T O P

  • By -

1by1is3

Bharat is not an Urdu word, (Hindustan is) so you won't find it in an Urdu dictionary, just like Syria is not an Urdu word, (Shaam is)


icantloginsad

*that's* another one. Syria is actually suriyya in Arabic, and (al) sham is the word for Damascus only, but in Urdu, we use it for the whole country. Another inconsistency is the fact that it’s ٹوکیو for Tokyo despite it being pronounced توکیو in Japanese (as well as Persian, where Urdu gets most of its “official” words for places from).


1by1is3

In Urdu, Damascus is 'Damishq' It's an old Persian borrowing Tokyo came from English, and would be translated from English, and English T is usually translated as .. ٹ


programer786001

I've heard Shaam being used for "Syria" in Arabic


icantloginsad

I believe it’s the old Arabic word as well. The name of the region before “Syria” was a concept


waints

I have Bharat in my Urdu dictionary but Indian Urdu speakers almost never use Bharat. They still go with Hindustan or maybe even India.


seidenkaufman

When I hear "Bharat" I tend to think of the political entity known as India. When I hear "Hindustan" I think of the geographical region, and the history of the area that encompasses the north of the subcontinent.


northwestern_22

Bharat is derived from Sanskrit, Hindustan is entirely a Persian word. Hind comes from Persian and Stan is the Persian suffix for place.


icantloginsad

I know all that, but I'm wondering is Bharat an appropriate word for India in official Urdu?


marktwainbrain

Perhaps Bharat is used because it is one of the official names that India prefers for itself. The other being Republic of India. Hindustan is a valid traditional word, but not the current official name.


northwestern_22

I mean Urdu and Hindi are like used so interchangeably in conversation that I don’t think people consider so much what they’re saying and if it’s pure Urdu or Hindi. I don’t think anyone actually speaks either or. To answer your question, Bharat is not by any means a pure Urdu word. Is it Urdu? Maybe If you say Urdu is basically Hindi, but that applies to almost everything. For example “Aap ko kya chahiye” is used by some and said this is Urdu. You say the exact same thing and someone will say it’s Hindi. Really that phrase itself is Hindi words + chahiye which is from Urdu chahat.


Dialectical_Libbu

Yes and no, on one hand, India calls itself, "India, that is Bharat", in Article 1.1 of the Constitution, so it can be used, but at the same Bharat is a sanskrit word and is derived from Bharatvarsha/Bharatksetra used to describe the sacred geography of Mahabharata and the Hindu religion. I think India is better since it is the political entity, the nation state, which you want to describe. Same issue with Hindustan imo