hindi

How to say "it's getting colder these days'' in Hindi? Thand aur badh raha hai. Is this what I should say? And when should I say "sardi"? Tumhe sardi nahi lag rahi hain?

Hi there, How do Hindi-Urdu speaking children claim something is unfair / not fair? Certainly my children constantly complain about everything not being fair. Is there a word children would use to describe it? I come up with nothing normal-- either 'vo sahii nahiiN hai' which is not really...

In classroom Hindi/Urdu we are usually taught that the hona copula is compulsory in habitual aspect, otherwise the verb ends up in conditional form. For example: Mein ye kaam kartaa hun / में ये काम करता हूँ / میں یہ کام کرتا ہوں 'I do this work' versus Yedi kaam to hota to mein wo kartaa /...

How would you say "barely enough" in Hindi/Urdu? Say: "He was earning barely enough to survive"? Similarly, how would you say "more than enough"? Say: "He was earning more than enough to survive"?

Friends, A verse from the popular song "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" says: mohtaaj maNzil kaa to nahii hai / yah ek tarfaa meraa safar I am having problems with that tarfaa (Hindi: तरफ़ा) I believe in Urdu it should be طرفہ, so that the translation says "this voyage of mine is one-sided (ek tarfaa)"...

Hi all, What's the most idiomatic way of saying 'to skip' as in 'children skipped down the street'? Many thanks. (While we're at it, there's a thread here about the other meaning of 'skip' as in 'to miss,' which I'd also be interested in, but there were no Hindi-Urdu responses. ) Thank you.

Friends, What does the expression रायता फैल गया / ریتہ پھیل گیا mean? Something like "the secret is out"? Thanks in advance

Friends, In the song "Kajra Re", a male singer claims to have "left his mark in Old Delhi, बल्लीमारान से दरीबे तलक" What is the significance of those places? Looking on the Internet, it seems that Ballimaran Rd is a zone in Old Delhi where carpets are sold, that is all I could find. But the...

Friends, In the famous song "Kajra re", the female singer complains about how the staring of a man is unsettling her. She complains about how his looks are ravaging the city or something, and then she says repeatedly: merii aNgṛaaii na TuTe tu aa jaa I understand the individual words, but not...

"soniyaa" in Hindi and Urdu means beloved or sweetheart. Is "soniyaa" derived from the word "sonaa" (gold), ie. sonaa (gold) > soniyaa (golden one ~ beautiful, handsome ~ beloved, sweetheart)? Alternatively, is it derived from the Punjabi word "sohneyaa" (or "sohniyaa"?), which I believe has a...

Hello, How do we express 'put in order?' As in: - Let's order the books by size. = KitaabeN (size?) ke anusaar rakheN. Is that idiomatic? Do both 'ke hisaab' and ke mutaabik (q?) work here? - Put the numbers in order from smallest to largest = numbaroN ko ... and then I get lost. - Put the...

Friends, What does ghar kar jaana mean in the following context? سپنا اَیسا دکھایا सपना ऐसा दिखाया sapnaa aisaa dikhaayaa You revealed to me such a dream کہ نیندوں پہ گھر کر ہی گئے कि नींदों पे घर कर ही गए ki niiNdoN pe ghar kar hii gae that ... on (my) sleep ... ?? جینا اَیسا سکھایا...

Hi all, I believe I have heard all three variations below, but I'm not sure if one is more idiomatic than the other: I told him not to yell. MaiN ne usse naa chillaane ko kahaa. MaiN ne usse naa chillaane ke liye kahaa. MaiN ne usse kahaa ki naa chillaayeN. Any strong feelings? Or a more...

Silly question, but presumably the causative of gaanaa is gavaanaa? And gavaanaa doubles as 'to lose'? (as in the Punjabi: meraa laung gavaachaa)? I was saying something the other day: I had her sing a song, or something like that, and what flew out of my mouth was: Usse ek gaanaa gavaayaa --...

Per dictionaries, प्रिया is used for a female beloved. However, I think I've only seen and heard प्रिया as a female given name and प्रिये used instead for a female beloved. Why does प्रिया become प्रिये in this context? Sanskrit has a vocative form प्रिये for the feminine noun प्रिया, but is the...

While it is easy to find numerous explanations for how to use the more common compound verbs (leena, deena, jaana, Dalnaa, paDnaa, uThnaa, baiThnaa and rakhnaa), it is much harder to find examples and explanations for the usage of rarer compound verbs in Hindi/Urdu. E.g. "Modern Hindi Grammar"...

