hindi

Friends, What is "sahanii" (or sehnii), as used in the following verses? sahanii hameN sazaa hai / ham haiN baazaaroN ke sab kii nazar yahaaN hai / har chiiz raaz hai Maybe they mean "sahan hii", as in "forbearance is simply torture for us" (since we are ordinary people and we are unable to...

Dear everyone, I came across the sentences "aur jab jee chuke, to kahte the / umr guzri to zindagi guzri". I'm not sure about the difference in meaning between umr and zindagi here, as I would understand them both to mean life in this context? Or does umr refer to a specific age, and zindagi to...

I have sometimes heard that you can use the expression X+ko Y naseeb hona to mean "Y gets X". For example, in the Youtube video कंजूस किराने वाली - Hindi Kahaniya | Hindi Moral Stories | Bedtime Moral Stories | Hindi Fairy Tales At 2:34-2:40, one kid says: mein ek hu jise roz ek chocolate bhi...

Friends, The "dekhaa ... dekhaa ..." below, how can it be translated? In lyrics websites they say "I tried to understand, I tried to appease/entertain it" The whole idea is, that one's feelings can't be denied. Would dekhaa be an adverb here (in sight of)? Or a noun (sight)? Or the participle...

Friends, I understand that "paar honaa" and "paar ho jaana" mean "to make it through, to get to the other end, (figuratively) to survive something". Therefore, in the following stanza, what is the lover praying for, exactly? To drown in her eyes, and then survive, or simply to succeed in...

On (the now deceased) Peter Hook's webpage with lessons on the grammar of Hindi ("The Mellon Project"), the mentions two grammatical features. In my limited understanding, the two features are as follows: (1) "Disappearing ka of patient" where the ka is optional and you can either say Bhaiye...

What's the difference between "ke beech" and "ke beech meN"? Are they interchangeable? Or can each only be used in a certain situation?

How do you say "way" as in "method" in Hindi? Most translation websites are giving me "raastaa". So if I wanted to say, "This is a good way to learn" - "yeh achchhaa siikhnaa vaalaa raastaa hai". What about "There are many ways to do this"?

Friends, The song "Genda Phool" is a song by the rapper Badshah, where this individual, as usual in the genre, boasts about his amatory prowess. (BTW the chorus of the song is a ripoff of a folk Bangla song of the same name) The lyrics are quite vulgar. At some point, they go: lage miiThii...

Hello, How would we say 'to make the best of' a situation? For example: It's raining, we're at the beach, but let's make the best of the situation and try to have fun regardless. You don't have all the ingredients necessary for the dish, but make the best of it and see what we can whip...

Dear Foreros, We live in incredibly interesting times as the world braces for a lockdown and self-quarantine. But the question here is how would you refer to this phenomenon in the languages above. Quarantine itself is Qarantiina & Qaranteen in Urdu. Self-quarantine would thereby be...

Friends, I would need to abuse this forum's patience with one last query about the Coke Studio song "Hairaan Hua" At some point, the song relates the execution of the Persian mystic Mansour Hallaj, who apparently was hung or decapitated, and what probably were his last words (or something he...

I understand both of these terms (andaaza karnaa and andaaza lagaana) to mean "to guess." Is there a difference between them, however subtle? Contexts where you might use one or the other?

Friends, What is گاہِ ناز / गाह-ए-नाज़, as used in the following stanza of the Coke Studio song "Hairaan Hua"? हमें भी जलवा गाह-ए-नाज़ तक लेते चलो मूसा ہمیں بھی جلوہ گاہِ ناز تک لیتے چلو موسیٰ तुम्हीं ग़श आ गया तू हसन-ए-जानाँ कौन देखेगा تمہیں غش آ گیا تو حسنِ جاناں کون دیکھے گا The...

I'm watching Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and one of the characters says: तो बिना कोई फिकर के जितने भी डायमंड्स खरीदने हैं, खरीद लो to binaa koi fikar ke jitne diamonds kareedne hain, kareed lo Would "binaa kisi diamonds ke" work here? Or is it then "ke binaa" is inverted, the object doesn't take...

Heads up: swearing/bad language The song "Bhaag DK Bose" has the following lyrics: A few questions: 1. The first line is translated as "Oh by god I was screwed/damned". Is "lag gayi" commonly used to say "I was screwed" ? If so, what would the full sentence be? 2. I'm having trouble...

