# Hindi/Urdu: mentally ill/challenged



## lcfatima

What are non-clinical ways to describe someone with mental illness or mental challenges?


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## tamah

The most common way in Hindi is 'मानसिक रूप से विकलांग' 
You also can say मानसिक रोगी.


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## lcfatima

In a polite and informal way in Urdu/Hindi I have heard people use "bechain," like disturbed.


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## tamah

lcfatima said:


> In a polite and informal way in Urdu/Hindi I have heard people use "bechain," like disturbed.


 
Bechain बेचैन stands for anxiousness or uneasiness. 
We do not apply this word for the mentally ill in Hindi. 

If the anxiety level rises up and it gets developed in Anxiety Disorder then also we do not refer to the person affected as 'mentally ill'. 

Bechain (anxiousness) is not a mental illness, its a behavioral condition.


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## Faylasoof

Here are some ways to describe various mental illnesses in Urdu. Some terms have overlapping meanings so the listed meanings are not categorical! Neither is this comprehensive. 

 Depends on the kind of mental illness (see also the thread on “Bipolar”).

 Mental illness =  _dimaaghii xalal_دِماغی خَلَل = _xalqaan_ خَلقان = _ixtilaal-e-dimaaghii_ اختلال دماغی

 Another general way to express the idea:

 دِماغی حالَت / تَوازُن خَراب / ناساز ہونا
_dimaaghii Haalat / tawaazun xaraab / naasaaz hona_

 ذِھنی حالَت / تَوازُن خَراب / ناساز ہونا
_dhihnii (zihnii) Haalat / tawaazun xaraab / naasaaz hona_

 Both of the above would be translated as: to be mentally ill / unbalanced (balance = _tawaazun _تَوازُن). 

 Frenzy, obsessive (crazy) behaviour = _junoon_ جُنون  - also used when someone is deeply in love with / attached to someone or something but otherwise quite sane!

 Madness = _paagalpan_ پاگَلپَن

 Mental craziness = _sank_ سَنْک= _diiwaangii_ دِیوانْگی - but also _junoon_.

 Psychosis = _dimaaghii 3aariDhah_ دماغی عارضہ= _maaliixooliyaa_ مالِیخُولِیا

 Dementia =  _xabt ul hawaas_ خَبطُ الحَواس


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## bakshink

In Punjabi Jhalla, shudaayee. In Hindi/Urdu , sarphiraa, baukhlaayaa, baavalaa, ba.nvaraa, deevaanaa, saudaaee can be used to describe certain mild mental conditions/aberrations which may be transient or even lasting.


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## Faylasoof

Bakshink,
We Urduphones  use some of the ones you mentioned as follows:

_sarphiraa_ = _sarkash / naa farmaan / Dhiddii_ = obstinate / defiant ; also can be used to mean _crazy _- but not ncessarily mentally ill.

_baukhlaayaa = ghabraayaa / bad Hawaas = _confused / disturbed / perturbed / anguished_ etc.
_
Neither of the above really we use for some one who is mentally ill. 

But _baaulaa_, I agree means mentally ill:

_baaualaa  / baaulaa_ = mad / crazy/ dranged / demented


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## Rishiraj

In Hindi the word is Vikshipt


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## bakshink

That's an excellent word, heard after a long time. Thanks Rishiraj
विक्षिप्त    वि. [सं.विÖक्षिप्(फेंकना)+क्त] [भाव.विक्षिप्तता] फेंका या छितराया हुआ। 2.छोड़ा या त्यागा हुआ। व्यक्त। 3.जिसका मस्तिष्क ठीक तरह से काम न करता हो। पागल। सिड़ी। 4.पागलों की तरह घबराया हुआ और विकल।


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## panjabigator

Rishiraj said:


> In Hindi the word is Vikshipt



How is that different from विकलांग?  Can someone break down the roots here?


