- fatafati: I think this is the local equivalent of Delhi's 'chak de phatte' (check an earlier blog for the meaning of that phrase)
- naika: This is an interesting word meaning a mix of 'chaloo', fussy, grating (used to describe women, and used only by other women incidentally :-). I heard this on a local radio channel where a girl said Ash-Abhishek should not marry cos Abhishek was sweet, whereas Aishwarya was very naika-naika
- hobe na: this is of course the catch phrase of communism. Literal translation is 'can't happen'. Everything has a stock reply - hobe na
- khobe: This is a Bengali word for ingest, as far as I have been able to figure out. So you can say bhat (rice) khobe, jol (water) khobe or even cigarette khobe
- ekta: This means one. So I have to tell the tea guy - ekta cha
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Bong words I've learnt so far
They say that the words you first pick up in a new city most characterise the city. Although I have not heard anyone speak in Bengali in Calcutta(!!!) so far other than the tea guy, here are a few words I've picked up:
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6 comments:
Some more commonly used words -
1) eta ki - what is this?
2) kechu nah - nothing at all
Result of Bong company through college years i guess.
cheers,
g
oye, "khobe" is incorrect "khabe" is right !
wrote you a long comment earlier abt what/whr to eat...twice...lost it both times...no inclination any more:)
kotler
Interestingly, in all my work-related interactions with Bengalis, the most common phrase I have heard is aaj hobe na :-)
ekta cha dooita singadha..kotto taka..
andy
how about 'chhilo'???dunno its meaning tho.
an interesting one .... kudi in bong means twenty.
the same in punj means girl.
kudi taka would be twenty rupees .... whereas kudi tota would be a beautiful girl
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