अलार्म बजना

You treat अलार्म as a masculine noun. The verb बजना changes based on the tense you want. If it's happening right now, you say बज रहा है. If it happened in the past, you say बजा. If you are talking about a habit, use बजता है. Just remember that you aren't 'ringing' the alarm; the alarm is 'ringing' on its own. If you want to say you set the alarm, you'd use a different verb entirely: लगाना (lagānā).

Use this when you're complaining about your early morning routine. It's perfect for telling a roommate their phone is making noise. You can use it in a professional setting if a reminder goes off during a presentation. It’s also used for emergency sirens or security alerts. Basically, if a device is making a loud 'beep beep' or 'ring ring,' this phrase fits perfectly.

Don't use बजना if you are the one physically ringing a handbell or pressing a buzzer. In those cases, you use the transitive version बजाना (bajānā). Also, don't use it for phone calls. For a phone call, we usually say फ़ोन आना or घंटी बजना. While an alarm is a type of bell, अलार्म बजना is specific to scheduled alerts or warnings.

In modern India, English tech terms are everywhere. You will rarely hear someone use the formal Hindi word for alarm, सचेतक (sachetak). Even in rural areas, 'alarm' is understood. Interestingly, many people in India use their phones as alarms now, but the phrase hasn't changed since the days of mechanical twin-bell clocks. There is a common cultural joke about the 'snooze' habit, often referred to as 'alarm band karna' (turning off the alarm) and going back to sleep.

You might hear घंटी बजना (ghanti bajna), which means 'the bell is ringing.' This is used for doorbells or school bells. Another variation is सायरन बजना (siren bajna) for loud emergency sirens. If the alarm is particularly annoying, someone might say अलार्म शोर मचा रहा है (the alarm is making a racket), though that's more descriptive than a set phrase.