनों छोटेपन के भाव से जुड़े हैं, पर less, fewer और lesser के व्याकरणिक Concept अलग हैं।
lesser
Smaller in importance, used before a noun.
महत्त्व में छोटा, संज्ञा से पहले प्रयुक्त।
- The lesser evil is the better choice.
¶Idioms 5
no less (than…)
used to suggest that sb/sth is important or impressive
(कोई) और नहीं बल्कि; कम से कम
- The prize was given by no less a person than the President.
- She won no less than five medals.
less and less
smaller and smaller amounts; to a decreasing degree
कम से कमतर, घटता हुआ
- He comes to see us less and less.
- I find the show less and less interesting.
nothing less than
used to emphasise how great or extreme sth is
(किसी) से कम नहीं, पूरी तरह
- Her recovery was nothing less than a miracle.
- We expect nothing less than total honesty.
much/still less
and certainly not
तो फिर (वह) तो बिल्कुल भी नहीं
- He can't read Hindi, much less write it.
- I didn't expect to see her, still less to talk to her.
less than
not at all
बिल्कुल भी नहीं
- She was less than happy with the result.
- His reply was less than polite.
◇Word family
≈Synonyms and antonyms
§Grammar and usage
Less + uncountable noun ('less water', 'less time'), and fewer + plural countable noun ('fewer students', not 'less students'); exception: less than with numbers for money, time and distance ('less than 500 rupees', 'less than ten kilometres').
यह बहुत पूछा जाता है: less + uncountable noun ('less water', 'less time'), और fewer + plural countable noun ('fewer students', 'less students' नहीं); अपवाद: पैसे, समय और दूरी के लिए संख्याओं के साथ less than ('less than 500 rupees', 'less than ten kilometres')।
Comparison: little, less, least.
तुलना: little, less, least।
The suffix -less means without (careless, hopeless, homeless, fearless, priceless, which means very valuable).
Suffix -less का अर्थ बिना है (careless, hopeless, homeless, fearless, priceless, जिसका अर्थ बहुत मूल्यवान है)।
“Collocations, idioms and sayings
More or less (approximately), no less than (as much as: 'no less than a thousand people'), none the less or nonetheless (however), much less (and certainly not: 'He can't walk, much less run').
Idioms: more or less (लगभग), no less than (उतने ही जितने: 'no less than a thousand people'), none the less या nonetheless (फिर भी), much less (और निश्चित रूप से नहीं: 'He can't walk, much less run')।