life
/laɪf/noun
उच्चारण लाइफ़
जीवन, जान
Basic word
- 1
[U]
the ability to breathe, grow, reproduce, which people, animals and plants have before they die
जीवन, जान
- Is there life on Mars?
- Scientists are searching for signs of life on other planets.
- Water is essential to all life on the earth.
+ 1 more example
- The doctors fought to save the child's life.
Synonyms existence being living animation vitality
Opposite death non-existence
- 2
[C]
the period between somebody's birth and their death
जीवनकाल, ज़िंदगी
- She lived all her life in Pune.
- He spent his whole life working on the family farm.
- Life in a big city is very different from life in a village.
+ 1 more example
- My grandfather had a long and happy life.
- 3
[U]
the quality of being active and exciting
जीवंतता, रौनक
- The city is full of life.
- The market was full of life on festival evenings.
- She brings a lot of life to the group.
+ 1 more example
- The old town has lost much of its life since the factory closed.
Synonyms energy vitality vigour liveliness spirit
§Structures (grammar patterns) 4
life / lives (countable and uncountable)
Life is uncountable for living in general, but countable for a person's span of existence: a life, many lives.
Life सामान्य जीवन के लिए uncountable है, पर किसी व्यक्ति के जीवनकाल के लिए countable है: a life, many lives।
- Life is full of surprises.
- Three lives were lost in the accident.
plural: lives
The plural of life is lives, with v, pronounced /laɪvz/.
Life का plural lives है, v के साथ, जिसका उच्चारण /laɪvz/ है।
- Doctors save lives every day.
- Their lives changed after the move.
in / for / of life
Use in life (generally), for life (permanently) and the meaning of life (abstract).
In life (सामान्य रूप से), for life (स्थायी रूप से) और the meaning of life (अमूर्त) का प्रयोग होता है।
- What do you want to do in life?
- He was jailed for life.
life + noun (modifier)
Life forms compounds such as life insurance, life skills, life expectancy and life jacket.
Life से life insurance, life skills, life expectancy और life jacket जैसे compound बनते हैं।
- Life expectancy in India has risen.
- Wear a life jacket on the boat.
+Collocations 4
adjective + life
dailymarriedsocialschooleveryday
- School life gave her many good friends.
verb + life
leadsaveriskenjoychange
- Firefighters risk their lives to save others.
life + of + noun
a studenta soldiera farmerthe party
- The life of a farmer is full of hard work.
idioms
a matter of life and deathcome to lifeget a lifethe time of your life
- The village came to life with the festival.
“More examples 5
- Radhika wants to lead a simple and honest life.
राधिका एक सरल और ईमानदार जीवन जीना चाहती है।
- Reading can bring a classroom lesson to life.
पढ़ना कक्षा के पाठ को जीवंत बना सकता है।
- The life of a village woman is often harder than we imagine.
गाँव की स्त्री का जीवन अक्सर हमारी कल्पना से अधिक कठिन होता है।
- There is no life on the Moon.
चंद्रमा पर कोई जीवन नहीं है।
- It was a matter of life and death, so the ambulance rushed.
यह जीवन-मृत्यु का प्रश्न था, इसलिए एम्बुलेंस तेज़ी से दौड़ी।
!Common mistakes 2
✗ Many life were lost in the floods.
✓ Many lives were lost in the floods.
The plural of life is lives.
Life का plural रूप lives बनता है, life नहीं।
✗ He spent his whole life for studying.
✓ He spent his whole life studying.
After spend you use -ing, not for + -ing.
Spend के बाद -ing रूप आता है, 'for + -ing' नहीं।
≠Thesaurus: which synonym when
These words are close, but life is general, existence is abstract, and lifetime is the span of years.
ये शब्द पास-पास हैं, पर life सामान्य, existence अमूर्त और lifetime वर्षों की अवधि है।
The state of being alive, or the time between birth and death.
जीवित होने की अवस्था, या जन्म से मृत्यु तक का समय।
- Life is short.
The fact of being; more formal and abstract.
