# Urdu: advertisement, advertising, advertised, etc.



## Alfaaz

*Background:*

_advertisement:_ اشتہار 
_advertised:_ مشتہر
_advertising:_ _______

*Questions:*

Would forum members consider the words listed above appropriate/correct for _advertisement_ and _advertised_?
Which words or expressions would be used in Urdu for _advertising/to advertise_?


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## eskandar

What do you think of اشتہارات for 'advertizing' and تشہیر کرنا for 'to advertize' ?


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## Alfaaz

I am glad you asked this question eskandar SaaHib! 

اشتہارات is used as the plural (_advertisements/commercials_) of اشتہار

تشہیر کرنا is often used in this sense now. However, this usage is considered incorrect by many. It is said that the original (major) meaning was ذلیل اور رسوا کرنا - _to publicly humiliate/expose _(as listed in Platts as well), which seems to be used in poetry:

رسوائی مقدر ہے میرا ، تم خوب کرو تشہیر میری - سیف الدین سیف

This was the reason for asking what words would be appropriate for _advertising/to advertise_.

Edit: However, Urdu Lughat does have (لفظا } شہرت پانا، ڈھنڈورا پیٹنا، منادی کرنا، مشہور کرنا، شہرت دینا۔ }) for تشہیر.


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## eskandar

Alfaaz said:


> تشہیر کرنا is often used in this sense now. However, this usage is considered incorrect by many. It is said that the original (major) meaning was ذلیل اور رسوا کرنا - _to publicly humiliate/expose _(as listed in Platts as well), which seems to be used in poetry:
> 
> رسوائی مقدر ہے میرا ، تم خوب کرو تشہیر میری - سیف الدین سیف
> 
> This was the reason for asking what words would be appropriate for _advertising/to advertise_.
> 
> Edit: However, Urdu Lughat does have (لفظا } شہرت پانا، ڈھنڈورا پیٹنا، منادی کرنا، مشہور کرنا، شہرت دینا۔ }) for تشہیر.


Unless there is another more appropriate word, I'd say that the original meaning (like that captured by Platts baabaa 130 years ago) need not restrict its usage today. The meaning of words often changes over time (linguists call this 'semantic drift'); 'awful' originally meant "inspiring reverence or awe" whereas now it mostly means "very bad". Indeed "advertise" in English originally meant "to give warning about something" but now has come to primarily connote something that scarcely existed when the word first began to be used in the 1400s.


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## Alfaaz

^ Thanks eskandar SaaHib. Here is a reference (which was also presented in Urdu: براہِ / برائے ؛ از راہِ post # 13 as an explanation of براہِ مہربانی being the correct phrase). 


> ٭تشہیر: مثال: ہماری کمپنی کے مال کی تشہیر کے لیے ہوشیار اور محنتی ایجنٹوں کی ضرورت ہے۔’’تشہیر‘‘ قدیم زمانے سے ذلیل اور رُسوا کرنے کے معنوں میں آتا ہے۔ مثلاً ’’چور کا منہ کالا کرکے گدھے پر سوار کیا گیا اور سارے شہر میں پھرا کر تشہیر کی گئی۔‘‘ لیکن آج کل غلطی سے یہ اشتہار یا پبلسٹی کے معنوں میں استعمال ہونے لگا ہے۔ اس کے بجائے ‘‘اشتہار‘‘ یا ’’مشتری‘‘ جیسا لفظ ہونا چاہیے۔


Of course, you are correct in saying that meanings and usages of words can change over time.


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## marrish

to advertise: _mash_huurii karnaa. ishtihaar karnaa. ishtihaar denaa._
advertisement: _ishtihaar, nashr-o-ishaa3at_
advertising: _ishtihaar, ishtihaarii muhimm, mash_huurii muhimm, ishtihaar-baazii
_advertised: _mushtahar, ishtihaar kiyaa hu'aa, ishtihaar kiyaa jaane waalaa, jis kii mash_huurii hone waalii hae._


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## Sheikh_14

eskandar said:


> Unless there is another more appropriate word, I'd say that the original meaning (like that captured by Platts baabaa 130 years ago) need not restrict its usage today. The meaning of words often changes over time (linguists call this 'semantic drift'); 'awful' originally meant "inspiring reverence or awe" whereas now it mostly means "very bad". Indeed "advertise" in English originally meant "to give warning about something" but now has come to primarily connote something that scarcely existed when the word first began to be used in the 1400s.



