Breakdown of जब तक कमीज़ गीली है, तब तक उसे ड्रायर में रखिए।
Questions & Answers about जब तक कमीज़ गीली है, तब तक उसे ड्रायर में रखिए।
What does जब तक ... तब तक mean in this sentence?
This is a very common Hindi pair used to talk about a time limit or condition.
- जब तक = as long as / until
- तब तक = until then / for that long
So the overall pattern means something like:
as long as X is true, do Y
In this sentence, it gives the idea:
while the shirt is wet, put/keep it in the dryer
Depending on context, English may translate it as as long as or until.
Do I have to use both जब तक and तब तक?
Not always.
You will often hear:
जब तक कमीज़ गीली है, उसे ड्रायर में रखिए।
That is perfectly normal. Adding तब तक makes the relationship more explicit and slightly more emphatic:
जब तक ..., तब तक ...
So:
- जब तक ... alone = common and natural
- जब तक ..., तब तक ... = a bit fuller, more balanced, often clearer
Why is there no word for the before कमीज़?
Hindi does not have articles like a, an, and the.
So कमीज़ can mean:
- a shirt
- the shirt
The exact meaning comes from context. In this sentence, the context makes it clear that we mean a specific shirt, so English naturally uses the shirt.
Why is it गीली and not गीला?
Because कमीज़ is a feminine noun in Hindi.
The adjective गीला / गीली / गीले changes to agree with the noun:
- masculine singular: गीला
- feminine singular: गीली
- plural: often गीले / गीली depending on structure and style
So:
- कपड़ा गीला है = the cloth is wet
- कमीज़ गीली है = the shirt is wet
This is basic gender agreement.
What exactly does उसे mean here?
Here उसे means it, referring back to कमीज़.
A useful thing to remember is that Hindi third-person pronouns do not work like English he/she/it. The same form can mean:
- him
- her
- it
depending on context.
So in this sentence:
उसे ड्रायर में रखिए = put it in the dryer
You could also hear उसको instead of उसे. In everyday Hindi, those are often interchangeable.
Why use उसे after already saying कमीज़? Why not repeat the noun?
For the same reason English often says the shirt ... put it in the dryer instead of repeating the shirt again. Hindi also commonly avoids repetition with a pronoun.
So both are possible:
- जब तक कमीज़ गीली है, तब तक उसे ड्रायर में रखिए।
- जब तक कमीज़ गीली है, तब तक कमीज़ को ड्रायर में रखिए।
The version with उसे sounds more natural and less repetitive.
Why is में used after ड्रायर?
में means in / inside.
So:
- ड्रायर में = in the dryer
Hindi normally uses में with containers, rooms, machines, and enclosed spaces. English may say put it in or put it into, but Hindi usually just uses में here.
So:
उसे ड्रायर में रखिए = put/keep it in the dryer
What form is रखिए?
रखिए is the polite imperative of रखना (to put, place, keep).
It is used when speaking politely, especially with आप.
Compare:
- रखो = informal
- रखिए = polite
- रखिये = alternative spelling you may also see
So रखिए is like saying:
- put it
- keep it
- please place it
in a polite way.
Does रखिए mean put or keep here?
It can mean either, depending on context.
The verb रखना has a broad meaning: to put, place, keep, leave.
So this sentence could be understood as:
- put it in the dryer
- keep it in the dryer
If you want to make keep it there more explicit, Hindi can use additional wording, but रखिए by itself often covers both ideas.
Is ड्रायर really a Hindi word?
Yes—at least in the sense that it is a very normal loanword in modern Hindi.
Hindi uses many English loanwords for everyday objects, especially technology and appliances. So ड्रायर sounds natural in ordinary speech.
A more purely descriptive Hindi expression would be something like:
कपड़े सुखाने की मशीन
But in real life, ड्रायर is much more likely.
Is this the most natural way to say until the shirt dries, keep it in the dryer?
It is understandable, but there is a nuance.
The sentence you have literally focuses on the state:
the shirt is wet
So it feels like:
as long as the shirt is wet, keep/put it in the dryer
If you want to emphasize the endpoint until it becomes dry, many speakers would prefer:
जब तक कमीज़ सूख न जाए, उसे ड्रायर में रखिए।
That means more specifically:
keep it in the dryer until the shirt dries
So the original is fine, but सूख न जाए is often more precise if the goal is until it dries.
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