के बावजूद ke bāvajūd means “despite” or “in spite of.” It presents a circumstance that would normally make the main event less likely, then says that the event occurred anyway. In बारिश के बावजूद हम निकले bāriś ke bāvajūd ham nikle, rain creates an expectation that the outing will not happen; हम निकले overturns that expectation.
Unlike English despite, which comes before its complement, Hindi के बावजूद follows its complement. It is a compound postposition: the noun or pronoun before it must have the form licensed by के, even though the whole phrase expresses concession rather than possession. For the general case pattern, see compound postpositional phrases.
The productive pattern
The basic structure is:
[noun phrase in the oblique form] + के बावजूद + [unexpected result]
Masculine -ā nouns and agreeing modifiers visibly change to -e before the postposition. Many other nouns have no audible or written singular oblique change, but their grammatical relation is the same.
| Complement | Concessive phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| लंबा रास्ता lambā rāstā | लंबे रास्ते के बावजूद lambe rāste ke bāvajūd | despite the long route |
| तेज़ बारिश tez bāriś | तेज़ बारिश के बावजूद tez bāriś ke bāvajūd | despite the heavy rain |
| कई कठिनाइयाँ kaī kaṭhināiyā̃ | कई कठिनाइयों के बावजूद kaī kaṭhināiyoṃ ke bāvajūd | despite many difficulties |
तेज़ बारिश के बावजूद मैच समय पर शुरू हुआ।
tez bāriś ke bāvajūd maic samay par śurū huā.
Despite the heavy rain, the match started on time.
कई तकनीकी कठिनाइयों के बावजूद टीम ने रिपोर्ट आज ही जारी कर दी।
kaī taknīkī kaṭhināiyoṃ ke bāvajūd ṭīm ne riporṭ āj hī jārī kar dī.
Despite several technical difficulties, the team released the report today.
The concessive phrase is an adjunct: it adds the defeated expectation but is not normally required by the verb. It can occur before or after the main clause, though a long phrase is clearest at the beginning.
हम लंबे रास्ते के बावजूद शाम तक गाँव पहुँच गए।
ham lambe rāste ke bāvajūd śām tak gā̃v pahũc gae.
Despite the long route, we reached the village by evening.
Pronoun complements
A pronoun does not remain in its direct citation form before के बावजूद. Use the possessive-shaped masculine oblique form: मेरे, हमारे, तेरे, तुम्हारे, आपके, इसके/उसके, इनके/उनके, किसके बावजूद. These forms are not free-standing possessives here; they are the conventional pronominal forms selected by the compound postposition.
मेरे मना करने के बावजूद उसने अकेले जाने का फ़ैसला किया।
mere manā karne ke bāvajūd usne akele jāne kā faislā kiyā.
Despite my telling him not to, he decided to go alone.
आपके व्यस्त होने के बावजूद हमें इतना समय देने के लिए धन्यवाद।
āpke vyast hone ke bāvajūd hameṃ itnā samay dene ke lie dhanyavād.
Thank you for giving us so much time despite being busy.
उसके बावजूद बैठक रद्द नहीं हुई।
uske bāvajūd baiṭhak radd nahīṃ huī.
Despite that, the meeting was not canceled.
In the last example, उसके can refer back to a previously mentioned fact or obstacle. When a person alone is the complement, the intended counterexpectation must be recoverable: उसके बावजूद may mean “despite him/her/that,” depending on context. A fuller noun or event phrase is often clearer.
Events take an oblique infinitive
English allows despite the fact that... or despite doing.... Hindi commonly packages an event as an infinitival noun in -ने before के बावजूद: होने के बावजूद, जानने के बावजूद, कोशिश करने के बावजूद. If the embedded event has its own subject, that subject is often marked with का/के/की, as in उसके मना करने के बावजूद “despite his/her objecting.”
सच जानने के बावजूद वह पूरे इंटरव्यू में चुप रहा।
sac jānne ke bāvajūd vah pūre iṇṭaravyū meṃ cup rahā.
Despite knowing the truth, he remained silent throughout the interview.
दो बार आवेदन खारिज होने के बावजूद उसने फिर कोशिश की।
do bār āvedan khārij hone ke bāvajūd usne phir kośiś kī.
Despite the application being rejected twice, the applicant tried again.
Do not put a finite clause directly before के बावजूद. Either nominalize it with -ने or use a finite concessive conjunction such as हालाँकि hālā̃ki. The dedicated concessive conjunctions page develops that clause-level option.
No ordinary spatial use in modern Hindi
Some compound postpositions have both spatial and abstract readings, but contemporary के बावजूद is grammaticalized as concessive. It does not productively mean “behind,” “opposite,” or “next to” in modern Standard Hindi. A dictionary history of बावजूद does not license a modern literal location phrase. Use an actual spatial postposition for a physical relation.
This is a genuine lexical fact, not a rule that can be inferred from the separate parts. Learners should store के बावजूद as one postpositional unit.
