# Urdu: mistrust



## omlick

I come up with waswaas وسواس  first in the online dictionaries.  Does this word have other meanings as well such as "temptation" etc. "Mistrust" is not particularly listed under the entry in Platts online, but I think "doubt" is.  Is waswaas a popular word or a rarely used word? I would suspect "shak" is more often used.

Thanks


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## BP.

_mistrust_ would be _'adam a'etemaad_/_3dam e3temaad_ - *عدم اعتماد*. It is different from _shak_ - doubt.

_wiswaas_, the plural of _waswasa_, has I suppose a religion-inspired meaning, but is sometimes/often? used a-relgiously. If you wish to know, it means the doubts, temptations, fear that Satan puts in your mind to weaken your trust with your friend/creater/Allah. People use waswasa to mean shak so maybe you could too.

PS: Don't you think it would be easier for everybody if we followed the standard thread title format 'language: my question'?


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## omlick

BelligerentPacifist said:


> _mistrust_ would be _'adam a'etemaad_/_3dam e3temaad_ - *عدم اعتماد*. It is different from _shak_ - doubt.
> 
> _wiswaas_, the plural of _waswasa_, has I suppose a religion-inspired meaning, but is sometimes/often? used a-relgiously. If you wish to know, it means the doubts, temptations, fear that Satan puts in your mind to weaken your trust with your friend/creater/Allah. People use waswasa to mean shak so maybe you could too.
> 
> PS: Don't you think it would be easier for everybody if we followed the standard thread title format 'language: my question'?


 

Yeah, I will follow that format in the future.   thanks for pointing that out.  

The word actually came up in something we were reading about Satan on a website.  How to avoid Satan's temptations. I have not read the entire thing yet, but maybe more interesting words will come out of it.


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## Illuminatus

Is there anything common between waswaas and the Hindi wishwaas?


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## panjabigator

Illuminatus said:


> Is there anything common between waswaas and the Hindi wishwaas?



My thought exactly.  How about the word <aetbār>, while we are at it?


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## lcfatima

No, it is not related to vishvaas. It is just a coincidence that the words look similar. Wiswaas is from Arabic, the word is also used in the Quran. Wiswaas is "whispering" from the devil or devils, which tries to convince the human ego to commit sin or to be attracted to fitnah (temptation) and go astray. Wiswaas might be a commonly used word among certain circles who would describe their world experiences in religious terms.


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## Illuminatus

Hmm, then I have never heard this term.

It is amazing how Urdu and Hindi are _so _similar yet _so_ different.


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## bakshink

Interesting! Dear Illuminatus Waswaas is mistrust while Vishvas is Trust- So Waswaas would be Avishvas in hindi. While we are at it let me ask if Shubha in urdu will be closer in meaning to waswaas than shak( Hindi word for Shubha is Sandhayh)


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## lcfatima

The word wahm conveys a sense of mistrust or doubt as well.


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## BP.

If anything, _waswaas_ causes a lack of _vishvaas_!




bakshink said:


> ... let me ask if Shubha in urdu will be closer in meaning to waswaas than shak( Hindi word for Shubha is Sandhayh)



_shuba_ is closer / synonymous to _shak_.


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## Illuminatus

Is it written with ح       
وحم

And waham is used in Hindi to mean only doubt/suspicion.


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## lcfatima

Yes Iluminatus, that is the same word.


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## lcfatima

You know, it occurs to me that one will see the differences in meaning if they are given in context (Kindly correct any non-native mistakes):

"Jo avaaz aati hai aapke andar jo baar baar kahti hai "naamaaz thoRe der mei.N parho, baad mei.n paRho," vo aapke waswase hai.n"

"Kya yeh asli hai ya naqli hai? Mujhe shak/shubha hai ke yeh asli nahi.N hai." 

"Kya mai.N moTa ho raha hoo.N?" "Nahi.n, yeh aapka vahm hai."


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## Illuminatus

The last two are correct and I can understand the context.

As this is the first time I have heard waswasa, I can't associate with the first one. But I am beginning to get the hang of it.


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## bakshink

In hindi it is written as Va ha ma-वहम  Mujhe veham hai ki tum bahut bure ho.(मुझे वहम है की तुम बहुत बुरे हो) In Punjabi it is called vaim or and maybe wriiten as ਵੈਮ and the one who has a doubting nature is called vaimee or shakki mizaz


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## cherine

Illuminatus said:


> Is it written with ح
> وحم
> 
> And waham is used in Hindi to mean only doubt/suspicion.


I don't know much about Urdu, but when I saw "wahm" I thought it's like the Arabic word وهم which has several meaning, among which "doubt, mistake, illusion...".

Fatima, are you sure it's written with a ح not هـ ?


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## lcfatima

Yes cherine, sorry, I missed that. You are right.


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## cherine

No worries.  I'm always fascinated when I see Arabic words used in other languages, sometimes with different meanings. And I know that sometimes they're also written with some changes, and I thought this one of those times.


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## Illuminatus

The most common use of this word is in the sentence:

_Bhoot-voot kuch nahi.n hote. Yeh sab hamare man ka waham hai_


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## Faylasoof

BelligerentPacifist said:


> _mistrust_ would be _'adam a'etemaad_/_3dam e3temaad_ - *عدم اعتماد*. It is different from _shak_ - doubt.
> 
> _wiswaas_, the plural of _waswasa_, has I suppose a religion-inspired meaning, but is sometimes/often? used a-relgiously. If you wish to know, it means the doubts, temptations, fear that Satan puts in your mind to weaken your trust with your friend/creater/Allah. People use waswasa to mean shak so maybe you could too.



