Paryayvachi (पर्यायवाची) — Synonyms in Hindi

Overview

Paryayvachi (synonyms) refers to words that have similar or identical meanings in Hindi. This topic is a staple in the UP Police Constable exam, appearing in both direct questions ("Which is a synonym of X?") and sentence completion exercises. Mastery of paryayvachi not only helps in the General Hindi section but also improves vocabulary comprehension across passages and idioms.

The exam typically includes 3–5 questions directly testing synonym knowledge. Questions may present a word and ask you to identify its synonym from four options, or provide a sentence with a blank requiring the most appropriate synonym. Understanding synonym families (groups of words with shared meanings) is essential for quick recall under time pressure. Remember that while paryayvachi share meanings, their usage context may differ slightly — exam questions focus on core meaning overlap rather than subtle contextual distinctions.

Strong performance on this topic requires memorising common synonym clusters rather than isolated word pairs. Focus on high-frequency words from literature, nature, emotions and everyday vocabulary that appear repeatedly in competitive exams.

Key Concepts

• **Paryayvachi definition**: Words with identical or very similar meanings that can often substitute for each other in sentences without changing the core sense.

• **Contextual equivalence**: True synonyms are interchangeable in most contexts, though some may carry slightly different connotations or formality levels (e.g., जल and पानी both mean water but जल is more formal).

• **Sanskrit origins**: Many Hindi synonyms derive from Sanskrit (tatsam words) and coexist with colloquial variants (tadbhav), creating rich synonym sets.

• **Exam pattern**: Questions present a word in bold or underlined, asking for its paryayvachi from options; sometimes a sentence requires filling in the most appropriate synonym.

• **Elimination strategy**: When unsure, eliminate options that are antonyms or unrelated words first; narrow down between close synonyms by considering the sentence context if provided.

• **Word families**: Grouping synonyms by theme (nature words, emotion words, action words) aids faster memorisation and recall during the exam.

• **Common confusions**: Words that sound similar but mean different things (श्रवण/श्रावण) or words that are related but not true synonyms (पुत्र/पुत्री — son/daughter) appear as distractors.

Formulas / Key Facts

**High-frequency synonym clusters for UP Police Constable:**

1. **सूर्य (sun)**: रवि, दिनकर, भानु, दिवाकर, सविता, आदित्य, भास्कर, प्रभाकर, मार्तण्ड, अर्क 2. **चन्द्रमा (moon)**: चंद्र, शशि, राकेश, इंदु, सोम, हिमांशु, निशाकर, मयंक, तारापति 3. **पृथ्वी (earth)**: धरा, धरती, वसुधा, वसुंधरा, भूमि, क्षिति, अचला, मही, धरणी, रत्नगर्भा 4. **जल (water)**: पानी, नीर, तोय, अंबु, उदक, सलिल, पय, वारि 5. **हाथी (elephant)**: गज, कुंजर, हस्ती, मतंग, द्विप, करी, वारण, नाग 6. **घोड़ा (horse)**: अश्व, घोटक, तुरंग, हय, बाजि, सैंधव, वाजि 7. **पुत्र (son)**: बेटा, सुत, आत्मज, तनय, नंदन, वत्स, लाल, बालक 8. **पुत्री (daughter)**: बेटी, सुता, आत्मजा, तनया, दुहिता, नंदिनी 9. **पत्नी (wife)**: भार्या, अर्धांगिनी, गृहिणी, दारा, कलत्र, बहू, जोरू 10. **वृक्ष (tree)**: पेड़, तरु, विटप, पादप, द्रुम, रुख, अगम 11. **फूल (flower)**: पुष्प, कुसुम, सुमन, प्रसून, गुल, मंजरी 12. **आँख (eye)**: नेत्र, नयन, चक्षु, लोचन, दृग, विलोचन, दृष्टि 13. **हवा (air/wind)**: पवन, वायु, समीर, अनिल, मारुत, वात, प्राण 14. **रात (night)**: रात्रि, निशा, रजनी, यामिनी, तमी, विभावरी, निशि 15. **दिन (day)**: दिवस, वार, अहन, याम, वासर, प्रमान

Worked Examples

**Example 1**: निम्नलिखित में 'सूर्य' का पर्यायवाची नहीं है: (a) रवि (b) भानु (c) शशि (d) दिनकर

**Solution**: सूर्य के पर्यायवाची हैं — रवि, भानु, दिनकर, प्रभाकर, आदित्य आदि। शशि चंद्रमा का पर्यायवाची है, सूर्य का नहीं। **Answer**: (c) शशि

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**Example 2**: रिक्त स्थान के लिए उपयुक्त पर्यायवाची चुनें: "नदी में ______ की कमी हो गई है।" (a) अंबु (b) धरा (c) पवन (d) अग्नि

**Solution**: नदी में पानी/जल की कमी होती है। अंबु जल का पर्यायवाची है। धरा (पृथ्वी), पवन (हवा), अग्नि (आग) अप्रासंगिक हैं। **Answer**: (a) अंबु

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**Example 3**: 'हाथी' के लिए कौन सा शब्द पर्यायवाची नहीं है? (a) गज (b) वारण (c) तुरंग (d) करी

**Solution**: गज, वारण, करी, कुंजर हाथी के पर्यायवाची हैं। तुरंग घोड़े का पर्यायवाची है। **Answer**: (c) तुरंग

Common Mistakes

• **Confusing similar-sounding words**: Students often confuse शशि (moon) with सशि or रवि (sun) with राधि. Always check the meaning before selecting; शशि = moon, रवि = sun. Memorise the entire cluster together.

• **Mixing related but distinct words**: पुत्र (son) and पुत्री (daughter) are not synonyms of each other; they're gender variants. Similarly, हाथी (elephant) and घोड़ा (horse) both are animals but not synonyms. Read questions carefully — "synonym of X" requires exact meaning overlap.

• **Selecting formal/informal variants incorrectly**: While जल and पानी are synonyms, some questions specifically test knowledge of Sanskrit-origin words. If the question asks for a literary synonym of पानी, choose नीर or सलिल over the colloquial पानी itself.

• **Ignoring thematic context**: In a sentence about celestial bodies, choosing धरा (earth) when the blank clearly refers to sky or sun is a trap. Always match the synonym to the sentence's theme.

• **Rote memorisation without grouping**: Memorising isolated pairs (सूर्य-रवि) is inefficient. Learn clusters — all 8-10 synonyms of सूर्य together — so if one word appears, you can instantly recall its family, making elimination easier.

Quick Reference

• **Synonym strategy**: Memorise 15–20 high-frequency noun clusters (sun, moon, earth, water, tree, flower, body parts) — these cover 70% of exam questions.
• **Nature words dominate**: Words for natural elements (sun, moon, water, air, tree, flower) have the most synonyms and appear frequently.
• **Body parts & relations**: आँख (नेत्र, नयन), मुख (आनन, वदन), पिता (जनक, तात), माता (जननी, अंबा, माँ) — learn these small lists.
• **Tatsam preference**: When in doubt between a Sanskrit-derived and common word, UP Police exams often favour the tatsam option in formal questions.
• **Practice antonym elimination**: If you see an option that is clearly an antonym (e.g., दिन instead of रात for रात्रि), eliminate it immediately.
• **Daily revision**: Spend 10 minutes daily reviewing one synonym cluster; cycle through all 20 clusters every three weeks before the exam.