# Hindi: Molu...



## Todd The Bod

I remember this guy from Karachi back in college that everyone called Molu.  His real name was Mohammad, but no one called him that.  I thought it must just be a nickname for Mohammad, but I asked a good buddy who's family is from Hyderabad, and he was befuddled.  I have friends from Lahore, and they're just as befuddled.  I asked some local pizzeria owners who are from Karachi, and they just looked at me.  Does anyone know the meaning of the nickname "Molu"?


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## Koozagar

not all nicknames are derived from a proper name. e.g. Gogi, Papu etc. This is probably one of those.


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## Todd The Bod

I've got to somehow run into someone who remembers him and see if he ever explained why they called him "Molu" then, I guess.


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## panjabigator

Todd The Bod said:


> I've got to somehow run into someone who remembers him and see if he ever explained why they called him "Molu" then, I guess.



I agree with Koozagar.  A lot of nicknames have no rhyme or reason behind them.  I don't think this is like the "Robert" to "Bob" switch.


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## akak

I have a cousin who used to be called "Golu" -- because he was plump. And his elder brother, considered very "shareef" ended up being called "Bholu."


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## Todd The Bod

So in this case "Golu" is for someone fat then.  and "Bholu" is the brother of a fat person then?


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## panjabigator

Todd The Bod said:


> So in this case "Golu" is for someone fat then.  and "Bholu" is the brother of a fat person then?



<bholaa> means innocent, along the lines of <nadaan> but not quite.


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## Todd The Bod

Cool.  This is great.  I've gotta write all this stuff down.  No matter what book you learn from, this is the stuff you miss if you didn't grow up in an Urdu-speaking family.


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## akak

panjabigator said:


> <bholaa> means innocent, along the lines of <nadaan> but not quite.


 
I always thought _bholaa_ and _naadaan_ meant the same. What nuance am I missing?


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## panjabigator

akak said:


> I always thought _bholaa_ and _naadaan_ meant the same. What nuance am I missing?



Hmm, maybe they are! I think I just separate them semantically in my head - when I posted earlier, I wasn't 100% sure if they were identical.

I thought <bholaa> was like innocent and <nadaan> was like naive.



Todd The Bod said:


> Cool.  This is great.  I've gotta write all this stuff down.  No matter what book you learn from, this is the stuff you miss if you didn't grow up in an Urdu-speaking family.



I didn't grow up in an "Urdu-speaking family," so there is still hope


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## Todd The Bod

Thanks, Punjabigator!  I hope it's it okay to post thank you every time you guys help me out on the threads, and I'm not just taking up useless cyberspace each time?  Hope I'm following proper etiquette.


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## omlick

panjabigator said:


> I agree with Koozagar. A lot of nicknames have no rhyme or reason behind them. I don't think this is like the "Robert" to "Bob" switch.


 

Okay, so how does Robert morph into Bob

and 

Richard morph into Dick?  

I never got that either.

Usually the "uu" ending indicates the switch to the "endearment reference" to the thing/person.

Like moTaa  = fat, but moTuu = fatso, fatty

Taklaa = fat (actually a maraThii word)  Takluu  = baldy

I could see where mohammad just slips into moluu, it just sounds better than mohuu... Oh well...


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## panjabigator

omlick said:


> Okay, so how does Robert morph into Bob
> 
> and
> 
> Richard morph into Dick?
> 
> I never got that either.
> 
> Usually the "uu" ending indicates the switch to the "endearment reference" to the thing/person.
> 
> Like moTaa  = fat, but moTuu = fatso, fatty
> 
> Taklaa = fat (actually a maraThii word)  Takluu  = baldy
> 
> I could see where mohammad just slips into moluu, it just sounds better than mohuu... Oh well...



No clue how these terms come about.  Are you asking me how these shifts happen or you questioning why I used these as examples?

It's also endearing to shift to the ū ending in some cases, viz. <māmū> for <māmā>, <jījū> for <jījā>.


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## Todd The Bod

Is there a nickname for Mohammad in Pakistan and India that you guys know of?


