# Hindi/Urdu: dandruff



## lcfatima

How do you say dandruff? Platts gives "mal." I feel I have heard something like chipchip and chaaya in TV ads. My husband said it is khushki, but isn't that just general dryness?


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## Faylasoof

We also refer to dandruff as <xushkii>. Of course <xushkii> also means <land / dryness> and is used as an antonym for <tarii>, meaning <water / wetness / moisture>. The expression  <xushk o tar> implies <everywhere>.


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## BP.

Wouldn't aridity of the earth be _khushk saali_ and not just _khushki_?


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## bakshink

Dandruff in Hindi is called Roosi and in Punjabi- Sikri


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## BP.

Thanks, now I get what that advert meant "..._khushki o sikri door karay_".


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## Faylasoof

BelligerentPacifist said:


> Wouldn't aridity of the earth be _khushk saali_ and not just _khushki_?



I'm not using <xushkii> to mean _aridity_ but _land_ as in:

safar ke liye xushkii kaa rastah ixtiyaar karnaa

To adopt a land route for travel


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## Illuminatus

_Roosi_ is what it is called in Hindi, as bakshink mentioned.


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## lcfatima

What are chip chip and chaaya? Flakes?


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## Illuminatus

Never heard these terms in this context


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## bakshink

If "Balon main ye Chip Chip" or something like that they say in the Ad then they are referring to Chipchipahat which means greasiness or oiliness of the hair -chipchipahat is stickiness or such sensation owing to the oily or greasy nature of the hair (some people have that)- Chaaya I can't acknowledge- for roughness or dry hair the word often used is Khurdraapan- Khushki means dryness in general- in reference to body anywhere and then Khushk or Khushak mausam means -dry season (no rains)- Khushk mizaaz means humorless nature- Khushk Phulka means Chapaatee to which "ghee" has not been applied also called "bina chupRRa" in Hindi and "bina chopRRya" in Punjabi


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## BP.

Faylasoof said:


> I'm not using <xushkii> to mean _aridity_ but _land_ as in:
> safar ke liye xushkii kaa rastah ixtiyaar karnaa



Sorry I misread it.


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## lcfatima

Okay thanks. About chaaya, it could be some similar sounding word with aspirations or nasalizations that I can't perceive. 

Good to know about the chipchip.


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## bakshink

I wanted to ask if you have heard the word correctly? Well the word that you may have heard- now when you say (nasalization) most probably is "Shayiaan" or chhanyiaan- I think it's called Shayiaan because shaee in Punjabi which is Syahi in Hindi/Urdu is a word for Ink in English- Shayiaan or Chhaniyaan is what we call as Melasma in English- the irregular pigmentation patches on facial skin around cheeks and nose- Women have them often and they appear around pregnancy and stay or can appear anytime later as a reaction to skin treatments or due to stress, worry or some hormonal imbalance (so they say). This word you may have heard not in an Ad for the hair but facial products- Ye keel, Ye muhanse, ye chhayeean- Am I right?


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## lcfatima

That could be it. I will pay more attention to the commercials next time. We call that "mask of pregnancy."


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## Qureshpor

lcfatima said:


> How do you say dandruff? Platts gives "mal." I feel I have heard something like chipchip and chaaya in TV ads. My husband said it is khushki, but isn't that just general dryness?



*For dandruff, I have always heard and used the word, "bafaa".*


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## Faylasoof

Here we have خشكی   as a synonym for بفا (no.5)! BTW, for some reason we never use the latter!


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## greatbear

I have heard all three: "fiyaas", "roosi" and "khushki". The last one is a more general term, for aridity. One even has "khushki" in the throat at times! "Fiyaas" is commonly heard in north India.


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## Faylasoof

greatbear said:


> I have heard all three: "fiyaas", "roosi" and "khushki". The last one is a more general term, for aridity. One even has "khushki" in the throat at times! "Fiyaas" is commonly heard in north India.


 Oh yes! _xushkii_ is a very general term as my link above shows ( not sure if you can read Urdu!) but in the right context its meaning is always clear. We've never had a problem with it. 

Again, _fiyaas_ and _roosi _are also not used in our house!


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## Qureshpor

Faylasoof said:


> Here we have خشكی   as a synonym for بفا (no.5)! BTW, for some reason we never use the latter!



*Farhabg-i-'Aasifiyyah gives the entry for "bafaa" as follows.

fe.* ism-i-mu'annas. dimmaGh kii Khushkii ke baa'is jo sar meN chhilke se ho jaate haiN. sar kii Khushkii. sabuusah-i-sar (?). ruusii.*

* *I am not sure if fe for Farsi is correct. Both Platts and Steingass give it as Hindi, although the existence of a fe in the word "bafaa" might put a doubt for this proposition too.*


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## panjabigator

In my house, we say "sikri" in both Punjabi and Hindi. I am as of yet unsure if it is a Hindi or Punjabi word!


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## Qureshpor

panjabigator said:


> In my house, we say "sikri" in both Punjabi and Hindi. I am as of yet unsure if it is a Hindi or Punjabi word!



*Never heard of sikrii until today! Always "bafaa" in my household.*


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