सारा / पूरा

The Whole Thing

Level 3Sounds Like sārā aura pūrā

सारा and पूरा mean whole or all, and they change like बड़ा to agree with the noun.

How It Works

MasculineFemininePlural
सारासारा दिनसारी रातसारे लोग
पूरापूरा हफ़्तापूरी कहानीपूरे दो घंटे

With singular nouns, सारा and पूरा often swap freely: सारा दिन and पूरा दिन both mean all day. पूरा adds a sense of completeness: पूरी कहानी सुनाओ (Tell the whole story, every bit of it).

For all the with a plural noun, use सारे or सब: सारे दोस्त आए. पूरे before a plural usually goes with a number: पूरे दो घंटे (a full two hours).

Only पूरा can come after the noun as a description. Then it means complete or finished: मेरा होमवर्क पूरा है. काम पूरा करना means to finish the work.

Before a postposition, both take the -ए form with a masculine noun: सारे शहर में, पूरे देश में.

Examples (5)

  1. बच्चे सारा दिन बाहर खेलते रहे।

    The children played outside all day.

    सारा दिन means all day.

  2. मैंने पूरी किताब एक रात में पढ़ ली।

    I read the whole book in one night.

    पूरी agrees with feminine किताब and stresses every page.

  3. सारे मेहमान आ गए हैं।

    All the guests have arrived.

    With a plural noun, सारे means all the.

  4. पूरे शहर में बिजली नहीं थी।

    There was no power in the whole city.

    Before में, masculine पूरा becomes पूरे.

  5. आपका काम पूरा हो गया?

    Is your work done?

    After the noun, पूरा means complete.

Common Mistakes

  • Using पूरे for all the with a plural group.

    पूरे दोस्त पार्टी में आए।
    सारे दोस्त पार्टी में आए।

    For all the with a plural noun, use सारे or सब. पूरा means whole or complete.

How It Connects

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सारा / पूराLevel 3The Whole Thing

Learn This First

Whole words agree like adjectives and narrow down सब.

Words in This Pattern

सारापूरा