"Lost in Translation: The Intriguing World of Indian Words with Dual Meanings"

The language learned at home is the “mother tongue." A friend said, “Oh yeah. Only the mother talks in the house, which is why it is called the mother tongue.” Jokes apart, the language spoken at home is the mother tongue, and that language becomes the primary language.

Unlike the popular belief that we need to be proficient in English only, we need to be proficient in our mother tongue too. A person who can communicate well in one language can do so in another too. For example, our parents, who studied up to 10^th grade in Telugu, learned English at a later stage of their lives and excelled in English too.

Being proficient in English is important. Native speakers have problems speaking in English as they form the conversation in their native language and mentally translate it into English.

We become proficient if we can swear in the local language. Next time, observe the language used after a road accident. In the road rage, the drivers (even though dressed nattily in suits) or driving fancy Mercedes cars would swear in Hindi, Telugu, or Urdu, just like the streetside urchins. In times of stress, they automatically go back to the language that they are comfortable with—their mother tongue.

All languages are sweet, but some are sweeter than others. Telugu is called the Italian of the East as the language sounds musical as many words end with the sound lu. Many other languages are great to hear too. The Haryanvi Hindi is very glutaral and rough, and Bhojpuri is quite entertaining. Punjabi is tough.

I asked my Sardar friend about the difference between Hindi and Punjabi, and he gruffly replied, "Nothing, Rey. Speak Hindi loudly, and when you swear in Hindi, it becomes Punjabi." Even though it is not correct, there is logic. Quite often, the language and the grammar given in Haryana are untranslatable.

A father often directs an unprintable gali (or a swear word) towards his son. The father is not serious about the gali. Often, it is the way of speaking or talking. In Hyderabad, the word salla is used often and is not considered a swear word. The word sala is used in the Thai language too. Also known as a Sala Thai, Sala Thai is an open pavilion, used as a meeting place and to give people shade. 

A South Indian was working in Kolkata, Bengal. His neighbour had called him one day for bhojan (dinner). The South Indian was excited. Bengali food is tasty and has mouthwatering fish curries.

He eagerly goes to his neighbour’s house in the evening. He finds all his other neighbours there as well. They were sitting on the floor and chanting hymns and prayers. This goes on for two hours. The South  Indian was getting frantic.

His stomach was grumbling, but he sat and waited. Maybe the bhojan will be served after the prayers! But to his dismay, a small amount of Prasad is served. All his neighbours were going home. Hurt and terribly hungry, he looks at his host. His host folds his hands and says, “Thank you very much for coming to our house to attend the Bhojan." The reality hits the South Indian hard. His neighbour meant “Bhajan—praying and singing—and not Bhojan eating." 

Similarly, a lot of words have different meanings in different languages. For example, at Bahirdar in Ethiopia, where I worked, I had an Indian neighbour named Chidambaram. His wife's name was Usha. She was constantly teased. Urchins would call after her “Ushe, Ushe, Ushe.”.

Ushe is the Amharic word for a dog. We had a teacher from Karnataka, Chika Swamy. Chikka in Kannada means younger. Chika Swamy was slightly eccentric, and his students quickly christened him Chigga Swamy (Chigga in Amharic is mad).

In Punjabi, the term "Munda" refers to a boy. There's a well-known Akshay Kumar song with the lyrics "Amma Dekh, Amma Dekh tera Munda Bigada jai (Mother, watch out, your son is getting spoiled)." However, in the Telugu-speaking states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, "Munda" carries a significantly different and derogatory meaning. Here, it refers to a woman who has lost her husband, a woman with questionable character, or even a prostitute. 

A Hindi-speaking boy had fallen in love with a Telugu girl. There was resistance from both families. But love prevailed, and the boy’s family finally retreated and accepted the proposal. The women from the boy’s side visited the girl’s house to discuss the marriage and the related ceremonies.

They knocked on the door. The girl’s mother opened the door and said, “Randi, Randi." The boy’s family simply exploded. “Humko Randi Bolte hai (she is calling us Randi)”. Upset and furious, they wanted to call off the wedding.

Nonplussed, a relative who knew both Hindi and Telugu intervened. He said with a huge smile, “Oh, no. Randi does not mean a prostitute or a sex worker. Randi, Randi means please come inside in Telugu. It is a very polite way of talking.”.

Similarly, when one says “Mota Bhai” in Gujarati, he is not making fun of our size. He is politely saying “Elder Brother." 

Ethiopian greeting for bye-bye is ‘Chao Chao’. It is easy for the Indians to pretend that they have quickly assimilated themselves and that they are one among the locals. I remember one Telugu teacher calling his wife and having a lengthy conversation. At the end of the conversation, my friends said “Okay take care, chao, Chao’.

