20 November 2008

Or not.

I lied when I said I would recognize Priyanka Chopra whenever I saw  her from now on. I just finished watching The Inner/Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan and I kept thinking, "Who IS that girl?" I should have known. 

What is wrong with me? I think there's a bug in my brain's facial recognition software, and only Priyanka triggers it.

02 November 2008

Hindi Word of the Day Archives for October 2008

sahelii (a girl's female friend) 

pahelii (puzzle, riddle, mystery, enigma)

aana (to come, to arrive, to know a language, to have a skill); aao! (come!)

lambaa (tall, long)

baat (matter, thing, something said); kyaa baat hai? (what's the matter?); koii baat nahiin (it doesn't matter, never mind)

rahna (to live, to stay); some verb forms: rahtaa, rahe

himmat (courage, spirit, resolve, nerve)

haan (yes); nahiiiiiin! (noooooo!)

khel (a game); khelnaa (to play); some verb forms: kheltaa, kheltii, khelte

kaagaz (paper, a piece of paper)

khilaarii [also transliterated as khiladi] (n. "one who plays", athlete, sportsman; adj. skilled at games, playful, mischievous)

milnaa (to meet)

jeb (a pocket); duniyaa merii jeb mein (the world in my pocket)

filmii (having to do with movies; melodramatic)

derh (one and a half); dhaaii (two and a half)

dono:m (both)

dhundh (fog, mist, gloom)

honaa (to be)

main huun (I am)

tuu hai (you are); tuu = 2nd person singular, intimate

tum ho (you are); tum = 2nd person plural, familiar; can also be used for 2nd person singular, polite

yah hai (he, she, it, THIS is); vah hai (he, she, it, THAT is); yah = 3rd person singular, nearby; vah = 3rd person singular, farther away

ham hain (we are)

aap hain (you are); aap = 2nd person plural, formal; also used for 2nd person singular, formal

ye hain (they/THESE are; he/she is [formal or respectful]); ve hain (they/THOSE are; he/she is [formal or respectful])

baarish (rain); barsaat (the rains, the rainy season)

thaa, thii (was); the, thiin (were)

thoraa [also transliterated as thoda] (a little, a few)

pal (a moment, an instant); pal pal (at every moment)

phamsnaa (to stick; to be trapped, stuck, caught, ensnared)

chashmaa (eyeglasses)

 

 

 

 

 

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Disclaimers:

I am not a native Hindi speaker. The words I list are either ones I have picked up by watching Bollywood movies or from perusing my Hindi reference books, including Teach Yourself Beginner's Hindi Script, Teach Yourself Hindi Dictionary, Teach Yourself Hindi Complete Course, Living Language Hindi Complete Course, and best of all, the enormous Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary. Despite all these reference sources, it is still totally possible that I read something wrong or misunderstood it--so keep in mind that this list is made by someone who's only been watching Hindi movies on a regular basis since November 2007 and has no previous experience with the language.