Contrasts with neighboring constructions
के कारण ke kāraṇ marks a cause that helps produce the result; के बावजूद marks a circumstance whose expected result fails to occur.
बारिश के कारण मैच देर से शुरू हुआ, लेकिन बारिश के बावजूद दर्शक मैदान में रुके रहे।
bāriś ke kāraṇ maic der se śurū huā, lekin bāriś ke bāvajūd darśak maidān meṃ ruke rahe.
Because of the rain, the match started late, but despite the rain, the spectators stayed at the ground.
हालाँकि... फिर भी... hālā̃ki... phir bhī... connects finite clauses: “although..., nevertheless....” फिर भी can also stand alone as a sentence adverb meaning “even so.” By contrast, के बावजूद takes a nominal complement. के होते हुए भी ke hote hue bhī is another productive concessive frame and can foreground the continued presence of a circumstance. के बावजूद भी occurs in speech and writing, but the added भी repeats concessive force; careful edited prose often chooses either के बावजूद or a fuller के होते हुए भी.
हालाँकि समय कम था, फिर भी समिति ने हर प्रस्ताव पर चर्चा की।
hālā̃ki samay kam thā, phir bhī samiti ne har prastāv par carcā kī.
Although time was short, the committee nevertheless discussed every proposal.
Productive meaning versus lexical government
The concessive phrase can be added productively to many clauses because it describes the relationship between a circumstance and an unexpected outcome. This differs from lexical government, where a particular verb or adjective selects a particular case marker and that selection must be learned with the word.
वह देरी से नाराज़ थी, लेकिन देरी के बावजूद अंत तक रुकी।
vah derī se nārāz thī, lekin derī ke bāvajūd ant tak rukī.
She was annoyed about the delay, but despite the delay she stayed until the end.
Here नाराज़ होना conventionally selects से for the source or target of annoyance; replacing it with के बावजूद would change the construction, not merely translate English at. The second देरी के बावजूद is a freely added concessive adjunct. Learn selected complements with their verbs and adjectives; use के बावजूद only when a real counterexpectation is intended.
Common Mistakes
Putting the postposition first
❌ के बावजूद बारिश हम निकल गए।
Incorrect — English preposition-first order has been copied into Hindi.
✅ बारिश के बावजूद हम निकल गए।
bāriś ke bāvajūd ham nikal gae.
Despite the rain, we went out.
Leaving an inflecting noun phrase in the direct form
❌ लंबा रास्ता के बावजूद हम समय पर पहुँचे।
Incorrect — the masculine -ā phrase must be oblique before the compound postposition.
✅ लंबे रास्ते के बावजूद हम समय पर पहुँचे।
lambe rāste ke bāvajūd ham samay par pahũce.
Despite the long route, we arrived on time.
Using a direct pronoun
❌ मैं के बावजूद उन्होंने योजना नहीं बदली।
Incorrect — मैं cannot directly precede के बावजूद.
✅ मेरे विरोध के बावजूद उन्होंने योजना नहीं बदली।
mere virodh ke bāvajūd unhoṃne yojnā nahīṃ badlī.
Despite my opposition, they did not change the plan.
Attaching it to a finite clause
❌ बारिश हो रही थी के बावजूद दुकान खुली रही।
Incorrect — a finite clause cannot serve directly as the complement.
✅ बारिश होने के बावजूद दुकान खुली रही।
bāriś hone ke bāvajūd dukān khulī rahī.
Despite the rain, the shop remained open.
Using concession where cause is meant
❌ बर्फ़ के बावजूद सड़क बंद हो गई।
Incorrect for the intended causal meaning: the snow caused the closure.
✅ बर्फ़ के कारण सड़क बंद हो गई।
barf ke kāraṇ saṛak band ho gaī.
The road was closed because of the snow.
Key Takeaways
- Put the oblique complement before के बावजूद.
- Use मेरे/तुम्हारे/आपके/उसके rather than direct pronouns.
- Turn events into -ने infinitives: जानने के बावजूद.
- Choose के कारण for cause and a finite हालाँकि clause for “although.”
- Treat के बावजूद as a grammaticalized concessive unit, not a productive spatial expression.
Related Topics
- Postpositions and oblique complementsA1 — Build Hindi relational phrases by placing a postposition after an oblique noun or special pronoun form instead of translating English prepositions word for word.
- The oblique in compound postpositional phrasesA2 — Build oblique noun phrases before compound Hindi postpositions such as के साथ, के लिए, के पास, and के बारे में.
- के कारण and की वजह से causeB2 — Express causes with formal-neutral के कारण and neutral-conversational की वजह से, while distinguishing noun phrases, कारण as a noun, clauses, and purpose.
- हालाँकि यद्यपि and फिर भी concessionB1 — Frame an acknowledged obstacle with neutral हालाँकि or formal यद्यपि, and mark the unexpected outcome with फिर भी or तथापि.
- Concessive clauses with हालाँकिB1 — Use हालाँकि to frame a fact that raises an expectation which the main clause overrides, often resumed by फिर भी.