Giri: Noun, Surname, Verb or Slang in Hindi? Posted by Nitin Kumar on Apr 8, 2013 in Hindi Language
Some words have multiple meanings in different contexts, regions, etc.
One of our reader has pointed out an interesting word and its usage in Hindi. That word is, गिरी (Giri) which is a versatile word which can be used as noun, surname, verb as well slang in the certain parts of India. I thought to answer the question about this word and how this word is being used in Hindi to my best possible knowledge.
गिरी (Giri) as Slang/New Words
Giri is used as a slang in the North and Western India. Moreover, new words are being invented by using giri as suffix.
तुम्हारी यह दादागिरी यहाँ नहीं चलेगी। (Tumhari yeh dadagiri yahan nahi chalayegi) – lit. Your bullying will not run here.
गांधीगिरी (Gandhigiri) – refering to tenets of Gandhism. This is relatively new term which was invented in a famous Hindi movie, Lage Raho Munna bhai.
गिरी (Giri) as Noun
It is also used as noun meaning Seed, Nucleus, Core, Center. Some of the examples are:
काजू की गिरी (Kaju ki giri) – Cashew kernel
बादाम की गिरी (Baadam ki giri) – Almond kernel
मुंगफली की गिरी (Maungfali ki giri) – Kernel of groundnuts
Another synonyms for गिरी (Giri) is पहाड़ी (Pahadi) which means a small mountain. Some of the examples are:
नीलगिरी की पहाड़ी – Nilgiri ki pahaadi – Mountain of Nilgiri.
This is also used as a surname in India.
गिरी (Giri) as Verb
As verb गिरना (Girna) – to fell down. To form the intransitive verb for feminine grammatical gender, we use Giri as shown in the following example:
कमला छत से कल गिरी थी। (Kamala Cht se kal giri thi) – Kamala fell from the roof yesterday.
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Comments:
Barbara Haugen:
Hi!
My adopted daughter was born in Kolkata.
We gave her the middle name “Girija” because we were told that it meant “Daughter of the Mountains”. Since we living in the mountains of New Hampshire, USA, when she came to us, when she came to us that seemed like the perfect name.
Since then I have not found many Hindi speakers who have heard the name “Girija”.
Have you?
Do you know the meaning?
Thanks!
Nitin Kumar:
@Barbara Haugen Hi Barbara,
Sorry for such a late reply. Whoever told you the meaning was right, the name means daughter of the mountain.
Hope this help.
Bhavna thakur:
Tell me about new words used by teenagers in daily life
Andrew:
Why is giri listed as “black walnut” on the web?
Can giri mean “slow witted”?
Nitin Kumar:
@Andrew No, it doesn’t mean slow witted in Hindi.