# Hindi, Urdu: problem



## bargolus

I remember seeing somewhere that the various Hindi/Urdu words for 'problem', 'difficulty' or 'trouble' had subtle differences between them. For example, musibat is meant to be for unexpected trouble? However, I haven't been able to find one place discussing the differences between these words. What do you think are the differences - if any - between:

musibat - e.g. 'musibat mein aa gayaa'
dikkat - e.g. 'kuchh dikkat hai'
samasya - e.g. 'samasya hai'
taklif - e.g. 'taklif dena'
pereshaan - e.g. 'pereshaan karna'


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## Alfaaz

The most common word for _problem _in Urdu is مسئلہ | مسائل - _mas2alah _| _masaa2il_. 

The following are also potential options (depending on exact context and the sense in which English _problem, trouble, difficulty, etc. _are being used):

مصیبت، مشکل، دقت، دشواری، تکلیف، پریشانی، ایذا، الجھن، آفت؛ وبال، جنجال، کشٹ؛ وغیرہ

_muSiibat, mushkil, diqqat, dushwaarii, takliif, pareshaanii, iizaa, uljhan, aafat; wabaal, janjaal, kashT; waGhairah_​

_samasyaa_ and _kashT _are listed in Urdu dictionaries, but aren't common in speech.

Edit: Could you perhaps provide a few English sentences you'd like to translate? That might make it easier to illustrate the difference between the words.


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## littlepond

bargolus said:


> I remember seeing somewhere that the various Hindi/Urdu words for 'problem', 'difficulty' or 'trouble' had subtle differences between them. For example, musibat is meant to be for unexpected trouble? However, I haven't been able to find one place discussing the differences between these words. What do you think are the differences - if any - between:
> 
> musibat - e.g. 'musibat mein aa gayaa'
> dikkat - e.g. 'kuchh dikkat hai'
> samasya - e.g. 'samasya hai'
> taklif - e.g. 'taklif dena'
> pereshaan - e.g. 'pereshaan karna'



There are no differences as such (no such thing as "musiibat" meaning "unexpected trouble"*), except that some words are better idiomatically somewhere: one would say "takliif-daayak" (trouble/pain-causing), rather than "samasyaa-daayak." "takliif" can and often does, of course, also mean "pain"; it can also mean "obstacle." It is less common to use it in the sense of "trouble." Similarly, it is more idiomatic to say "kaii dikkatoN/musiibatoN kaa saamnaa karnaa paRaa": here, using "samasyaa" is possible but not that idiomatic.

There is also the question of registers. "kashT," for example, mentioned by @Alfaaz jii, is a highly literary or a very strong word (for a heartland Hindi speaker; it would be a much more banal word for a Hindi-speaking Kannadiga, for example).

As for "pareshaan," it would be better to put "pareshaanii" in this list, as the latter is a noun, the former is not. It translates into English better as "worry" ("do you have a worry?" for example) rather than "trouble." Of course, it can mean trouble, pain, etc.

And there are even more words for "trouble" in Hindi: it seems that the vocabulary is wide on this one.

*Maybe you are referring to idiomatic sentences such as "musiibat aan paRii/khaRii ho gayii" in a story, which gave you such an impression. It does give a slight favour of unexpectedness, I must admit, as a word choice in certain narratives, but that's not always the case.


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## Happu

bargolus said:


> I remember seeing somewhere that the various Hindi/Urdu words for 'problem', 'difficulty' or 'trouble' had subtle differences between them. For example, musibat is meant to be for unexpected trouble? However, I haven't been able to find one place discussing the differences between these words. What do you think are the differences - if any - between:
> 
> musibat - e.g. 'musibat mein aa gayaa'
> dikkat - e.g. 'kuchh dikkat hai'
> samasya - e.g. 'samasya hai'
> taklif - e.g. 'taklif dena'
> pereshaan - e.g. 'pereshaan karna'



I would reckon that out of these five words all are used equally often (! pareshaanii instead of pareshaan!), except _samasyaa_, which is more formal - or bookish - than the others.

