Punjabi and Romani Similarities

Here are the similarities, I was speaking of in the Romani Origins post, between the Punjabi words I seen on the website and our Romani words.

I'm sure there are a great deal more. I know some of the spellings aren't going to be completely accurate, but then again who really knows how they should be spelled. It's not like we have documented history. Here goes...

Thief or to steal in Punjabi is Chor, which is identical to our Chor.

I, referring to one's self in Punjabi is Mai'n, which could easily be turned into our Mandi.

You in Punjabi is Tusi, which is very similar to our Tudi.

Trousers in Punjabi is Pajamas. To get our word of Trammers all you have to do is combine the Punjabi word with the English word and you can easily see where we got the word.

Face in Punjabi is Moo'nh, so you can easily see where we got our Moo'eh.

Eye in Punjabi is Aakh. All we done was add a Y to the front to get Yaakh.

Ear in Punjabi is Kaan, which is pretty much exactly the word we use, Kan.

Nose in Punjabi is Naak. We have the exact match with Naak.

Punjabi use the words Pair and Pauree' for Foot and Stairs. We use the very similar word of Pare' for our feet and the way we might get up those Stairs.

Agay and Aithay are Punjabi for In Front Of and Here. We use the very similar Akai.

Puraa'naa is Punjabi for Old. We simply dropped the ending and came up with Pu'ri.

Nashaa was Punjabi for Poisoning, which to them was being Sick. We, of course, use Naphla.

Aa'u is Come in Punjabi. We use Au'v.

Jaa is Punjabi for Go. We use Jaal.

Eat in Punjabi is Khaa. All we done was drop the the K to get Haa.

Listen in Punjabi is Sun. We added an H and came up with Shun.

One in Punjabi is Ikk. We use Yek.

Two in Punjabi is Dooja. We use Doo'eh.

Three in Punjabi is Tinn. We use Trin or Tren.

Navaa'n is New in Punjabi. We use the very similar Nivee.

Heavy in Punjabi is Bhaaree, which you can easily be turned into our Bori or Bor.

Yes in Punjabi is Haa'n, which is pretty close to our Haa'vh.

Vekh is Punjabi for Look. We use Dikh or Dekh.

Khed is Punjabi for Play. We use Khel.

Cheer is Punjabi for Cut. We use Cheuri for Knife.

Day in Punjabi is Din, which is similar to our Div or Divvus.

Changa and Kush is Good and Happy in Punjabi. We use Kush, Kushti or Kushta.

Utay is There in Punjabi. We use Ado'eh, which sound very similar.

Sutta is Sleep in Punjabi. We use Sutti.

Danda is Punjabi for Teeth. We use Danders.

Pani is Punjabi for Water. We use the exact word, Pani.

Mutarna is Punjabi for Urinate. We use Mutar.

Bal is Hair in Punjabi, just as Bal is the word we use.

Bhaqwan is Lucky in Punjabi. We use use Bok for Luck.

Bhukha is Hungry in Punjabi. We use Bhukla.

Larki is the Punjabi word for Girl. I found it interesting that if you unscramble the letters you can come up with the word we use for Girl, Rakli.

Chooma is Punjabi for Kiss. We use Choomer.

Loki is Punjabi for People or Folk. We use Folki or Foki. Kind of interesting we probably blended the English and the Punjabi over time.

Bhojan is a word Punjabi sometimes use for Food. We use Hovan, Haavan or Haaban. Pretty similar if the B is silent in the Punjabi word.

Jun is Punjabi for Louse. We use Juv or Joov.

Kar is Punjabi for Do. We use Kur or Cur.

Kala is Punjabi for Black. We use the same word, Kala or Colla.

Name in Punjabi is Nan. We use Nav.

Matawala in Punjabi is Drunk. Mawda or Mawta is our word.

Yalghar is a Weapon in Punjabi. We use Yager or Yoger for Gun.

I like how this one works out. Punjabi for Body is Tan. We use Tan for House. Our Body is essentially our House isn't it? So, it seems to figure over a thousand years this very easily could have made the transformation from Tan being used for Body to Tan being used for House.

Well, believe it or not this is a short list. There are many, many more I'm sure. There are probably many of our words that have no root whatsoever in the Punjabi language, like Gadji for example. But, when you think about it, some words wouldn't, would they? Many of our words were either invented or picked up through our travels and stays in other countries over our 1,000 year journey. And a great deal more was blended with those countries other words to form new ones.

Anyhow, as I stated before, I know all the words aren't spelled exactly right. Then again, I really don't think any of us really know how they are spelled. We really haven't been a literate culture in the past. I did the best I could, but I think you get the gist of the idea. It would be pretty hard to deny our Punjabi roots. Thanks for reading and take care.

I'll be typin' at ya later,

Bob the Blogger