Bedeutung
Huge effort for a tiny result.
Kultureller Hintergrund
The Sahyadri mountains are central to Marathi identity. Using 'Dongar' (mountain) in an idiom makes it feel very local and relatable to anyone living in the Deccan plateau. Famous humorist P.L. Deshpande often used such idioms to describe the 'middle-class struggle' where small tasks are treated like epic battles. In farming communities, digging is a daily reality. The idiom resonates because it speaks to the literal frustration of clearing rocky soil. In Pune's IT hubs, this phrase is frequently used (often in English-Marathi mix) to describe 'over-engineered' code or useless meetings.
Use it for Sarcasm
This is most effective when said with a slight sigh or a shake of the head to show disappointment.
Don't use for Success
Never use this to praise someone's hard work, even if they worked like a 'mountain' to get a result.
Bedeutung
Huge effort for a tiny result.
Use it for Sarcasm
This is most effective when said with a slight sigh or a shake of the head to show disappointment.
Don't use for Success
Never use this to praise someone's hard work, even if they worked like a 'mountain' to get a result.
Teste dich selbst
Fill in the missing word in the proverb.
डोंगर पोखरून _______ काढणे.
The proverb specifically uses 'Undir' (mouse) to represent a small result.
Which situation best fits the proverb?
A company spends $1 million on a party and only 5 people show up.
The effort/cost was huge, but the result was tiny.
Complete the dialogue.
A: 'मी ५ तास रांगेत उभा होतो आणि तिकीट संपले!' B: 'अरेरे! हे तर _______.'
Waiting for 5 hours with no result is a classic example of this idiom.
🎉 Ergebnis: /3
Visuelle Lernhilfen
Aufgabensammlung
3 Aufgabenडोंगर पोखरून _______ काढणे.
The proverb specifically uses 'Undir' (mouse) to represent a small result.
A company spends $1 million on a party and only 5 people show up.
The effort/cost was huge, but the result was tiny.
A: 'मी ५ तास रांगेत उभा होतो आणि तिकीट संपले!' B: 'अरेरे! हे तर _______.'
Waiting for 5 hours with no result is a classic example of this idiom.
🎉 Ergebnis: /3
Häufig gestellte Fragen
10 FragenIt can be. It mocks the result of someone's work. Use it with friends or to criticize systems, not to insult a beginner's genuine effort.
Technically yes, but 'Dongar' is the traditional word used in this specific proverb. 'Parvat' sounds a bit too formal/poetic here.
There isn't a direct single-word opposite, but 'कमी श्रमात जास्त यश' (Great success with little effort) is the conceptual opposite.
Yes, very often in journalism and political analysis to describe failed policies.
It means hollowing out or carving. It implies a very detailed and exhausting kind of digging.
You can say 'He is like...', but usually, it describes the *situation* or the *action* rather than the person's character.
Because a mouse is one of the smallest, most insignificant things that could live in a massive mountain. It's about the scale of contrast.
Yes, it is understood and used throughout Maharashtra, including Mumbai and Pune.
Yes, it is considered a 'good' use of language in Marathi medium schools to show your command of idioms.
आम्ही डोंगर पोखरून उंदीर काढला (We dug the mountain and found a mouse). Note: 'kadhla' stays the same because it agrees with 'undir' (mouse).
Verwandte Redewendungen
राईचा पर्वत करणे
contrastTo make a mountain out of a molehill.
नाव मोठे लक्षण खोटे
similarBig name, but poor qualities.
गाजावाजा खूप पण काम शून्य
synonymLots of hype but zero work.
