# Hindi: skin



## amiramir

Hello,

In conversational Hindi, which word is used for (human) skin? The only word I know is from a Nusrat qawwali (खाल ) and so I'm not sure if people use this in daily life (or whether it's more a Punjabi or Urdu word). 

Is the skin of an animal the same? 

For the purpose of this question, we are not interested in skin of nuts, fruits, etc.

Thank you. It's a real gift to be able to get native speakers' opinions.


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## littlepond

In Hindi, खाल is the word we use mostly for human skin; for animals' skin, we usually use चमड़ी.* Leather is चमड़ा.

*This word may also be used figuratively for a human with a "tough hide" (as in "बड़ी मोटी चमड़ी है उसकी").


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## amiramir

Thank you, littlepond . That's very helpful.


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## littlepond

You are welcome, amiramir jii.


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## nizamuddin

other meaning of human skin ...... jild جلد , khaal کھال


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## littlepond

^ Is that the same "jild" as used for book jackets? If it is, I've never heard it outside of the books context.


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## Alfaaz

^ Yes, it is the same _jild_. It can have multiple meanings listed here (جلد 1) in Urdu Lughat. 

Brief summary:

_1. skin; hide
2. volume of a book; one book in a set of books
3. binding/cover of a book

_Entry in Platts:


> A جلد _jild_, s.f. The skin; hide, leather; binding (of a book), a volume, book ...


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## Dib

Hindi TV ads for skin care products use "tvachaa". But I suspect it is not a conversational word, as I have never heard anyone around me use it colloquially.


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## mundiya

^ You're right.  "khaal" is more common than "tvachaa".


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## littlepond

Alfaaz said:


> ^ Yes, it is the same _jild_. It can have multiple meanings listed here (جلد 1) in Urdu Lughat.



Thanks, Alfaaz jii, for your detailed reply! I was not aware that "jild" can have all these meanings as well. In Hindi, as far as I know, we use the word primarily for book jackets.


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## littlepond

Dib said:


> Hindi TV ads for skin care products use "tvachaa". But I suspect it is not a conversational word, as I have never heard anyone around me use it colloquially.



Indeed, it is not; it's seen as more of a "technical" word. It is understood though by most.


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## amiramir

marrish said:


> And _khaal_ might be perceived to be the most used word for human skin, but sorry, in these expressions it cannot be used.



This is a quote from a thread regarding soft/smooth - naram and mulaayam. According to marrishji, whose advice is always very appreciated, we cannot in Hindi say meri bahut naram/mulaayam khaal hai. This would contradict much of what is said above in the thread. Do other Hindi speakers agree?

Many thanks.


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## littlepond

I don't know the reasons why marrish jii was saying that we cannot say like that in Hindi: we can, of course. But, "mulaayam tvachaa", "narm tvachaa" are words very highly used in TV advertisements for skin creams, etc. - so maybe that's why marrish jii was not preferring "khaal" when qualified with "mulaayam" or "narm".


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## marrish

Just in order to make myself clear, we can of course say merii bahut naram khaal hai.
What disturbs in the other thread is the qualification of _khaal_ by _mulaayam_ or _narm_ or any other adjective making it strongly unadvisable for learners to use. The matter of TV ads has been also indicated by Dib jii already so I can see that there is a definite vocabulary at least in this sort of communication. By the way I never watch Hindi TV except some fragments on the internet occassionally, so I have not been exposed in any way by those.

Of course, khaal is somewhat the basic word in Hindi for skin. It can't be denied. It can be both used to name human skin and animal skin/hide. _khaal_ is marked in most of contexts for human skin, but well, one can say khaal talking about one's own skin, e.g. nahiiN maiN zakhmii nahiiN, bas khaal hii thoRii sii kaT ga'ii hai; maiN apnii rukhii khaal se tang aa ga'ii huuN! merii khaal laTak rahii hai etc. etc. or from another angle, itnaa dublaa-patlaa thaa ki khaal hii khaal aur haDDiyaaN hii nazar aa rahii thiiN, moTii khaal vaalaa. Otherwise it will be crude, perhaps pejorative or suggesting the listener think the speaker is speaking with a deprecation.


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## littlepond

marrish said:


> nahiiN maiN zakhmii nahiiN, bas khaal hii thoRii sii kaT ga'ii hai



Rather, in Hindi, "khaal chhil gayii hai"



marrish said:


> maiN apnii rukhii khaal se tang aa ga'ii huuN!