Friends, What is the "baDh" used in the stanza below? jaan hathelii par liye lo baDh chale haiN yeh qadam ziNdagii to apnii mehmaan maut kii mahfil meN hai It belongs to the patriotic ghazal "Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna". Example text (not very good)

Friends, I stumbled upon the English word "station". Or, since I find several "sTeshanoN", the Hindustani, assimilated word "sTeshan" I noticed that in Urdu the entry is اِسْٹیشَن , with an initial /e/ sound (like in Spanish), but in Hindi is स्टेशनों, without any initial vowel. Just out of...

Friends, In the following stanza, from the song "Bad Boy", the female singer says to a man: tuune le liyaa yah dil tujhse duurii banaae rakhnaa [boy], ab ho gayaa mushkil What has become difficult? Staying away from you? Getting away from you? Getting away from you, and staying that way? I...

Hello, "Main aapko ek ghante se yahi samjhane ki koshish kar raha hoon" How to say that in English? I want to know it for all formal / informal conversations.

What is the abbreviation को॰ short for? I saw it in the Hindi Wiktionary entry for आय: "३. आगमन । आना (को॰) ।".

Friends, Is there an Hindi or Urdu equivalent to the English endearing word "Oldies" used, for example, in the context of a music radio station specializing in music from the 1950's, or for very famous black-and-white "silver screen" movies, or in general, for any work of art that is no longer...

Friends, The following stanza belongs to "Vaaste", a generic love song: tujhii se hotaa shuruu / yah meraa kaarvaaN tujhii pe jaa ke xat[a]m / yah meraa saaraa jagat the second verse is supposed to mean something typical of love songs, in the line of "This whole world of mine ... ends in...

So I was reading MonsieurGonzalito's thread about 'ek naam ka'ii ruup' where he quoted a Kishore Kumar song with the words, ek ruup kaii naam man maNdir tērā ghaam jivaan denaa jivaan lenaa yahii teraa ghaam (from the song "Ek Rup Kai Nam" of the movie "Swami Dada" interpreted by Kishore Kumar)...

Friends, The (apparently hugely famous) video clip "Vaaste", some juvenile/student love song, starts like this. A lover is saying what he/she would be willing to give up for the beloved. वास्ते जान भी दूँواسطے جان بھی دوں मैं गवा ईमान भी दूँمیں گوا اِیمان بھی دوں क़िस्मतों का लिखा मोड़...

Friends, What is the general idea in the expressions: "ek ruup, kaii naam", or "kaii naam, kaii ruup"? Is there an idiomatic value, or should be translated literally (one/many form/s, many names)? Examples: kaii naam kaii ruup mere rom rom meN jaage jag saaraa mujh ko bas apnaa apnaa laage...

I know the piya is used to refer love interest. But I am curious to know is piya word referred to male gender only. Because what songs I have heard, the word piya is frequetly used to refer the male gender only. By the way, the word piya is from the popular hindi song Piya aiso jiya men...

There was a conversation going on about Indian states, one guy said Maharashtra is just like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to which I said: महाराष्ट्र इन राज्यों से इतना आगे है कि आप इसे उन राज्यों के साथ नहीं रख सकते या उल्लेख नहीं कर सकते। It's so ahead that it cannot find a mention with these...

Hello friends, I want to say this in English: Meri teacher ne mujhe greeting card diya tha use maine bahut saalo tak sambhal k rakha phir guma diya. I'm not able to form the bold part.

Friends, I am aware that, as "taubaa" is "repentance, vowing not to sin again", when used + genitive it can be used as some sort of interjection, i.e. mere taubaa == I vow not to sin again! With that in mind, I would like to know if my interpretation is correct for this verse. I am assuming...

Friends: In the following stanza, is "chalo" being used to introduce a hypothesis? Akin to English Let's go ahead [and assume] that ... Can chalo be used that way? [Edited: something like maano] chalo ham farz karte hai kih tum se pyaar karte hai magar is pyaar ko bhii kiyaa hamii pe farz...

Friends, The beautiful stanza below also belongs to the song "Bol Kaffara Kya Hoga". (It is an Urdu song and the Devanagari transcription is mine, hence tentative). Much of the song is written in the same style: first presenting an idea, and then kind of "devolving" it using the same or...

Friends, In the context of romantic songs, when one hears that breath "comes", how should that be interpreted? as a verbal phrase meaning simply "to breathe" (saaNs jaanaa /aanaa/lenaa all roughly meaning "to breathe")? literally as breath "coming" to one? idiomatically (if an oblique subject...

Friends, What is the meaning of the expression "dil kii kahuuN, dil kii sunuuN"? Specifically, what are those "kii's"? tere lie maiN jiuuN tujhpe hii maiN jaan duuN dil kii kahuuN, dil kii sunuuN ishq hai dillagii nahiiN! The stanza belongs again to the simplified version of the ghazal...

