Punjabi Lingo For Dummies
Saddi Punjabi lingo only seems to be getting popular and more popular, all thanks Bollywood for films like Khosla Ka Ghosla and Mr. Lucky Singh from Munnabhai Part 2. Even the Indian Music Industry is in many ways responsible for its popularity with thousands of bhangra albums released over the years by many local and international musicians like Daler Mehndi, Sukbir, Bally Sagoo and the likes.
But being a Punju myself, I have noticed that the masses are often fed more of the mix-breed Punjabi version - you know Punjabi + Hindi = Pundi.
So inorder to get you non-punju folks a little more familiar with what is called *thheth Punjabi, I have compiled a list of Top Ten Punjabi Phrases along with their near-accurate meaning in English.
To get the pronunciation right, intake of neat desi-whiskey shots is highly recommended.
Here we go… (The list is in random order).
- Dur fitte munh : May you mouth burn in Hell. (Usually said when someone says something in-appropriate).
- Kaahli agge toye : Toye here means pot holes and kaahli means doing things very fast. (Said when one tends to do things very fast and eventually messes it up)
- Kucchar kudi shehr dhindora : The girl is in your hands, and you keep looking for her in the whole village. (When your arse is in your behind but instead you look for it elsewhere).
- Boohe aayi jhanj, te vinno kudi de kann : The baraat is just at the door, and you are now piercing the bride’s ears. (Used when you do something just at the last minute)
- Marr jaawaan gurd kha ke : That I’ll die by eating jageery. (Said to show affection for some one when he/she speaks some thing good for you)
- Kaent: Usually said referring to women. (meaning looking very sassy and sexy)
- Chak de fatte : I have no darn clue. (Usually said while experiencing high voltage of positive emotions)
- Khasma nu khaniye : Khasm means husband, so the phrase means ‘eat your husband’. (Used as a curse).
- Gurd naalon ishq mitha : Love is sweeter than jaggery. (Not sure if all will agree!)
- Kehre chakraan ch : Something is fishy.
And the famous of ‘em all -
Teri behn di (*Warning : Kindly think twice before muttering this)
Would like to assure all, no one related from Punjab was harm in the process except one super-sexy sardar dude. So in his memory I dedicate this post - Thank You Mr. Gurpalji.
* A special thanks to Ms. Twilight Fairyji.
We all have a right to express our views. In many instances; it will be against ours and in some; with us. To hear them out is 'decency' but to let them get to you is 'weakness'. 
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: Usually said referring to women. (meaning looking very sassy and sexy) Chak de fatte : I have no darn clue. (Usually said while experiencing high voltage of positive emotions) Sakshi has compileda list of Top Ten Punjabi Phrases
Pingback by DesiPundit - The Best of the Indian Blogosphere — February 23, 2007 @ 3:55 pm
Punjabi Lingo For Dummies[IMG]
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This is a beautiful post written by Sakshi. It’s interesting because Punjabi is a language which I like because of the vibrancy and high emotion content in it. There is this “josh” in it which is loud and vocal. Sakshi gives us a preview of some of the commonly used
Pingback by Kapil’s Korner — Simple happenings in the interesting thing called LIFE. — March 10, 2007 @ 8:50 am
Comments
26 comments | Leave your comment
Feb 23rd, 2007 at 11:57 am | #
Oye Sakhi, Chakk de fatte !!!
ke gal…daroo da asar mainu zyada lagda hai….marvellous post….
Jug Jug Jiyo Puttar
btw, do you know the meaning of the word ‘ gedi’ ?!?!?
Feb 23rd, 2007 at 2:21 pm | #
Yaar…tussi great ho!! Lol…
Feb 23rd, 2007 at 4:30 pm | #
‘Geri’ is a slang word, which comes for a very popular pastime in punjab, idling on bikes or cars near the popular hangouts or roads. More or less all cities have a ‘geri route’, usually a route on which lot of colleges fall. So people will idle around on those roads having lil’ fun with crowd, that is know as goin’ on ‘Geri’.
Nowadays it is used whenever you want to go out and take a round of someplace, mostly without any purpose in mind, people will say “Chal yaar geri mar ke aunde haa”
Feb 23rd, 2007 at 4:34 pm | #
Chakk de phatte was what my roommate at my college hostel at Chandigarh said after all his exam papers. He passed in some and barely passed in others.
Hail the spirit of Punjab!!
Feb 23rd, 2007 at 5:31 pm | #
One of my recent fascinations has been to learn Punju - dunno, I just love this language hehehe!!
S
Feb 23rd, 2007 at 6:30 pm | #
Chak de Fatte is phrase used by truck drivers to tell their helpers to pick up (chak) the wooden planks(fatte) and put them up. The wooden planks at the behind of a truck are the planks which are to be picked up and brought into place. As most songs earlier used to be made mostly for the pleasure of Truck Drivers to listen to, this phrase( Chak de Fatte) was used in many songs and now is a cliche’ in all songs.
Feb 23rd, 2007 at 7:17 pm | #
babe.. punjabi esp the sort written phonetically in english is pinglish.. very very weird :p.
sab toon pehlaan te… what is THETA?? It’s “thheth” .. not alpha, beta, theta, THETA!
and chak de fatte.. is even said to raise spirits.. not just when spirits are high.. and literal translation = “pick up the boards”! I suppose a tough task :).
and BTW “gurd” = kidney khaa ke toh koi bhee mar jawega! naale definitely kidney naalon ishq hee mittha howega jee.. :p
BTW ttotta jee, tussi ttotta nahi mention kitta :)..ok now dont u get back at me asking why u shd be mentioning parrots :p
Feb 23rd, 2007 at 7:20 pm | #
paaji….tussi toap ho!!