Rather, in Hindi, "khushk khaal"



marrish said:


> itnaa dublaa-patlaa thaa ki khaal hii khaal aur haDDiyaaN hii nazar aa rahii thiiN



Rather, in Hindi, just "haDDii-haDDii honaa" ("voh aadmii bilkul haDDii-haDDii hai!", "haDDiyaaN nikal aayi haiN, hostel meN Thiik se khaataa nahiN hai naa!" One could say "khaal hii khaal", but not very idiomatic, at least in my experience.


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## MonsieurGonzalito

It seems there is no register-neutral (sounding natural to Hindi and Urdu alike) way to refer to the skin from, say, the context of a skin care product?

I see the English word "skin" at some Hindi advertisement  ("स्किन क्रीम""), but not in Urdu.

How could I fill the [xxxx]  in the following sentence, in such a way that it would be tolerable in both Hindi and Urdu, for example, in the context of some publicity?

_yah kriim aapkii [xxxx]  ko chiknii aur damktii huii banaatii hai_

Is there perhaps any word like ... "cutis" that would suit both registers?


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## Alfaaz

MonsieurGonzalito said:
			
		

> How could I fill the [xxxx] in the following sentence, in such a way that it would be tolerable in both Hindi and Urdu, for example, in the context of some publicity?
> 
> _yah kriim aapkii [xxxx] ko chiknii aur damktii huii banaatii hai
> 
> _
> Is there perhaps any word like ... "cutis" that would suit both registers?


General comment based on your multiple recent questions requesting words common in both languages: There aren't always going to be words that are shared by both languages. This is especially true for _technical, political, scientific, medical, etc. terminology_ as you might have observed from your recent questions in various threads.

Urdu: _yeh cream aap kii *jild *ko ________? aur raushan? banaatii hai._

What are you trying to convey/translate from English by using_ chiknii _and _damaktii_? 

Reason for asking: _chiknii _could conjure up the image of _oily skin_!


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## amiramir

If I were formulating the sentence for an unknown hindi vs urdu background person, I'd probably use khaal. That's what I've taken from the above, at least, perhaps erroneously. Agreed re above comment on chiknii!


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## MonsieurGonzalito

Alfaaz said:


> What are you trying to convey/translate from English by using_ chiknii _and _damaktii_?


I was just basically transliterating some article (in what appears to be like heavily Anglicized Hindi) about the virtues of some natural oimment, made from cranberries, I think. 
I just doubted if the English word  "skin" would be as acceptable in Urdu for general use, as it seems to be in Hindi.

_*skin *ke lie phaaydemaNd krenberiiz
ye beriiz aapkii *skin *ko chiknii aur damktii huii banaatii hai
aiNTiiaksiDeNTs hote haiN jo skin ko Daimej hone se bachaate haiN
is kaaraNR se iskaa phes maask *skin *ko mashchraaij aur saphT banaataa hai_



Alfaaz said:


> There aren't always going to be words that are shared by both languages.


I understand that a common word might not be possible, even for relatively mundane domains.
I am sorry if I sometimes convey the sensation that there has to be one!  



amiramir said:


> Agreed re above comment on chiknii!


Can it mean something like "smooth" (to the touch, etc.)?
So, "smooth and radiant"?


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## Alfaaz

MonsieurGonzalito said:
			
		

> I just doubted if the English word "skin" would be as acceptable in Urdu for general use, as it seems to be in Hindi.


_Skin _could be and is used, but _jild _is generally preferred (as most people probably don't seem to feel the need to use an English word when there is a common Urdu word present). 


			
				MonsieurGonzalito said:
			
		

> "smooth and radiant"


Thanks for the additional context. 

For _soft and smooth_: نرم و ملائم - _narm-o-mulaa'im _is commonly used. 
_rough_: کھردری - _khurdarii_

For _radiant/glowing_: روشن، منوّر، چمکتی دمکتی، وغیرہ - _raushan, munawwar, chamaktii-damaktii, waGhairah_
_radiant, glowing; fair:_ اجلا - _ujlaa _(example: _ujle ujle chehre_)


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## littlepond

MonsieurGonzalito said:


> It seems there is no register-neutral (sounding natural to Hindi and Urdu alike) way to refer to the skin from, say, the context of a skin care product?



"twachaa," referring to skin, is a very commonly used word in all Hindi advertisements for skin care products. "skin" is used in Hindi as much as any common English word: neither more, nor less.


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