For example: I am sorry I passed out [mujhe maaf karna meri aankh lg gyi thi] I went to cinema yesterday [mai kal cinema gya tha] She wrote a letter to her father [usne apne pita ko ek khat likha] Did he eat the dinner? [Kya usne khana khaya?] I don't understand why in some sentences ‘tha’...

Friends, In a song (again, Bala Shaitan Ke Sala), the protagonist sings that "all women" say that Ravana (the demon king) has raised him. raavaṇ ne hai paalaa bole beTii, mausii, xaalaa I would like to know, just out of curiosity, if this "beTii, mausii, xaalaa" (daughter and maternal aunts)...

Friends, Could someone please explain to me the meaning of "kya chiiz hai" in the following verse? Maybe provide another example? I am almost 100% sure that it doesn't have to be translated literally. sab kaheN mujhe shaitaan ka saalaa baalaa! log boleN baalaa kyaa ciiz hai saalaa...

Friends, In "(Bala) Shaitan Ka Sala)" a simple but catchy song from an otherwise forgettable Hindi movie franchise called "Housefull", a mischievous medieval Rajput king called "Bala" sings the praises for himself and his evilness. In the song, it says that everyone calls him the "Bala...

You have already been in city for a few days. I am doing a translation in Hindi. Aapka is shahar mein aaye hue kuch din ho gaya hain. Aapko is shahar mein aaye hue kuch din ho gaye hain.

I recently learned that "Fried food" is "talaa huaa khaanaa". This seemed weird to be because "talnaa" (to fry) is transitive. Generally, I thought perfective participles only made sense with intransitive words (e.g. "Boiled water" is "Ublaa huaa paani", not "ubaalaa huaa paani"). Can you use...

Friends, I am confused about the value (and spelling) of "vo" when used like in these verses (from "Dilbar Mere"): maiN aag dil meN lagaa dūNgaa vo ke pal mēN pighal jaaōgē First of all, for me, "vo" here is acting as a conjunction (=aur, "and"), therefore: I will light a fire in your heart...

So yeah I was in my Hindi class And this thing got me really confused The teacher was teaching ‘Visheshan’ He started with Buraii[Abstract Noun]- Bura[Adjective] <.......so on> And then he said Khel-Khiladi Now this confused the hell out of me Is ‘Khiladi’ an adjective? Aren't khel and...

Friends, I am not sure if we have covered this topic before. I would like to know when one should employ "nahiiN" and when we should use "nah/na" to negate a verb? Thanking you all in advance.

Hello, While both भयानक bhayaanak and भयंकर bhayaNkar are adjectives which roughly mean "fear-inspiring", I think भयानक bhayaanak is more used than भयंकर, isn't it? The only time I encountered भयंकर before was as one of Shiva's epithets. However today I've come across the latter, even twice...

Hello everyone, I came across a sentence in Rohinton Mistry's novel "A Fine Balance", in which some villagers of lower caste were insulting a Brahmin behind his back. I'm not sure what language this is, but judging by the story it should be mock Sanskrit using Hindi words concerning buggery...

Hi, How do we distinguish between the above two? As in: - In this car the boot/trunk is at the front of the car, not the back. Is gaaDi meiN, dikkii gaaDi ke [x] hai, [peeche]? nahiiN. - The cow stood in front of the car = Gaii gaaDi ke aage? / saamne ? khaDi hui Thank you.

Friends, Assuming that it is impossible that Rahat Fateh Ali Khan would pronounce ziNdaa or ziNdagii as "jind", what is that word in the sentence below? तेरी काली अंखियों से जिन्द मेरी जागे تری کالی اَکھیوں سے جند میری جاگے What are her (little, lovely) black eyes awakening, exactly? The...

The dictionary definition of "same" in Hindi is "samaan" but how would that work in a sentence? For example, "We like the same things" and "We have the same name". "Hame samaan kuchh pasand hai"? "Hamaare naam samaan hai"/ "Hamaaraa ek hii naam hai"?

Hello Everyone: I'm reading Rohinton Mistry's novel "A Fine Balance". The author mentioned a name "Bal Baba" and wrote that the name suggested something to do with hair. I couldn't find relatable explanations in the dictionary. Can someone please explain it? Thanks a lot! Mistry Rohinton...

OK, so, when it comes to showing his bashfulness, what does this remarkable, superhuman man do? He grabs an arrow with his hand (karaj, some sort of crustacean pincers or chela, slang for hand)? He stops an arrow with his chest (in order to save everybody else's life)? I know खावे is being used...

