literal
/ˈlɪtərəl/adjective
उच्चारण लिटरल
शाब्दिक
Core word
- 1
being the basic or usual meaning of a word or phrase; that follows the original words exactly
शाब्दिक
- the literal meaning
- a literal translation
- The literal meaning of the word is different from how people use it.
+ 2 more examples
- This is not a literal description but a poetic one.
- His translation was too literal and sounded awkward.
Synonyms exact word-for-word verbatim strict
Opposite figurative metaphorical
§Structures (grammar patterns) 4
literal meaning / sense
Literal describes the basic, exact meaning of a word, as opposed to a figurative one.
'Literal' शब्द के मूल, सटीक अर्थ को बताता है, जो आलंकारिक अर्थ से भिन्न होता है।
- The literal meaning of 'cold shoulder' has nothing to do with the shoulder.
- In its literal sense, 'heart' is an organ of the body.
literal translation
A literal translation follows the original word for word, often losing the natural sense.
Literal translation मूल पाठ का शब्दशः अनुवाद होता है, जिसमें अक्सर स्वाभाविक अर्थ खो जाता है।
- A literal translation of the Hindi idiom sounds odd in English.
literal-minded
A literal-minded person takes things exactly as said and misses jokes or hints.
Literal-minded व्यक्ति बातों को ठीक वैसा ही लेता है जैसा कहा गया है और मज़ाक या संकेत नहीं समझता।
- Her literal-minded brother took the joke seriously.
literal error / literal mistake
In printing, a literal is a small error in a letter; typographical errors are sometimes called literals.
छपाई में literal किसी अक्षर की छोटी भूल को कहते हैं; वर्तनी की छपाई-भूलों को कभी-कभी literals कहा जाता है।
- The proofreader found three literal errors on the page.
+Collocations 4
literal + noun
meaningsensetranslationinterpretationtruth
- The literal interpretation of the rule would exclude many students.
adjective-like uses
strictly literalword for wordpurely literalnot literal
- Her words were not meant in a strictly literal way.
in the literal sense
of the wordof the termof the phraseof the expression
- He is a walking encyclopedia, but not in the literal sense of the phrase.
contrast pairs
literal and figurativeliteral and metaphoricalliteral and idiomatic
- Exam questions often ask you to separate the literal and figurative meanings.
“More examples 5
- When he said he was dying of hunger, he did not mean it in the literal sense.
जब उसने कहा कि वह भूख से मर रहा है, तो उसका अर्थ शाब्दिक नहीं था।
- A literal reading of the poem misses its deeper meaning.
कविता का शाब्दिक पाठ उसके गहरे अर्थ को चूक जाता है।
- The literal translation of the proverb is quite funny in English.
इस कहावत का शाब्दिक अनुवाद English में काफ़ी मज़ेदार लगता है।
- The teacher asked the class to give the literal and the figurative meaning of 'break the ice'.
शिक्षक ने कक्षा से 'break the ice' का शाब्दिक और आलंकारिक अर्थ बताने को कहा।
- His literal answer to a rhetorical question made everyone laugh.
अलंकारिक प्रश्न के उसके शाब्दिक उत्तर से सब हँस पड़े।
!Common mistakes 1
✗ He was literal shocked by the news.
✓ He was literally shocked by the news.
The adjective literal cannot modify another adjective; use the adverb literally.
Adjective 'literal' किसी दूसरे adjective को modify नहीं कर सकता; adverb 'literally' का प्रयोग करें।
≠Thesaurus: which synonym when
Literal, verbatim and exact all suggest faithfulness to the original, but they apply to different things.
Literal, verbatim और exact तीनों मूल के प्रति निष्ठा का संकेत देते हैं, पर अलग-अलग चीज़ों पर लागू होते हैं।
Keeps to the ordinary meaning of each word, not a figurative one.
प्रत्येक शब्द के सामान्य अर्थ पर टिका रहता है, आलंकारिक अर्थ पर नहीं।
- The literal meaning of 'goldfish' is a fish made of gold.
Using exactly the same words as were said or written.
ठीक वही शब्द जो कहे या लिखे गए थे।
- The reporter wrote the speech verbatim.
Completely correct in every detail, not only in words.
हर विवरण में पूर्णतः सही, केवल शब्दों में नहीं।
- Please tell me the exact time.
◇Word family
≈Synonyms and antonyms
✓In the exam
General knowledge
Exam: idioms have figurative, not literal, meanings ('kick the bucket' does not mean kicking a bucket).
परीक्षा में idioms के अर्थ आलंकारिक होते हैं, शाब्दिक नहीं ('kick the bucket' का अर्थ बाल्टी को लात मारना नहीं)।