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## Faylasoof

Todd The Bod said:


> Is there a nickname for Mohammad in Pakistan and India that you guys know of?



Not really a tradition in our part of the world for this name (perhaps not for many names like these) but I had a friend from South Africa of Indian origin called Mohammad whose family affectionately addressed him as "Mo"! I've heard the same in the UK too.


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## panjabigator

How about "Mohd?"


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## akak

panjabigator said:


> How about "Mohd?"


 
That isn't a nickname, but an abbreviation many people used when filling out the countless forms (in triplicate) in the old days. I don't think it's as common now. 

I've heard 'Mo' quite often in the U.S., but no nicknames in India. It may have been considered disrespectful. And usually Mohammed was followed by another name, eg Mohammed Khalid Khan, and the person would go by Khalid.


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## panjabigator

What about in the case of Mohd Rafi?


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## Faylasoof

panjabigator said:


> What about in the case of Mohd Rafi?



Yes PG, but what akak is saying is that this is not a nickname, just an abbreviation which, btw, is used quite commonly.


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## panjabigator

Faylasoof said:


> Yes PG, but what akak is saying is that this is not a nickname, just an abbreviation which, btw, is used quite commonly.



Ah, OK.  I've heard people say Mohd too, so I was a bit confused.  Thanks for clearing that up.


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## Faylasoof

panjabigator said:


> Ah, OK.  I've heard people say Mohd too, so I was a bit confused.  Thanks for clearing that up.



I see! I've heard this name mispronounced as Mommad! But again, not a nickname. Just bad pronunciation!


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## Todd The Bod

I've hear Mommad before too.


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## Qureshpor

Todd The Bod said:


> I remember this guy from Karachi back in college that everyone called Molu.  His real name was Mohammad, but no one called him that.  I thought it must just be a nickname for Mohammad, but I asked a good buddy who's family is from Hyderabad, and he was befuddled.  I have friends from Lahore, and they're just as befuddled.  I asked some local pizzeria owners who are from Karachi, and they just looked at me.  Does anyone know the meaning of the nickname "Molu"?



The only "logical" explanation that I can think of is that your Mohammad was a round faced chubby individual when he was a baby/youngster, i.e gol-mol chihrah. So mol>>moluu (?)


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## Todd The Bod

Maybe if we had a member from Karachi on the forum.  That's the only possibility I can think of...


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## rahulbemba

Todd The Bod said:


> I remember this guy from Karachi back in college that everyone called Molu.  His real name was Mohammad, but no one called him that.  I thought it must just be a nickname for Mohammad, but I asked a good buddy who's family is from Hyderabad, and he was befuddled.  I have friends from Lahore, and they're just as befuddled.  I asked some local pizzeria owners who are from Karachi, and they just looked at me.  Does anyone know the meaning of the nickname "Molu"?



There are two very common cute pet-names for small kids in India/Hindi - Golu and molu. In fact these are often combined to call a small child as "golu-molu". Often this is used for those kids who are chubby and look cute. Often these kids grow up, but the name sticks to them  I think it may be the case in Pakistan also, as it is in India.


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## Faylasoof

rahulbemba said:


> Originally Posted by *Todd The Bod*
> I remember this guy from Karachi back in  college that everyone called Molu.  His real name was Mohammad, but no  one called him that.  I thought it must just be a nickname for Mohammad,  but I asked a good buddy who's family is from Hyderabad, and he was  befuddled.  I have friends from Lahore, and they're just as befuddled.  I  asked some local pizzeria owners who are from Karachi, and they just  looked at me.  Does anyone know the meaning of the nickname "Molu"?
> 
> 
> 
> There are two very common cute pet-names for small kids in India/Hindi - Golu and molu. In fact these are often combined to call a small child as "golu-molu". Often this is used for those kids who are chubby and look cute. Often these kids grow up, but the name sticks to them  I think it may be the case in Pakistan also, as it is in India.
Click to expand...