Very true as is also the case with fantastic which in literary english has a far different meaning to what it does colloquially,  same goes for awesome. Semantic drift also exists and very much so in Urdu due to its rekhta I.e. mixed nature whereby it incorporates loan words and adapts them; as is the case with the word khatir of arabic origin which has seen its definition morph subtly with its arrival in the Urdu language.


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## Sheikh_14

marrish said:


> to advertise: _mash_huurii karnaa. ishtihaar karnaa. ishtihaar denaa._
> advertisement: _ishtihaar, nashr-o-ishaa3at_
> advertising: _ishtihaar, ishtihaarii muhimm, mash_huurii muhimm, ishtihaar-baazii
> _advertised: _mushtahar, ishtihaar kiyaa hu'aa, ishtihaar kiyaa jaane waalaa, jis kii mash_huurii hone waalii hae._



For advertised how about Ishtihaar karda/shuda?

How would you say someone works for an advertising agency or is an advertiser?


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## marrish

Sheikh_14 said:


> For advertised how about Ishtihaar karda/shuda?
> 
> How would you say someone works for an advertising agency or is an advertiser?


Also possible, right. 
اشتہار کار _ishtihaar~kaar_ or اشتہار ساز _ishtihaar~saaz_.


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## Alfaaz

The entry in Platts for مشتہر mentions two pronunciations (and lists them as passive or active). Is the following correct (similar to _musta3mal - used _and _musta3mil - user_) or is it being suggested that both pronunciations are used with the same meaning?

_mushtahar - advertised
mushtahir - advertiser

_Thanks for all the detailed contributions!


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## marrish

Alfaaz said:


> The entry in Platts for مشتہر mentions two pronunciations (and lists them as passive or active). Is the following correct (similar to _musta3mal - used _and _musta3mil - user_) or is it being suggested that both pronunciations are used with the same meaning?
> 
> _mushtahar - advertised
> mushtahir - advertiser
> 
> _Thanks for all the detailed contributions!


You're welcome. As far as my language experience is concerned, the active participle (cf. mushtah*i*r) is not used in the sense of "advertiser". In my view Platts listed both of them as he heard it but all the meanings he attributed to it are that of the passive participle. His explanation about act. and pass. in brackets is only a piece of extra information but it is formal on grounds of Arabic grammar, not that of Urdu. Neither I can recollect any instance of "musta3mil" being used as a participial adjective in the active sense in Urdu. Therefore, it is possible that the pronunciation "_mushtahir_" "_mushtamil_" "_musta3mil_" is found and perhaps it is quite frequent on top of that, but all these words indicate the passive meaning of these adjectives/participles. Of course those in the know and whose language continues on the lines of the family traditions or/and good language instruction would only use these words with "a" not with "i".

I agree generally with eskandar SaaHib's remarks however I would personally not advocate _tash_hiir_ for "advertising" because it has a quite established usage which is valid as of now too, not only archaic or obsolete and above all, why use such a confusing word when we have many other possibilities which are more comprehensible as well.

Shaikh_14's remark about khatir and Urdu is however not clear to me.


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## Alfaaz

Once again, thanks to everyone for answering!


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## marrish

A couple of words about tashhiir (Rasheed Hasan Khan):

