تارا

Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindustani (Hindi तारा (tārā) / Urdu تارا (tārā)) and/or Punjabi ਤਾਰਾ (tārā) / تارا (tārā), from Sanskrit तारा (tārā), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hstar-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr. Cognate with English star. Doublet of ستاره (sitāra).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /taː.ˈraː/

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰɑː.ɾɑ́ː]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰɑː.ɾɑ́ː]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰɑː.ɾɑ́ː]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰɔː.ɾɔ́ː]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰɒː.ɹɒ́ː]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [t̪ʰɔ.ɾɔ́]

• Rhymes: -aː

Readings
Classical reading?	tārā
Dari reading?	tārā
Iranian reading?	târâ
Tajik reading?	toro

Noun

تارا • (târâ)

1. (archaic or obsolete) star

Proper noun

تارا • (târâ)

1. a female given name, Tara

Punjabi

Alternative forms

• تارَہ (tārah)

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit तारा (tārā), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hstar-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr. Doublet of ستارہ (sitārā).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Punjabi) IPA^(key): /t̪äː.ɾäː/, [ˈt̪äː.ɾäː]

• Audio (India):

  (file)

• Audio (Pakistan):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -äː
• Hyphenation: تا‧را

Noun

تَارا • (tārā) m or f by sense (Gurmukhi spelling ਤਾਰਾ)

1. (astronomy) star

   Synonyms: سِتارَہ (sitārah), اَخْتَر (axtar)

2. asterisk
3. (anatomy) pupil (of the eye)
4. (astrology) fate, destiny (that is influenced by a planet)
5. (figuratively) something that appears small due to the distance
6. (endearing) a star; dear

Declension

Declension of تارا

	singular	plural
direct	تَارا (tārā)	تَارے (tāre)
oblique	تَارے (tāre)	تَاریاں (tāreyāṉ)
vocative	تَاریا (tāreyā)	تَاریو (tāreyo)
ablative	تَاریوں (tāreyoṉ)	—
locative	تَارے (tāre)	تَارِیں (tārīṉ)
instrumental	تَارے (tāre)	تَارِیں (tārīṉ)

Further reading

• Iqbal, Salah ud-Din (2002), “تارا”, in vaḍḍī panjābī lughat (in Punjabi), Lahore: عزیز پبلشرز [ʻazīz pabliśarz]
• “ਤਾਰਾ”, in Punjabi-English Dictionary, Patiala: Punjabi University, 2026

Urdu

Alternative forms

• تارَہ (tāra)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂eHs-

Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr

Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr

Sanskrit तृ (tṛ)

Sanskrit तारा (tārā)bor.

Urdu تارا

Borrowed from Sanskrit तारा (tārā). Doublet of سِتارَہ (sitāra).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /t̪ɑː.ɾɑː/

• Audio (India):

  (file)

• Audio (Pakistan):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː
• Hyphenation: تا‧را

Noun

تارا • (tārā) m or f by sense (Hindi spelling तारा)

1. (astronomy) star

   Synonyms: سِتارَہ (sitāra), اَخْتَر (axtar)

2. asterisk
3. (anatomy) pupil (of the eye)
4. (astrology) fate, destiny (that is influenced by a planet)
5. (figuratively) something that appears small due to the distance
6. (endearing) a star; dear

Declension

Declension of تارا

	singular	plural
direct	تارا (tārā)	تارے (tāre)
oblique	تارے (tāre)	تاروں (tārõ)
vocative	تارے (tāre)	تارو (tāro)

Further reading

• “تارا”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “تارا”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2026.
• Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad (1971), “تارا”, in Kitabistan's 20th Century Standard Dictionary, Lahore: Kitabistan Pub. Co.