 _golu_ when used for a child (or even an adult) does indeed mean chubby. It is often used as a term of endearment! I've always heard _molu_ as part of the combination _golu-molu_ becasue _molu_ is used here as a an echo word. Just like _k-haanaa--waanaa_ = food / meal. The use of the echo word by itself in isolation in either case would be very unusual. In fact I haven't heard either _molu_ or _waanaa_ used by themselves in their respective contexts! 

The term _golu-molu_ =chubby / chubby-tubby. It is used in this sense all over Bihar and UP at least, the two regions my family is associated with, as well as Pakistan - a country I've visited may times over the years.


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## rahulbemba

Faylasoof said:


> The use of the echo word by itself in isolation in either case would be very unusual. In fact I haven't heard either _molu_ or _waanaa_ used by themselves in their respective contexts!



I have some friends whose pet-names are Molu alone, it is not unusual in India from what I know. One friend's name is Molu, while his elder brother's name is Golu.  So at times Golu and Molu can be two different names of two different persons also. Also, I have heard no single person with the name of "golu-molu". And here we get the point. When used as an adjective, we can say "Oh mere pyare golu-molu bachche". But as name, we would use either Golu or Molu, alone.


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## Faylasoof

rahulbemba said:


> I have some friends whose pet-names are Molu alone, it is not unusual in India from what I know. One friend's name is Molu, while his elder brother's name is Golu.  So at times Golu and Molu can be two different names of two different persons also. Also, I have heard no single person with the name of "golu-molu". And here we get the point. When used as an adjective, we can say "Oh mere pyare golu-molu bachche". But as name, we would use either Golu or Molu, alone.


 No one suggested that _golu-molu_ was a name! As for nick names, yes they are invented and can exist in many forms. That is fine! Except you may not have read the original post,


Todd The Bod said:


> .....Does anyone know the meaning of the nickname "Molu"?


It is in this context I said what I said! _molu_ by itself is meaningless! It is only in the compound _golu-molu_ that it gets some kind of meaning!


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## Todd The Bod

I recently ran into a taxi driver who said he was from Karaachi that claimed the name denoted a psycopath that was also drug-crazed; which flabbergasted me since the Molu I knew was neither as far as I could tell. lol But when you're just talking with someone you come across casually who you don't know from Adam, they may tell you anything, maybe even just to get a rise out of you, lol. That guy could really have been from anywhere. I dunno...but I'm sure the expression on my face when he told me that was priceless, lol.


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## Abu Talha

rahulbemba said:


> I have some friends whose pet-names are Molu alone, it is not unusual in India from what I know. One friend's name is Molu, while his elder brother's name is Golu.


 Personally, I think this is a probable cause of someone being named molu versus golu. Uncles like naming their nephews similar sounding names, and if both brothers happened to be chubby, "molu" was the next best name.

Golu and Molu are also a comedy duo in traditional Hindi jokes.



Todd The Bod said:


> I recently ran into a taxi driver who said he was from Karaachi that claimed the name denoted a psycopath that was also drug-crazed; which flabbergasted me since the Molu I knew was neither as far as I could tell. lol But when you're just talking with someone you come across casually who you don't know from Adam, they may tell you anything, maybe even just to get a rise out of you, lol. That guy could really have been from anywhere. I dunno...but I'm sure the expression on my face when he told me that was priceless, lol.


That's hilarious! 

I'll attempt presenting another outlandish theory. May I ask if, instead of being a drug-crazed psychopath, the Molu of your acquaintance was of religious bent? Such individuals are often nicknamed molvi by their buddies. If he was chubby in addition, (not unlikely as it is well known that molvis love sweets), a portmanteau may have been coined.


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## Todd The Bod

Molu was all college parties, and his major was business.  He was considered something of a pariah by his religious compatriots, lol.  He seemed to be quite popular with the ladies on campus as well as I remember.


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## rahulbemba

daee said:


> Personally, I think this is a probable cause of someone being named molu versus golu. Uncles like naming their nephews similar sounding names, and if both brothers happened to be chubby, "molu" was the next best name.
> 
> Golu and Molu are also a comedy duo in traditional Hindi jokes.



Perfect. I totally agree with you.


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