I would also throw _kaTHinaaii_ (best translated as 'hardship' maybe) and _gaRbaR_ * into the ring, the latter rather colloquial and much used (= shambles, confusion, disarray, trouble).

* A side note: _gaRbaR_ related to _gaRbaRaanaa_ (getting confused / disturbed / alarmed) has become part Singaporean slang in the form of _gabra_ (worry, fear), mostly used in 'don't gabra, lah! = don't you worry! Introduced by North Indians, the word probably spread to other communities via the Singaporean armed forces, in which many ethnicities rub shoulders.


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## desi4life

Happu said:


> I would reckon that out of these five words all are used equally often (! pareshaanii instead of pareshaan!), except _samasyaa_, which is more formal - or bookish - than the others.
> 
> I would also throw _kaTHinaaii_ (best translated as 'hardship' maybe) and _gaRbaR_ * into the ring, the latter rather colloquial and much used (= shambles, confusion, disarray, trouble).
> 
> * A side note: _gaRbaR_ related to _gaRbaRaanaa_ (getting confused / disturbed / alarmed) has become part Singaporean slang in the form of _gabra_ (worry, fear), mostly used in 'don't gabra, lah! = don't you worry! Introduced by North Indians, the word probably spread to other communities via the Singaporean armed forces, in which many ethnicities rub shoulders.



Actually, the Singaporean ”gabra” is from Malay and is not related to the Hindi word.


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## Happu

desi4life said:


> Actually, the Singaporean ”gabra” is from Malay and is not related to the Hindi word.


Many Malay words are from Indian languages, as well as Persian, Arabic et al. Before becoming Islamic, the entire area was 'Indianized'. I'd be surprised if the Malay 'gabra' and the Indian variant were unconnected.


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## desi4life

Happu said:


> Many Malay words are from Indian languages, as well as Persian, Arabic et al. Before becoming Islamic, the entire area was 'Indianized'. I'd be surprised if the Malay 'gabra' and the Indian variant were unconnected.



I believe they are unconnected because the Malay original of “gabra” is “gelabah”.


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## littlepond

Happu said:


> I would reckon that out of these five words all are used equally often (! pareshaanii instead of pareshaan!), except _samasyaa_, which is more formal - or bookish - than the others.



"samasyaa" is not at all formal or bookish: it is a word very much present in day-to-day speech, including in rural regions.



Happu said:


> _gaRbaRaanaa_ (getting confused / disturbed / alarmed)



"gaRbaRaanaa" is rather making someone confused! And usually it is kind of a mild confusion creation that is involved, nothing of alarm. For example:

_dekho, maiN noT gin rahii hooN, tum biich meN bol ke mujhe gaRbaRaao nahiiN_

"gaRbaRaa jaanaa" is getting confused ("maiN gaRbaRaa gayii").

As for _gaRbaR_, it usually does not mean a problem, which is what the OP was talking about. It rather means something fishy somewhere.


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## Happu

littlepond said:


> "samasyaa" is not at all formal or bookish: it is a word very much present in day-to-day speech, including in rural regions.
> 
> 
> 
> "gaRbaRaanaa" is rather making someone confused! And usually it is kind of a mild confusion creation that is involved, nothing of alarm. For example:
> 
> _dekho, maiN noT gin rahii hooN, tum biich meN bol ke mujhe gaRbaRaao nahiiN_
> 
> "gaRbaRaa jaanaa" is getting confused ("maiN gaRbaRaa gayii").
> 
> As for _gaRbaR_, it usually does not mean a problem, which is what the OP was talking about. It rather means something fishy somewhere.


Samasyaa: I think - as so often - it also depends on the region. I find that in different regions I sometimes have to adjust a part of my vocabulary and use synonyms which I would have used less, or not at all, elsewhere.


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## littlepond

Happu said:


> Samasyaa: I think - as so often - it also depends on the region.


While my answers are always from the Western UP background, it is a word common in speech across UP, Bihar and Rajasthan.


