Definition
The moon; the large, bright object that appears in the sky at night.
Example
रात को चाँद बहुत सुंदर लग रहा था।
Show translation
The moon looked very beautiful at night.
Etymology
From Sanskrit **चन्द्र** (*candra*), meaning "the shining one" or "the glittering one," derived from the root **cand-** (to shine). The Sanskrit form gave rise to both the formal Hindi/Urdu word *candra* and the everyday spoken form *cānd*. Cognates appear across South Asian languages: Nepali *cānd*, Bengali *cãd*, Punjabi *cann*.
Cultural note
The moon holds an exceptionally deep place in Hindi culture and poetry. It is a central image in classical Urdu-Hindi *shayari* (verse), where a beloved's face is routinely compared to the full moon (*cānd-sa chehra*, "a moon-like face"). Several important festivals — including **Karwa Chauth**, where wives fast all day and break the fast only after sighting the moon — give चाँद a living ritual significance. The phrase *"चाँद पर थूकना"* (to spit at the moon) is a common idiom meaning to insult someone far superior to you.