Vocabulary and idiomatic usage
शब्द-भंडार और मुहावरे: what is tested
Vocabulary is tested directly - पर्यायवाची, विलोम, अनेकार्थी, वाक्यांश के लिए एक शब्द - and indirectly in every other section, because one misused idiom or word spoils an otherwise correct answer.
Core rules
- पर्यायवाची: give two or three familiar synonyms; obscure poetic synonyms invite spelling errors.
- विलोम: match the word class. A noun's antonym must be a noun ('जन्म' ↔ 'मृत्यु', not 'मरना').
- वाक्यांश के लिए एक शब्द: read the whole phrase first - 'जो कभी न मरे' = अमर; 'जिसकी तुलना न की जा सके' = अनुपम.
- मुहावरा vs लोकोक्ति: a मुहावरा is a phrase that needs a sentence to complete its sense ('आँखों में धूल झोंकना'); a लोकोक्ति is a complete saying ('अब पछताए होत क्या').
- Use the idiom in a sentence whose context makes the figurative meaning clear.
Worked example
Use 'आँखों में धूल झोंकना' in a sentence. Wrong: 'उसने मेरी आँखों में धूल झोंक दी।' - literal, no context. Right: 'व्यापारी ने नकली सामान बेचकर सबकी आँखों में धूल झोंक दी।' - the sentence supplies the deception that is the idiom's sense.
Traps
Translating an idiom word by word; altering an idiom's fixed verb or gender; offering a लोकोक्ति where a मुहावरा is asked; confusing पर्यायवाची with विलोम; misspelling a word after using it correctly.