Feb 24th, 2007 at 6:17 am | #
Twilight Fairy - Pheheli gal first…saddi maafi accept kar lo tussi. Assi mix-breed Punjabi hage but I promise to ONLY get better. Post kar de waqt, assi tussi naal consult nahi kidda..aaii sadi galti hegi and once again I apologise.
BTW…yaar tussi khob modest hoon…ttotte par haak toh twda hai and not sadda.
Feb 24th, 2007 at 6:20 am | #
Mehak - Thank ku..Thank ku.
Jagan - Yaar…aab bas karo. Actually you can carry on.
Navee - Wow…that was intense. Thanks for the explanation.
Rajan - I completely understand his sentiments. Been there..done that.
Suyog - I know…we are that sweet, aren’t we!!
Sahaj Umang Singh Bhatia - I am compelled to say…”Boss aap great ho”. Thanks for the explanation.
Lalit - Thank you…Thank you…Thank you * blushing with joy *.
Feb 24th, 2007 at 6:55 am | #
thanks that nice could you write few more… btw how do you say “delayed” in punjabi
i once had hard time trying to explain that to some old Punjabi granny …who was traveling alone… who only knew punjabi didnt knew hindi or english
Feb 26th, 2007 at 3:54 am | #
‘chak de fatte’ means remove the restraints i.e. go full speed ahead. To give context, about 30 years ago, an old DTC bus on route 622 used to carry this,
” Chak de fatte, dab de killi; svere jalandhar, sham nu dilli!”
Feb 26th, 2007 at 1:26 pm | #
I never heard ‘Kaent’ during my Delhi days… I always thought ‘tot’ was the popular one. Or is it Haryanvi? I wouldn’t know…
It’s singularly apt (I use it even now for lack of better ones) and it’s cute, in a way.
‘Kaent..’ hmm…Nice.
Feb 26th, 2007 at 1:59 pm | #
Nice one
Though writing Punjabi in English takes away some of the pronunciation details.
My Punjabi roommate understands all that Punjabi that they sing in songs, and patiently tries to explain me the meaning of each of the lyrics ! And yeah, I like calling him - “Oye Khottey”
Have picked up some of the language..
but am not so fluent in even understanding it, leave alone speaking.
Once his mom was visiting. She was cutting some apples for me (my roomie wasnt around). She said - “Apple adde” .. I thought she is asking me to take the apples. I said - “Jee, laao”. She said again - “Apple adde”. I was confused. She said again - “Apple adde. Aage bol kya”. I grinned like a fool.
She said - “Keeps Doctorrr Away. Padaya nahi kya school mein”.
Feb 26th, 2007 at 2:02 pm | #
Reminds me of the dialogues that the Merovingian mouths in Matrix Reloaded….
“French is a lovely language.. especially to curse with. “
Replace French with Punjabi, and it still is true.
Feb 27th, 2007 at 6:03 am | #
Harsh - See I am always teaching you new things.
Rajan - Thanks for the explanation.
Shadows - I so agree with you. Even curses sound so darn sweet in Punju. Will come up with a list of that too…very soon.
Puneet - Will get back to you on that.
Mar 1st, 2007 at 6:19 am | #
Oye Punjabi kudi
I thought this would interest you.
Mar 8th, 2007 at 1:22 pm | #
a little help for you sakshi …. delay similar words as in hindi…vilambh..of course u say it hard… there is another hardcore one… adher or something…
brilliant post btw… bought smiles… love da punjabi..
Mar 15th, 2007 at 10:08 am | #
can some one tell me how to say in punjabi ” you are my best friend “?
thanks
Mar 27th, 2007 at 11:50 am | #
I was actually looking for a punjabi blog and I am glad that I found this blog..Very well written stuff there!
I am thhinking of watching Zee Punjabi to learn some punjabi!! Its such a sweet language! :))
Grrreetings from Pune,
Ashutosh
Mar 30th, 2007 at 2:56 am | #
Visit Gulgale.com—for Rib Tickling Humour, Visuals, Jokes and One-liners
Apr 25th, 2007 at 1:18 am | #
Well I’m not Punjabi, I’m spanish. But I’d really love to learn does any one have any advice ???? Some people have told me to learn Hindi 1st, but I WANT PUNJABI!!!!! Do I really have start with Hindi?????
I’m sure I stick out like a sore thumb in here but, i don’t know what to do or who to ask really!
I’d really appreciate any sort of advice!!
Nov 2nd, 2007 at 6:33 pm | #
Mmm. How do I say “I am her husband”? Having problems being accepted by the in-laws. Somthing about me being ‘African’, even in today’s world. Worst of all my wife won’t tell her parents due to a fear she has that i don’t understand. It is tearing us apart as she allowed me and my parents to believe she invited her parents to our wedding and they said they wouldn’t come. It’s hurt me, my parents and my whole family. I know my wife loves me but I fear this may break us if i don’t get to understand why she won’t be strong and admit the truth to her parents. She prefers to choose to live a double life and hurt us all. Please help me understand if you can………Tee
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