अस्तित्व का तथ्य; अधिक औपचारिक और अमूर्त।
- The existence of ghosts is doubtful.
The whole length of a person's life.
किसी व्यक्ति के संपूर्ण जीवन की अवधि।
- It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
¶Idioms 15
a matter of life and death
a situation that is extremely important
जीवन-मरण का प्रश्न
- For him, clearing this exam is a matter of life and death.
come to life
to become more lively or interesting
जीवंत हो उठना
- The class came to life when the teacher told a story.
get a life
(informal) used to tell sb to stop being boring and do sth more interesting
कुछ ढंग का काम करो, फ़ालतू बातों में मत उलझो
- Stop complaining about everything and get a life!
- You spend all day on your phone — get a life.
not on your life
(informal) used to refuse very strongly to do sth
हरगिज़ नहीं, कभी नहीं
- 'Will you sing at the party?' 'Not on your life!'
- Lend him money again? Not on your life.
the life (and soul) of the party
(British English) the most lively and amusing person at a party or social event
महफ़िल की जान
- Radhika was the life and soul of the party.
- He's always the life of the party.
larger than life
looking or seeming more interesting or exciting than usual
आम से कहीं ज़्यादा प्रभावशाली या रंगीन
- Her grandfather was a larger-than-life figure.
- Film stars seem larger than life.
lead/live a double life
to live in two different ways that are kept separate, usually because one of them involves sth secret or illegal
दोहरी ज़िंदगी जीना
- The respectable banker was leading a double life as a smuggler.
- He lived a double life for years.
bring sb/sth to life
to make sb/sth more interesting or exciting
किसी चीज़ में जान डाल देना, सजीव बना देना
- Good teachers bring history to life.
- The pictures bring the story to life.
life is too short
used to say that it is not worth wasting time doing sth that you do not like or that is not important
ज़िंदगी बहुत छोटी है (बेकार चीज़ों पर बर्बाद करने के लिए)
- Life is too short to hold grudges.
- Forgive him — life's too short.
that's life
(informal) used when you are disappointed about sth but know that you must accept it
यही ज़िंदगी है, ऐसा तो होता ही है
- I lost by two marks, but that's life.
- It's sad, but that's life.
for the life of me
(informal) however hard I try
लाख कोशिश करके भी
- I can't for the life of me remember his name.
- For the life of me, I can't understand why she left.
take your life in your hands
to risk being killed
जान हथेली पर रखना
- You take your life in your hands crossing this road.
- Riding without a helmet, he was taking his life in his hands.
walk of life
a person's job or position in society
जीवन का क्षेत्र, पेशा या सामाजिक स्तर
- People from all walks of life came to the funeral.
- Students come from every walk of life.
risk life and limb
to risk being killed or injured
जान और जिस्म जोखिम में डालना
- Firefighters risk life and limb to save others.
- He risked life and limb to rescue the dog.
while there's life, there's hope
as long as a person is alive, there is still a chance that a bad situation will improve
जब तक साँस, तब तक आस
- The doctors said his condition was serious, but while there's life, there's hope.
- You failed this time, but while there's life, there's hope; try again next year.
≈Synonyms and antonyms
§Grammar and usage
The plural of life is lives (/laɪvz/); the verb live (/lɪv/) is different.
Life का plural lives (/laɪvz/) है; verb live (/lɪv/) अलग है।
“Collocations, idioms and sayings
A matter of life and death, come to life, bring sth to life, larger than life (more exciting than ordinary), for the life of me (however hard I try), not on your life (certainly not).
Idioms: a matter of life and death, come to life, bring sth to life, larger than life (साधारण से अधिक रोमांचक), for the life of me (कितनी भी कोशिश करूँ), not on your life (बिलकुल नहीं)।
✓In the exam
One-word substitution
The story of a person's life written by somebody else is a biography; by himself an autobiography; the study of living things biology.
किसी और द्वारा लिखी जीवनी biography; स्वयं लिखी autobiography; जीवों का अध्ययन biology।