# Hindi, Urdu: Group, sect, branch



## tonyspeed

What are the common words in Hindi and Urdu for a specific group, sect or branch.
For instance, Sunni is a specific branch of Islam, teachers are a specific group of government workers.


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## mundiya

In Hindi, "shaakhaa" (branch) is used for a branch [in any of its senses] or sect. "ang" (limb) has some overlap with it.  "panth" and "sampradaay" can be used for a sect.


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## HZKhan

sect = firqa/فرقہ 
group = giroh/گروہ
branch = shaax/شاخ

There are some other words in Urdu too, but these are the common ones.


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## gagun

in Hindi  sect=varg(वर्ग), group=samuuh(समूह), branch=shaakh/shaakha(शाख/शाखा)


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## tonyspeed

In Hindi, what about words like panth, dal, and mat? Are these used?


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## mundiya

tonyspeed said:


> In Hindi, what about words like panth, dal, and mat? Are these used?



I already mentioned "panth".  "dal" means group or party; "mat" can be used for doctrine, teachings, or sect (e.g. sant mat).


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## desi4life

Which of the Hindi words for sect is most common?


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## desi4life

Just to follow up, Google translate gives *sampradaay *as the first choice.  Does that seem like the most common option for Hindi?

*firqay *was given as one of two choices for Urdu, along with *firqah*.  Is *firqay *an actual word?


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## gagun

*sect=mat(मत) *or* dharm(धर्म)* "if it is used for *a religion*" otherwise *varg* can be used
*panth*=a path,a custom,*a religious order*,a school of thought.
*panthii*=a traveller(yaatri), the follower of *a sect*(here sect is sub division of religion(dharm)).


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## gagun

desi4life said:


> Just to follow up, Google translate gives *sampradaay *as the first choice.  Does that seem like the most common option for Hindi?



actual meaning of sampradaay is *tradition,ritual,system(religion)* of the people of a group. here every group has different or similar *traditions (sampradaay)* of Religion.


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## HZKhan

desi4life said:


> Is *firqay *an actual word?



'Firqay' is the plural form.


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## littlepond

desi4life said:


> Just to follow up, Google translate gives *sampradaay *as the first choice.  Does that seem like the most common option for Hindi?



"sampradaay" is mostly used for a religious community/group (e.g., "muslim sampradaay" means Muslim community/group - depending on context, the whole community or a smaller group), and hardly used otherwise in my experience.


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## littlepond

Meanwhile, for a group/party, especially of a small size or something that is very tightly knit, there is also the widely used word "guT". "vibhaag" usually is used for a division, but can be used to indicate a group as well.


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## mundiya

This is to clarify any discrepancies in the responses...

"sampradaay" means religious community, school of thought, or sect.  To answer the question that was posed, I do believe "sampradaay" is the most common word.  "sunnii sampradaay", for example, is used for "Sunni sect".

"panth" literally and figuratively means path, and is used for sect and religious order, among other meanings. 

"varg" properly means class and not sect, but writers do use terms such as "sunnii varg".

"shaakhaa" literally and figuratively means branch and by extension, sect.


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## desi4life

Pakistani Khan said:


> 'Firqay' is the plural form.



I was thinking along the lines of *firqay *possibly being an Arabic form subsequently used in Urdu, but I guess that's not the case.


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## MohammedRafiqSethi

desi4life said:


> I was thinking along the lines of *firqay *possibly being an Arabic form subsequently used in Urdu, but I guess that's not the case.



The word evolves from the Arabic root word  فرق  FRQ (Farq) meaning noun... difference, variance, distinction, part, section.....some related words in Urdu and Farsi which I can 
recall would be  Fareeq (opposing parties) Firaq...judaai, apart,  Furqat, Judaai


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## marrish

firqah is more as a faction. A question about Urdu: since Buddhism or Jainism (the heterodox religions of antiquity) are called in Urdu buddh-mat and jain-mat respectively, which has been defined above as a doctrine etc. and as a sect equivalent to dharm [U. dharam], how would one call these in categorical terms to mean religion?


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## mundiya

^If I may, in Hindi "bauddh mat" and "jain mat" can be used for Buddhism and Jainism, respectively.  In other words, religion is clear in this usage, and I think the same would be true for Urdu.  Also, "bauddh dhar(a)m" and "jain dhar(a)m" are used in Hindi.  There is probably a similar usage to this in Urdu too.  In addition, "mazhab" can be used in the previous phrases, and I think "diin" can be too.  But I'm not too sure about the use of "diin", since it often refers to Islam in Urdu.  On a side note, I believe "mazhab" means sect in Persian usage and not religion.


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## littlepond

gagun said:


> *sect=** dharm(धर्म)*



In my opinion, "dharm" cannot mean a sect. One can say "khaalsaa guT/panth", not really "khaalsaa dharm".

Technically, "dharm" does not even mean a religion (existence of such a concept in ancient times in the Indian subcontinent is debatable), but in the modern language it is used for such purposes.


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## littlepond

mundiya said:


> ^If I may, in Hindi "bauddh mat" and "jain mat" can be used for Buddhism and Jainism, respectively.  In other words, religion is clear in this usage ...



In my opinion, usage of "mat", at least in Hindi, refers to a (religion's) philosophical thought system, rather than the meaning of religion as bound by dogma.


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