Few Hindi words that are now in Oxford Dictionary

As people celebrated ‘Hindi Diwas’ on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted people on the occasion and highlighted how the language attracts so many people because of its simplicity, spontaneity, and simplicity.

There are so many words that people who don’t even speak the language have picked up and use them on a regular basis. That’s probably why there are many Hindi words that have been added to the Oxford Dictionary. Here’s a list of a few of them.

JUGAAD

In 2017, the word was added to the Oxford Dictionary. The dictionary describes the word as “a flexible approach to problem-solving that uses limited resources in an innovative way.” Well, isn’t it our favourite word?

DADAGIRI

This popularly used word was also added to the Oxford Dictionary in the same year. The Oxford dictionary translates the meaning of this word as “the act of using strength and power to frighten or hurt weaker people.”

JUNGLE

One of the most commonly used words in Hindi and English is “jungle,” which was one of the very few words to be picked up from India by the Oxford dictionary. The word originated from Sanskrit and came to the English language via Hindi.

CHAMCHA

It is a very regularly used Hindi word and has been described by the dictionary as “a person who tries too hard to please somebody, especially somebody who is important”.

CHAKKA JAM

This one was also added to the dictionary in 2017. The dictionary describes the word as “ a protest in which people block a road or cause a traffic jam.”

DIDI

Another word commonly used by Hindi speakers. Oxford defines it succinctly as “older female cousin.” 

ACHCHA

Oxford added this word among 90 other words it picked from various languages in India in 2017. The dictionary describes the word as “used to show that the speaker agrees with, accepts, understands, etc. something.”

TIMEPASS

To all those who thought it was an actual English word, you’re wrong! There wasn’t any such English word in the dictionary until 2017. The dictionary describes the word as “the action of spending time doing something, especially something that has no aim or is not very useful”.

The few other words that the English dictionary picked include Bas, Jhuggi, Funda, Nivas, Gully, Natak, Sevak, Sevika, Chup, Surya Namaskar, Desh, Diya, Bada Din, among many others.