Friends, I found this word in a Bollywood song ("Tum Se Hii", from the Indian 2011 movie "Jab We Met"): shor meN xaamoshii hai thoRii sii behoshii hai tum se hii, tum se hii [in most Youtube videos at 2:16] but I have trouble finding بے ہوشبے / बेहोशी as an entry in any proper dictionary...

Friends: What is the exact sense of dillagii in the famous gazal: "tumheN dillagii bhuul jaanii paRegii" I have dillagii as: - jest, joke, trivial thing - inclination, attachment In many translations, I see it as "infatuation", "lust", as in "a lesser (sexual) form of love". Example analysis...

Friends, Bad news for Urdu and Hindi learners (especially Urdu, where there is a dearth of good Urdu-to-English resources). Oxford Dictionaries has decided to shut down its dictionaries websites. This is not a temporary, maintenance move, but a permanent one. They have decided to charge access...

Friends, I found this expression in the famous song "ziNdagii maut na ban jaae", from the 1999 Indian movie "Sharfarosh" chaaNd sikkoN ke lie, tum naa karo kaam buraa har buraaii kaa sadaa hotaa hai aNjaam buraa What is the cultural reference for this? Searching the internet, it seems that...

Friends, From the same stanza and song that I quoted before, "Aaja Nachle". mujhe detaa udhaarii halvaaii re It is clear that the girl is receiving credit from the confectioner, but what exactly is udhaarii ? I can find اُدھار / उधार , but not udhaarii What part of speech is it? (noun...

Friends, What does "sadke" mean in the stanza below? maiN to kamsin kalii thii zaraa tan ke chalii thii aage jaa ke galii pe bal khaa gaii huii jaane javaanii kab aa gaii mere sadke zamaane kii kamaaii re mujhe detaa udhaarii halvaaii re Is it an alternative pronunciation from सरकना سرکنا...

Friends, What would be the headwords for "mohle" and "maaraamar", as used in the following stanza? They are supposed to mean "neighborhood" and "tumult" respectively. "maaraamar" I could find in Urdu, so I would assume it Nagari script it would be something like "मारामार". "mohle", I have no...

Friends, How do you call these green-faced characters, usually shown in groups and wearing some sort of crinoline, who appear in so many video clips? (I guess to give some folk ambiance)

How do you say "to grow up" in Hindi and Urdu? This is surprisingly hard to find in dictionaries. I welcome all variants, idiomatic, colloquial, or literary. Examples: 1. I grew up in Lahore. 2. She grew up speaking Bihari. Thanks in advance.

Hi there! What is the meaning of the word Jalastambhanam? EIGHT MAJOR SIDDHIS. An accomplished, Purnayogi in the path of Kundalini Yoga is in possession of eight major Siddhis, viz., Anima, Mahima, Laghima, Garima, Prapti, Prakamya, Vasitvam and Ishitvam. 1. Anima: The Yogi can become as...

Friends, These are the 2 first verses and chorus of the song "Chhaliyaa" (from the 2008 Indian comedy "Tashan"). There are a few things I find off, grammatically speaking. I don't know if they happen together for reasons of rhyme/meter, or what. (The movie is forgettable and the video clip is...

Friends, Does "pahlii cchalkii chaal" (first spilling trick?) have any idiomatic meaning, in the stanza below? Something like, the first of a cataract of tricks that will come later? cchalkii pahlii chaal huuN maiN suljhaa-uljhaa jaal huuN [I am the] nuur, [I am the] huur tuu jaaegaa kahaaN...

As far as I understand haTTī kaTTī is a Punjabi term for a plump or full-bodied woman. Is it commonly used in Urdu and Hindi? After searching, I've come across it in both contexts, but the sense I get is that it's still "marked" as a Punjabi word, rather than fully integrated into Hindi/Urdu and...

Friends, In several songs and movies, there is this typical image of a man who wants to address or start flirting with a woman, he grabs her wrist or forearm, she retracts it, he doesn't let go, and they end up standing closer together, with him "twisting" her wrist(s). The phrase used for...

Friends, What is does the -रचैया part mean in the expression "रास रचैया"? I understand that the "raas" is a circular dance commemorating the seduction of the Gopis by Krishna. Example from the song "Radha", of the movie "Student of the Year". The female protagonist, Shanaya (Alia Bhatt)...

Friends, What does "diip lagaa ke" mean, in the following context? uRtii uRtii aaNkhiyoN ke laR gae piiche laR gae [ve] diip lagaa ke jhuum jhuum baraabar jhuum baraabar ... It belongs to the song "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom", from the namesake 2007 Indian movie. "diip" is an earthen lamp. (In...