The next day, my friend received an urgent communication from Dr. Naidu. My friend was received by Dr. Naidu, who told him that my friend’s wife had called. She was upset and concerned. She had asked Naidu sir “What is the issue with my husband? Why is he so angry? Is he not happy in Ethiopia? Why is he so upset with me? Why did he want to wish me death?” The poor lady was in tears.

 Dr. Naidu was concerned. He asked for an explanation from my friend and then his face lit up in a grin “Oh, oh, oh” he said “You wanted to impress your wife by saying Chao chao. You wanted to sound and act like an NRI who has settled in a foreign country for 20 years. You have forgotten that your wife does not know the meaning of ‘Chao Chao’ which sounds very much like Chavu chavu (the Telugu word for death). And, at the speed you talk during an international call, it must have sounded like chavu chavu”.

Dr. Naidu made my friend call his wife and made him tender a proper apology. Pray, tell me which wife would like her husband to call her from thousands of kilometres away and wish her death?  

So much so for the language. Learn the nuances of the other languages and don’t commit faux pas! 

Indian words that have a different meaning in another Language

	Word	Language	Language
1	Dabba	Hindi “Box”	Kannada Slang for “Waste /dumb, like dabba fellow”
2	Mota	Hindi “Fat”	Gujarati/Marathi “Elder Brother”
3	Kundi	Hindi “Door Latch”	Malayalam/ Tamil “Buttock”
4	Naayi	Hindi “Haircutter”	Tamil “Dog”
5	Chumma	Hindi “Kiss”	Tamil “Just like that”
6	Tatti	Hindi “Potty”	Telugu “A metal plate but spelt tatta”
7	Popat	Hindi “Parrot”	Marathi “Fool”
8	Kadak	Hindi “Strong”	Marathi “Awesome”
9	Chul	Hindi “Lust”	Bengali “Hair”
10	Munda	Punjabi “Boy”	Telugu “(Lady who lost her husband) also means a prostitute”
11	Pani	Hindi “Water”	Telugu “Work”
12	Batti	Hindi “Light”	Kannada “Copy in exams and in test”
13	Topi	Hindi “Cap”	Kannada “Cheat”
14	Gola	Hindi “Round”	Kannada “Torture”
15	Kal	Hindi “Tense (past, Present and future)”	Kannada “Flirt”
16	Thoka	Hindi “Crash/hot forcefully”	Telugu “Tail”
17	Chhatri	Hindi “Umbrella”	Kannada “Fraud”
18	Pungi	Hindi “An Indian instrument used by snake charmers”	Kannada Slang "lie”
Source:  coopwhoop.com/inothernews/double-meaning/
19	Randi	Hindi “Prostitute”	Telugu “Please come”
20	Chor	Hindi “Thief”	Malayalam “Rice”
21	Patti	Hindi “Bandage”	Malayalam “Dog”
22	Teri	Hindi “Yours”	Malayalam “Abuse/bad word”
23	Denge	Hindi, “Will give”	Telugu “F*** Off!”
24	Mool	Hindi “Speechless”	Tamil “Nose”
25	Kal	Hindi “Yesterday/Tomorrow”	Tamil “Rock/stone”
26	Singhara	Hindi “Fruit”	Bengali “Samosa”
27	Choti	Hindi “Younger sister or braid”	Bengali “Chappal”
28	Sollu	Tamil “tell me”	Telugu “Boring”
30	Sollu	Tamil “tell me”	Telugu “Saliva”
31	Nalla	Telugu “black”	Tamil “Good”
32	Illey	Tamil “No”	Telugu “Illu means house”
33	Irruku	Tamil “Available”	Telugu “Narrow Space”
34	Vannakam	Tamil “Good Morning”	Telugu “We will not shiver”
35	Pataka	Hindi “Firecracker”	Telugu “Flag”
36	Thali	Hindi “Meal or a plate”	Telugu “Mangalasutra”
37	Mitti	Hindi, "Soil" or "earth,"	Punjabi "Clay"
38	Lal	Hindi “Red”	Bengali “Loving, Lovely, very good”
39	Pata	Hindi, "Address" or "information,"	Bengali "leaf."
40	Chacha	Hindi, "Paternal uncle"	Urdu "Old man" or "elderly person."
41	Batti	Hindi “Light”	Telugu “Learn by rote or by heart”
42	Chai	Hindi “Tea”	Bengali Chal “Rice”
43	Romba	Tamil “A large quantity”	Telugu Rambha “A beautiful lady”
44	Pasi	Tamil “Hungry”	Telugu “Young like Pasivadu”
45	Selavu	Tamil “Expenditure”	Telugu “Holiday”
46	Thondere	Tamil “Problem”	Telugu “Haste”

  

Dabba, Mota, Kundi, Naayi, Chumma, Tatti, Popat, Kadak, Chul, Munda, Pani, Batti Topi, Gola, Kal, Thoka, Chhatri, Pungi, Randi, Chor