50+ Basic Punjabi Words And Phrases — Useful Guide

Ling Learn Languages
4 min readAug 23, 2021

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Original blog post: https://ling-app.com/pa/punjabi-words-and-phrases/

Besides India and Pakistan, Punjabi is spoken among a vital overseas diaspora, particularly in the United Kingdom, the U.S.A, and Canada. Learn the necessary and basic Punjabi words and phrases with their meaning in English and pronunciation.

A famous saying is that you can find two rich things anywhere in Pakistan or India: potatoes and Punjabi! Well, I don’t know what potatoes are, but if it’s Punjabi, I must agree! So from east, west, and north to south, you can meet this very warm and kind person anywhere in this country.

The Punjabi language is classified as one of the members of the Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European language family. The word Punjabi is derived from Panj-āb, which means “Five Rivers” in Persian and refers to the five main tributaries of the eastern Indus River. Furthermore, the name of the region was presented by the Turkish-Persian conquerors in South Asia. Therefore, it translates the Sanskrit name Panchanada in the area, which means “land of five rivers.”

Basic Punjabi Words And Phrases

Basic Words

General Words

Numbers To Learn In Punjabi

20 Punjabi Words And Phrases For Your Vocabulary

  • Khottey De Puttar

Literal meaning: Son of a donkey (idiot)

  • Geydi

Literal meaning: To wander aimlessly, mostly to check out people of the opposite sex.

  • Pind

Literal meaning: Hometown

  • Balle Balle/ Shaava Shaava

Literal meaning: Expression of joy (but for a non-Punjabi, it is a racist way to greet any Punjabi).

  • Durr fitteh mun

Literal meaning: May your face burn in hell or keep your face away

  • Chak dey phattey

Literal meaning: C’mon or keep it up

  • Patola

Literal meaning: A hot or beautiful Punjabi girl

  • Gabroo Jawaan

Literal meaning: A young and well-built Punjabi boy or man

  • Kidaan! (Nasal expression)

Literal meaning: Wassup

  • Raula

Literal meaning: It means a bad or messed up situation

  • Boothi

Literal meaning: Face (mostly this word is used in a sarcastic way)

  • Mukk

Literal meaning: Over/finish (means something is finished or come to an end)

  • Praah!

Literal meaning: It means brother

  • Ghaint

Literal meaning: Awesome, super, or cool

  • Rab raakhaan

Literal meaning: God be with you (it’s a Punjabi variant of Khuda Hafiz, means goodbye)

  • Saanu Ki

Literal meaning: An Ultimate Answer After Hours Of Gossip

  • Siyapa

Problem

  • Changa

Literal meaning: Good or Ok

  • Jhappi!

Literal meaning: A Hug

  • Haey O Rabba!

Literal meaning: Dramatic way to call or remember God

There Are Two Common Types Of Punjabi

Punjab, Pakistan

Punjabi (all dialects) is the first language of 70% of Pakistan’s population. Pakistani Punjabi is also called Lahnda/Western Punjabi. There are many types of Punjabi languages in Randa, and sometimes different languages are considered, but they are all named after Randa (Western Punjabi). Punjabi is spoken in every province of Pakistan. In Pakistan’s Punjabi, 97% of people speak Punjabi. There are more than 20 Punjabi dialects in Punjab, Pakistan, and throughout Pakistan. Majhi dialect is the most uncomplicated dialect in Punjabi.

Punjab, India

2.4% of the Indian population speak Punjabi as their first language. Thus, 87% of Punjabi Indians speak Punjabi as their first language. Indian Punjabi is almost the same as Indian Punjabi, and it is easier to compare with Pakistani Punjabi.

Speak Like A Native — Learn The Punjabi Language With Ling

Learning a second language such as Punjabi by Ling app is like playing a game, as it is simple and effective. With support for language research, Ling can help you achieve flow in record time. The benefits of using Simya Solution’s Ling-app, Write Me, or Simply Learn for learning Punjabi or any other language are:

  • Master the language with lots of instructions and a grammar guide.
  • Fun mini-games and interesting quizzes can help you quickly master a new language (Ling-app offers 60+ languages).
  • Practice hundreds of conversations anytime, anywhere. Discuss daily topics with our chatbots.

The goal of these language learning apps is to make language learning as simple, entertaining, and easy to understand as possible. For more information, please visit the FAQ page.

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Ling Learn Languages
Ling Learn Languages

Written by Ling Learn Languages

Ling is a game-like language learning app with a pack of 60+ languages. You will learn languages in fun ways!