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## Happu

From my experience in Mumbai it would often be _gaRbaR_, _maslaa, pareshaanii_ or _diqqat_, not to mention the slangy (or Munna Bhai MBBS-style) Marathi-Hindi concoction _vaat lag gayii. _


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## littlepond

Happu said:


> Marathi-Hindi concoction _vaat lag gayii. _



It's not "vaat" (which would mean the Hindi word "wind"), rather "vaaT" in the expression. And "vaaT lag gayii" means "I'm screwed" - one could assume that it may have been because of some problem, but it doesn't mean problem.


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## Happu

littlepond said:


> It's not "vaat" (which would mean the Hindi word "wind"), rather "vaaT" in the expression. And "vaaT lag gayii" means "I'm screwed" - one could assume that it may have been because of some problem, but it doesn't mean problem.


Yes, that's right, it could also be 'rheumatism'. I've read various interpretations of vaaT, some meaning like 'death rites' or something in Marathi - so 'I'm screwed' / 'as good as dead' makes sense; but I haven't exlored it deeply. These kind of expressions wouldn't have travelled far, I guess, without the help of Bollywood (and today maybe social media).


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## littlepond

Happu said:


> Yes, that's right, it could also be 'rheumatism'.


I did not suggest it could be rheumatism. I said "vaat" is wind, and you had mispelt it. One doesn't have to go to "vaat" for "vaaT," for "vaaT" exists: it usually means "wait" (i.e., waiting for someone).



Happu said:


> These kind of expressions wouldn't have travelled far, I guess, without the help of Bollywood (and today maybe social media).


I believe "vaaT lag jaanaa" was always a known expression even before the modern _Taporii _films. It's just that it has become slightly more common, and that has less to do probably with that it is used in films: it has more to do that people don't mind using slang or indecent expressions nowadays. In the old days, people, unless from certain classes, respected chaste language (and which was very Urdu influenced).


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## Happu

littlepond said:


> I did not suggest it could be rheumatism. I said "vaat" is wind, and you had mispelt it. One doesn't have to go to "vaat" for "vaaT," for "vaaT" exists: it usually means "wait" (i.e., waiting for someone).


I understood. I only meant that _vaat _also crops up as rheumatism, such as in matters of traditional medicine.

I love slang in its own way and can cuss with the best (worst) of them. Problem is, once you know the vocabulary it might slip your tongue inadvertently in the wrong (right) social circumstances. Best to keep the vocabulary under lock and key.


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## littlepond

Happu said:


> I understood. I only meant that _vaat _also crops up as rheumatism, such as in matters of traditional medicine.



_vaat_ is primarily used in anything pertaining to Ayurveda, but it doesn't mean rheumatism (that is "joRoN ka dard," etc.)! "vaat" is one of the three humours on which personalities, diseases, etc., are based on (the other two being "kaph" and "pitt"). Rheumatism is _caused _by an exaggerated _vaat _in the body (through intrinsic imbalance, diet, etc.).


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## Happu

littlepond said:


> _vaat_ is primarily used in anything pertaining to Ayurveda, but it doesn't mean rheumatism (that is "joRoN ka dard," etc.)! "vaat" is one of the three humours on which personalities, diseases, etc., are based on (the other two being "kaph" and "pitt"). Rheumatism is _caused _by an exaggerated _vaat _in the body (through intrinsic imbalance, diet, etc.).


Oxford University Press Dictionary, p. 913:

वात (S.) m - 1) wind; air 2) wind as a bodily humour 3) rheumatism; gout ...


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## littlepond

Happu said:


> Oxford University Press Dictionary, p. 913:
> 
> वात (S.) m - 1) wind; air 2) wind as a bodily humour 3) rheumatism; gout ...



From your previous posts as well, you seem to rely too much on dictionaries and too little on actual usage. The above entry is shorn of context and hence is misleading (it seems to have already misled you). It does not seem that great a dictionary if that is all that it offers. It's a good dictionary when it gives or links to a few examples with each of its listed meanings, so users can understand the context (e.g., Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales for French and MDBG English to Chinese dictionary for Chinese).


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