{"id":8803,"date":"2019-05-08T06:00:02","date_gmt":"2019-05-08T06:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/?p=8803"},"modified":"2019-05-08T03:07:02","modified_gmt":"2019-05-08T03:07:02","slug":"echo-words-in-hindi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/hindi\/echo-words-in-hindi\/","title":{"rendered":"Echo Words in Hindi"},"content":{"rendered":"

While learning Hindi, you may have noticed a phenomenon known as “echo words.” This grammatical structure is fairly common and informal and most often consists of an established word, such as “\u091a\u093e\u092f\/chaay” <\/strong>(tea) and a made-up word that rhymes with it (the most common example in this case is “\u0935\u093e\u092f\/vaay”<\/strong>) that adds a more general sense to the first word. Not all of the “echo” words begin with “\u0935\/va” and, indeed, the second word in the pair usually owes its provenance to the speaker’s own imagination as well as established, informal conventions. These echo words convey various senses based on their context – they can be simple expressions of a speaker’s creativity, they can convey a dismissive tone and they can also be an expression of vagueness or non-specificity. Let’s look at a few examples below:<\/p>\n

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Chai\/\u091a\u093e\u092f is never complete without the \u0935\u093e\u092f\/vaay, or a small snack that goes alongside it, such as these samose\/\u0938\u092e\u094b\u0938\u0947. Image by Abhi Misthi on Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.<\/p><\/div>\n