مجھے ایک واقعہ یاد آیا۔ ایک صاحب اپنے مضمون میں یہ لکھنا چاہتے تھے کہ فلاں صاحب کو بہت شہرت ملی۔ اِس مطلب کو ادا کرنے کے لیے اُنھوں نے لکھا: "اُن کی خوب تشہیر ہوئی"۔ یہ مضمون ایک محفل میں پڑھا گیا، لوگوں نے "تشہیر" پر اعتراض کیا۔ اُن سے کہا گیا کہ اس سے تو اُلٹا مطلب نکلتا ہے کہ وہ بہت رُسوا ہوئے، اُن کی بدنامی ہوئی۔
اعتراض درست تھا۔ "تشہیر" کے معنی ہیں: رُسوا کرنا۔ پرانے زمانے میں سزا دینے کا ایک طریقہ یہ بھی تھا کہ مجرم کا مُنہ کالا کر کے، اُسے گدھے پر بٹھا کر، شہر کی گلیوں اور سڑکوں پر گھمایا جاتا تھا۔ اس کو "تشہیر" کہتے تھے۔ مولانا محمد حسین آزاد: نے اپنی کتاب دربارِ اکبری میں ایک واقعہ لکھا ہے:۔
لشکر خاں میر بخشی ایک دن شراب پی کر دربار میں آیا اور بدمستیاں کرنے لگا۔ اکبر بہت خفا ہوا۔ گھوڑے کی دُم سے بندھوایا اور لشکر خاں کو لشکر میں تشہیر کیا۔ سب نشے ہرن ہو گئے"۔
اگر ہم اپنی عبارت میں شہرت کے معنی میں "تشہیر" لکھیں تو ہماری رُسوائی ہوگی۔ پڑھے لکھے لوگ کہیں گے کہ لکھنے والے کو اِس لفظ کے معنی نہیں معلوم۔​


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## Qureshpor

^ marrish SaaHib, your quoted piece illustrates the point eskandar SaaHib made earlier in this thread. We need to take into account the evolution of meanings and "tash_hiir", as far as Urdu is concerned, has acquired a negative sense going from publicity to negative publicity. 

Getting back to the original question, for Alfaaz SaaHib's information, from the Arabic perspective "ishtihaar" is both an advertisement and advertising. qatluhu is both us kaa qatl honaa AND us kaa qatl karnaa.

So, in summary, and stealing marrish SaaHib's thoughts..

To advertise: ishtihaar denaa

advertisement: ishtihaar

advertising: ishtihaar karnaa, ishtihaar-kaarii (ishtihaar-baazii may have slightly different connotation)

May be, a suffix such as -garii could be used for any noun to change it to a process. 

Advertising: ishtihaar-garii

advertised: mushtahar and "ishtihaar-shud" (See post 3 http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2191652&highlight=word-formation )


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## Sheikh_14

marrisish said:


> mash_huurii in thearnaa. ishtihaar karnaa. ishtihaa denaa.[/I]
> advertisement: _ishtihaar, nashr-o-ishaa3at_
> advertising: _ishtihaar, ishtihaarii muhimm, mash_huurii muhimm, ishtihaar-baazii
> _advertised: _mushtahar, ishtihaar kiyaa hu'aa, ishtihaar kiyaa jaane waalaa, jis kii mash_huurii hone waalii hae._



Summaries are a good way to go about such threads so that we know exactly where matters stand.

Advertisement: (Without a speck of a doubt) Ishtihaar. Thats done and dusted.

Advertising: Ishtihaar banaanaa, not too sure about karnaa as It seems to be a direct translatation of to advertise and I have never come across it. But since two senior members have attested it it may well be right. Mashuurii karna (informal and of manifold usages wouldnt fit into the mould of technical nomenclature but can be used colloquially to mean that one is advertising something be it his own good deeds etc). 
Ishtihaar-saazii, Ishtihaar baazii (I think I understand QP Saahib's qualms here as it again may qualify to most at least in their vernacular as indulging in false or conceited advertising, since baazii as a suffix is used in such a manner quite often I.e. ilzaam-baazii, dhoke-baazii; nevertheless, it also carries the connotation of partaking in something I.e. gend-baazii thence the term in itself ought to be correct). ishtihaar gaarii isn't bad either.
However for an easy fix how about "Mushtahirii" as in the act of advertising.

To run an advert: Ishtihaar chalaana
Advertised: Ishtihaar-shud (for the cautious shudah I think either would do), Mushtahar and Ishtihaar kardaa
Advertiser: Mushtahir (is this used in arabic btw?),  Ishtihaar-saaz, Ishtihaar-gaar/kaar. Ishtihaar-baaz (if lost for words or are playing a joke, even when you mean well it is not wrong but interlocuter dependant).

With regards to tashhiir to preserve the richness of a language you cannot use every term helter-skelterly. Thus in light of how a word has evolved, Marrish and Qp sahiibain are correct.


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## Alfaaz

Thanks to everyone for presenting detailed comments, analyses, and references.


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