Hawa Mein Baatein Karna

January 31, 2021

Today’s Hindi idiom (मुहावरा) is:

हवा में बातें करना।

Empty Talk

(Transliteration: Hawa mein batein karna.)

Literal translation: To talk in the air.

Figurative meaning: To talk baselessly. Empty speech. Idle talk.

Usage in a sample sentence:
“मैंने सुना कि वायरस को नष्ट करने के लिए वोह एक नया दवा बनाया है?”
“अरे यार! कृपया उसके बातों पर विश्वास न करें, उसे हवा में बातें करने की आदत है।“

Transliteration:  
“Mai ne suna ki virus ko nasht karne ke liye woh ek naya dawa banaya hai?”
“Arre yaar! Kripaya uske baathon par vishwas na karein, usse hawa mein baatein karne ki aadat hai.

Translation:  
“I heard that he has made a new medicine to destroy the virus?”
“Oh man! Please don’t believe anything he says, he has a habit of (talking in the air) making empty speech.”

Origins of the idiom: When your speech is empty or hollow-sounding, it seems like hot air coming out of your mouth. This hot air gets mixed with the air outside and is lost forever. Your words are not solid words, but just air, and it seems like you are just talking in the air. Such talk is not to be taken seriously. Please compare this idiom with yesterday’s idiom. They both seem similar, but have different meanings. Only one word in these Hindi idioms is different, but the meanings are very different.