From what I understand, all the above words mean "by oneself" or "oneself". I think there's a slight distinction between the first 3 and the last 3, but I wanted to confirm. If I understand the distinction correctly, the following all mean "I cleaned my room on my own (i.e. with no extra...

Friends, one last question regarding this song "Dabangg", singing the praises of a manly police hero. What is जठ से (or perhaps जेठ से) in the following verses? Context: हो जब घडी कठिन सी आवे रे Ho! When the time of certain difficulty comes ho jab ghaDii kaThin sii aave re वह जेठ से सबल बन...

Friends, In the slapstick police hero movie "Dabangg", there is a song, also called "Hood, Hood, Dabangg" which exalts the virtues of this manly hero. The general idea is that, whenever he roars, he tears silence apart. (The "Hood" is because he dubs himself a "Robin Hood"). I am stuck with...

It's my understanding that बंटाई banTaai means something like buddy/friend/dude/homeboy. Is my understanding accurate, and what is the etymology of this word in Mumbaiyya Hindi?

Hi, I just heard this: चाहे तुम कुछ ना कहो, मैंने सुन लिया कि साथी प्यार का मुझे चुन लिया Is the second line grammatically correct? It doesn't seem to be correct from the point of view of Urdu!

Hi, In a previous thread, we spoke about enough + adjective. I tried saying the following sentence this weekend, and I think it came out unidiomatically. There won't be enough time for your hair to dry. Baal suukhne (suukh jaane?) ke liye kaafi vaq/kt nahiiN hoga. Now that I write it, I...

Hi all, this phrase बाइबल हिंदी में विषयों उपदेश is long, I have difficulties in understanding it. I tried my best to look them up in the Hindi-English dictionary, but since there are more than one meaning of every word, it is difficult for me to get the correct meaning of it. So I need your...

I have a very narrow question. Given my interest in languages, I was asked by someone who is trying to translate a book into Hindi. Can these terms be used in the context of any general repository or system of knowledge, in terms of what is known internally within the system versus truths not...

The legendary song "vahaaN kaun hai teraa", from the movie "Guide", is a consolation to the traveler, and an invitation to detachment from the suffering of life in general. (I find it kind of depressing) Anyway, at some point, the song goes: Take a full moment of breath, this shade, where...

How would you say "it's not because..., it's because..." in Hindi? i.e. "It's not because i don't want to go, it's because I don't have time". Would "kaaraN" work here? "nahi.n jaane chahne kaa kaaraN nahi.n, bas koii samay nahi.n hone kaa kaaraN"???

These are the lines of Munnavar Rana - Saraafat dhoondhne aaye ho aiwaan e siyaasat mein Ye to chaklaa hai, yahaa saraafat nahi ruswaai miltee hai Can anyone help me in translating these lines into English? Thanks

Hi, This thread is about the spelling and pronunciation of the geographical proper name which in English is written Jammu. While in Hindi it is consistently spelled जम्मू jammuu (जम्मू और कश्मीर), in Urdu the regular spelling is جمّوں jammuuN (جموں و کشمیر ). Why is the name of the South...

Can anyone explain the meaning of ہوتا آیا ہے hotaa aayaa hai ? What is this grammatical construction and how is it used?

Friends, In the sentence below, does labdhi have its participial value (=taken, obtained) or its nominal value (=acquisition, gain)? It is also from the song "Bulleya", and the general idea is to follow the path of one's spiritual guide, et cetera. (I am providing the second verse for just...

Friends, This sentence appears in the popular song "Bulleya" (referring to the Sufi poet Bulleh Shah): maiN kaagul se lipTii titlii kī tarah muhaajir hūN == I am a refugee ... like a butterfly ek pal ko ThahrūN pal meN uR jaaūN == I stop for a moment, the next moment I fly off what is...

Hello, How would people idiomatically talk about people feeling left out? - Go play with her. She's feeling left out. -- > All I can come up with is a probably unidiomatic ' usse akelapan mehsoos ho rahaa hai-- but to me that implies loneliness, rather than exclusion Thank you.

Friends, I found "bedardii" in the Oxford Urdu dictionary as a nominal phrase meaning: pitilessness, callousness, apathy, etc. It is used in the context of a famous song, "kaaTe na kaTe" (one of the many with that name), of which Coke Studio Pakistan made a recent, modern arrangement. ہائے...

Friends, The last stanza of the song I am analyzing, Diwani Mastani, has these 2 verses. They are quite poetically generic, so I don't want to over-interpret them, but they are sung by male voices after, during almost all the song, a female had been pleading her love (as if the man finally...