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  1. \u0939\u092e\u093e\u0930\u0947 \u092e\u0947\u0939\u092e\u093e\u0928\u094b\u0902 \u0915\u0947 \u0932\u093f\u090f \u0915\u0941\u091b \u091a\u093e\u092f-\u0935\u093e\u092f \u091c\u0932\u094d\u0926\u0940 \u0932\u093e\u0913<\/strong> \u0964<\/strong> (Humaare mehmaano ke liye kuch chaay-vaay jaldi laao). Bring our guests some tea or something (or, some tea and the fixings) quick.<\/em> *In this case, the sense is of vagueness or non-specificity. However, \u091a\u093e\u092f-\u0935\u093e\u092f is also an accepted turn of phrase, which refers to “tea” and the “fixings” (biscuits, sandwiches, cake, etc.).<\/li>\n
  2. \u0906\u092a \u0915\u0948\u0938\u0947 \u0939\u0948\u0902 \u0906\u091c? (\u092e\u0948\u0902) \u0920\u0940\u0915-\u0920\u093e\u0915 (\u0939\u0942\u0901) \u0964<\/strong>\u00a0(Aap kaise hain aaj? (Main) thik thaak (huun). How are you today? I’m alright.<\/em> *In this sentence, \u0920\u0940\u0915-\u0920\u093e\u0915 (where \u0920\u093e\u0915 rhymes with \u0920\u0940\u0915 and is not a word in its own right) has become a part of the established lexicon and means something like “alright,” “ok,” “fine” or “so so.”<\/li>\n
  3. \u092e\u0948\u0902 \u0936\u0928\u093f\u0935\u093e\u0930 \u0915\u094b \u092c\u093e\u091c\u093c\u093e\u0930 \u091c\u093e\u0928\u093e \u092c\u093f\u0932\u094d\u0915\u0941\u0932 \u092a\u0938\u0902\u0926 \u0928\u0939\u0940\u0902 \u0915\u0930\u0924\u0940 – \u0935\u0940\u0915\u0947\u0902\u0921 \u0915\u0947 \u0926\u094c\u0930\u093e\u0928 \u0935\u0939\u093e\u0901 \u092a\u0947 \u092d\u0940\u0921\u093c \u092d\u093e\u0921\u093c \u0924\u094b \u092c\u0939\u0941\u0924 \u091c\u093c\u094d\u092f\u093e\u0926\u093e \u0939\u0948 \u0964<\/strong> (Main shanivaar ko baazaar jaanaa bilkul pasand nahin karti – weekend ke dauraan vahaan pe bheer bhaar to bahut zyaada hai). I don’t like to go to the market on Saturday at all – during the weekend, it is way too crowded.<\/em> *Again, \u092d\u0940\u0921\u093c \u092d\u093e\u0921\u093c started out life as a mere echo phrase but has evolved to the level of an accepted, standard expression to connote a huge crowd or “hustle and bustle” in Hindi.<\/li>\n
  4. \u0935\u0947 (\u0935\u0939) \u0932\u094b\u0917 \u0939\u092e\u0947\u0936\u093e \u0905\u092a\u0928\u0947 \u0938\u093e\u0925 \u0915\u093e\u092e \u0915\u0930\u0928\u0947 \u0935\u093e\u0932\u094b\u0902 \u0915\u0947 \u092c\u093e\u0930\u0947 \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0917\u092a\u0936\u092a \u0915\u0930 \u0930\u0939\u0947 \u0939\u0948\u0902 – \u0909\u0928\u0915\u094b \u0915\u0941\u091b \u092e\u0924 \u092c\u0924\u093e\u0913 \u0964<\/strong> (Voh log hameshaa apne saath kaam karne vaalon ke baare me gapshap kar rahe hain – unko kuch mat bataao). Those people are always gossiping about their coworkers – don’t tell them anything.<\/em> *Again, \u0917\u092a-\u0936\u092a has become part of the established lexicon and means simply “gossip.” \u0917\u092a, by itself, means casual talk or gossip while \u0936\u092a is not a word in its own right.<\/li>\n
  5. \u0907\u0938 \u092b\u0949\u0930\u094d\u092e \u0915\u094b \u092d\u0930\u0928\u0947 \u0915\u0947 \u0932\u093f\u090f \u092e\u0941\u091d\u0947 \u092a\u0947\u0902\u0938\u093f\u0932 \u0935\u0947\u0902\u0938\u093f\u0932 \u0915\u0940 \u091c\u093c\u0930\u0942\u0930\u0924 \u092a\u0921\u093c\u0947\u0917\u0940 \u0964<\/strong> (Is form ko bharne ke liye mujhe pencil-vensil ki zaroorat paregi). I’ll need a pencil or something to fill out this form.<\/em> *In this instance, there is a lack of specificity surrounding which writing instrument will be necessary, indicating that a pen or pencil will do the trick.<\/li>\n
  6. \u0938\u093e\u0930\u0947 \u0926\u093f\u0928 \u090f\u0915 \u0915\u0947 \u092c\u093e\u0926 \u090f\u0915 \u092c\u0947\u0915\u093e\u0930 \u092e\u0940\u091f\u093f\u0902\u0917 \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0917\u092f\u093e \u0939\u0942\u0901 – \u090f\u0915 \u0914\u0930 \u092e\u0940\u091f\u093f\u0902\u0917-\u0936\u0940\u091f\u093f\u0902\u0917 \u092e\u0947\u0902 \u0925\u094b\u0921\u093c\u0947 \u0939\u0940 \u091c\u093e\u0909\u0901\u0917\u093e \u0964 <\/strong>(Saare din ek ke baad ek bekaar meeting me gayaa huun – ek aur meeting-sheeting me thore hi jaaungaa). All day, I’ve gone to one useless meeting after the other – I’m not about to go to another meeting or anything else of the kind.<\/em> *Here, the echo word is used to express disdain of the “useless meetings” that have already taken place and the speaker’s vehement refusal to waste his time with another one.<\/li>\n
  7. \u0935\u0915\u0940\u0932\u094b\u0902 \u0915\u094b \u0932\u0917\u0924\u093e \u0939\u0948 \u0915\u093f \u0909\u0938\u0928\u0947 \u091c\u093e\u0928-\u092c\u0942\u091d\u0915\u0930 \u0905\u092a\u0928\u0947 \u092d\u093e\u0908 \u0915\u093e \u0915\u0924\u094d\u0932 \u0915\u093f\u092f\u093e \u0964<\/strong> (Vakeelon ko lagtaa hai ki usne jaan-bujhkar apne bhaai kaa katal kiyaa). The lawyers think that he purposefully killed his brother.<\/em> *This is a slightly different situation where two words that have a similar meeting are used together in a phrase that has become an established part of the Hindi lexicon: \u091c\u093e\u0928=is from \u091c\u093e\u0928\u0928\u093e, to know, \u092c\u0942\u091d\u0915\u0930=is from \u092c\u0942\u091d\u0928\u093e, to understand.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \"\"<\/a>

    A bazaar\/\u092c\u093e\u091c\u093c\u093e\u0930 (marketplace) in Hyderabad; image by Julia Gross on Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

    While learning Hindi, you may have noticed a phenomenon known as “echo words.” This grammatical structure is fairly common and informal and most often consists of an established word, such as “\u091a\u093e\u092f\/chaay” (tea) and a made-up word that rhymes with it (the most common example in this case is “\u0935\u093e\u092f\/vaay”) that adds a more general…<\/p>\n

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