In Urdu <mistrust> is عدم اعتماد , as BP mentioned, but we also use   بے اعتمادی / بے اعتباری  - <be (3etimādii / 3etibārii)> with at least the same frequency, if not higher.

The words وَسوَسَه waswasah and وسواس waswās on the other hand (coming from the Arabic verb وَسوَسَ = 'to inspire / suggest; entice, tempt, seduce) have the following meanings.

وَسوَسَه waswasah = temptation, enticement, seduction, lure.

وَسواس waswās(masc): an (evil) inspiration / temptation of the devil; irresolution, distraction of the mind -> indecision; doubt (شَک و شُبہ).

الوَسواس  al-waswās= The Tempter, Satan!

.... and BP, وَسوَسَه and وَسواس are not singular and plurals. Both have similar meanings, as above.


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## Illuminatus

Just a far shot, but does the word _Havas_ have anything to do with _waswasa_. I ask this primarily due to the whole temptation, seduction, lure business


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## lcfatima

Havas: a greedy desire, i.e. peT mei.N havas?

About vahm, in the context of ghosts, does the meaning overlap with "superstitious?"


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## Illuminatus

Havas is always sexual.

As for vahm, it is not superstition. For that, we use _Andhavishwaas_ (lit: blind-faith)


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## lcfatima

I thought it meant like a greedy material desire. I will have to be careful about using that word havas.


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## Illuminatus

At least in Hindi, whenever I have heard this word being used, it has had a sexual sense.


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## lcfatima

Okay. I don't think it is related to waswas though. The root would be different.


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## Faylasoof

As Icf mentions the two (havas vs vasvasah) are grammatically unrelated, i.e. different roots. 

 But, Illumin I think I can see what you mean. The short answer is perhaps yes, depending how one sees the use of the two words.

 Since you are studying Arabic, you’ll appreciate this use of وَسواس – from the Quran, Surah 114: an-Nas (الناس):

 In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
 بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

 (1) Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of men,
 قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلنَّاسِ ﴿١﴾   
 (2) The King of men,
 مَلِكِ ٱلنَّاسِ ﴿٢﴾
 (3) The god of men,
 إِلَٰهِ ٱلنَّاسِ ﴿٣﴾
 (4) From the evil whisperings of the slinking (Satan),
 مِن شَرِّ ٱلْوَسْوَاسِٱلْخَنَّاسِ ﴿٤﴾
 (5) Who whispers (evil) into the hearts of men,
 ٱلَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ ٱلنَّاسِ ﴿٥﴾
 (6) From among the jinn and the men.
 مِنَ ٱلْجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ ﴿٦﴾

 In Urdu we use وَسوَسَه and وَسواس with the same meanings as in Arabic – well, most of the times – and here the worshipper is asking God for refuge from evil thoughts / ignoble distractions / temptations by The Tempter الوَسواس. 

 The term has very much of a spiritual / religious connotation. The Tempter is seducing and tempting someone to act in an impious manner. Because of the Quranic connection, this spiritual meaning is enhanced.

 In Urdu, هوس havas (fem.) = desire, lust,  inordinate appetite, wild fancy, infatuation. 

In Urdu we use _havas_ for _any_ inordinate desire / appetite, not just sexual.

All of these feelings are also supposed to be inspired by the Tempter (_within all of us_) who makes us do the wrong things. 

 [As you would have guessed this is also of Arabic origin: هَوِسََ havisa, the verb = to be baffled, baffled, perplexed etc. But in Arabic, as a noun هوس havas = folly, craze, madness; ecstasy; fantasy; wild fancy, infatuation – so Arabic-Urdu overlap.]

 In other words, _vasvasah_ is linked both by its general meaning and the means (the Tempter) to _havas_. However, this is very much a general link as one can extend this argument further and say anything bad / evil (e.g. killing / murder قتل qatl; theftچوری  chorii; lying جھوٹ jhooT) is linked to _vasvasah_ because _the evil side of our conscience _– as manipulated and represented by the Tempter (الوَسواس) - sometimes overcomes the good side of our conscience and makes us commit dire follies. Hence the supplicant in the above-mentioned Surah is seeking refuge in God to counteract _vasvasah_, _havas_ and all other ignoble acts committed by us, including things like _*mistrust*_ بے اعتمادی / بے اعتباری , when it is unjustified.


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## BP.

_hawas_ isn't restricted to  the sexual context. The latter would be _hawas-e-shehwaani_ -  ھوس شھوانی (among other words). Remember Akbarabaadi's '_Tuk HirS-o-hawas ko chhoR miaa.n_...' posted on the forum a while back.


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## cherine

وسواس and هوس are both Arabic words, but they're totally unrelated. Could we please discuss هوس in a different thread?


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## lcfatima

Is there any reason that the word devil appears in red in places in this thread?


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## BP.

............................


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## Faylasoof

lcfatima said:


> Is there any reason that the word devil appears in red in places in this thread?



Only to show the Arabic-English equivalents. The point I was making was that the Arabic ٱلْوَسْوَاسِ (= the evil whisperer , in English) creates mistrust.


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