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## bakshink

विकल      वि. [सं.ब.स.] 1.जिसमें कल न हो। कल से रहित। 2.जिसका आराम या चैन नष्ट हो चुका हो। बेचैन। व्याकुल। 3.जिसकी कला न रह गई हो। कला से रहित या हीन। 4.जिसका कोई अंग टूट या निकल गया हो। खंडित। जैसे-विकलांग। 5.जिसमें कोई कपमी हो। घटा हुआ। 6.असमर्थ। 7.क्षोभ,भय आदि से युक्त। 8.प्रभाव,शक्ति आदि से रहित। 9.कुम्हलाया या मुरझाया हुआ। 10.प्राकृतिक। स्वाभाविक। पुं.=विकला।

PG- vikalaa.ng is vikal + a.ng. In the above list of meanings for vikal fourth is the one joined with a.ng (body part) to form vikalaa.ng. Vikshipt I believe is not a combined word. Let's wait for inputs.


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## Not.A.Linguist

विकलांग = Handicapped/diabled. Explanation provided by bakshink (जिसका कोई अंग टूट या निकल गया हो) is on the spot. This almost always refers to physical disability. The origin of the word is Sanskrit. विकल + अंग, विकल = Defected, अंग = "Part of the body".

विक्षिप्त = Is a word used only in one sense, mentally challenged. This is used for referring to both short term and permanent situations. The origin of the word is Sanskrit.


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## panjabigator

Fatima, I've learned the Pashto for this (I imagine Urdu might have a similar phrase?): عصبي ناروغتیا

This sounds like "nervous illness" to me, though.


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## Qureshpor

lcfatima said:


> What are non-clinical ways to describe someone with mental illness or mental challenges?



I think bearing in mind political correctness and avoiding any "technical" vocabularly, "dimaaGhii mariiz" is an expression that comes to mind.

Qureshpor


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## Cilquiestsuens

Zehni mariiz ذہنی مریض is also used.


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## Maham

Yep Zehni mareez / zehni taur par mazoor

zehni /dimaaghi tawazun kharab hona


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## BP.

Cilquiestsuens said:


> Zehni mariiz ذہنی مریض is also used.


Or ذہنی معذور.


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## Qureshpor

BelligerentPacifist said:


> Or ذہنی معذور.



I think "zihnii ma'zuur" on its own might not be correct. "zihnii taur pih ma'zuur" sounds better.


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## tonyspeed

i'm guessing the laymans terms for  severe mental illness would be paagalpan and deewanagi. He did ask for the "non-clinical" way. Mansik rogi in my opinion is very formal printed Hindi.


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## BP.

QURESHPOR said:


> I think "zihnii ma'zuur" on its own might not be correct. "zihnii taur pih ma'zuur" sounds better.



This is not my yardstick for grammatical correctness, but this web search shows the use is well established and documented.

G'night.


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## Qureshpor

BelligerentPacifist said:


> This is not my yardstick for grammatical correctness, but this web search shows the use is well established and documented.
> 
> G'night.



Good Morning! I had said, "I think "zihnii ma'zuur" on its own might not be correct. "zihnii taur pih ma'zuur" sounds better". I am sure you know exactly what I have meant by this. The "norm" as far as I know is to use "zihnii taur par/pih ma'zuur". I did not state anything about the sentence being not grammatically correct.

My feeling is that when "zihnii ma'zuur" is used, then "taur pih" is understood. Secondly, I believe, "zihnii ma'zuur" is an attempt to run parallel with the English "mentally disabled". As you and I know too well, "zihnii" on its own does not impart the adverbial meaning of "mentally".

Qureshpor


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## BP.

QURESHPOR said:


> ...
> 
> My feeling is that when "zihnii ma'zuur" is used, then "taur pih" is understood. Secondly, I believe, "zihnii ma'zuur" is an attempt to run parallel with the English "mentally disabled". As you and I know too well, "zihnii" on its own does not impart the adverbial meaning of "mentally".


That is my feeling too. But this seems to work better with longer constructions like ادارہ برائے ذہنی معذور افراد. Maybe 'mentally challenged' went through the same phase in English before being accepted.


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## ihsaan

I was trying to look up mentally challenged/(retarded). As in, someone who is somewhat "slow" when it comes to mental capabilities. Can any of these be used?: 
دماغی کمی
 پسماندگی

I am not looking for a word describing "mental illness", which is something completely different, but rather someone who for example was born with Down Syndrome or the like. Also, how could this word then be used in a sentence, such as: "His sister is mentally challenged."?

I am looking for a polite way to express this. Thank you.


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## Alfaaz

ihsaan said:
			
		

> Can any of these be used?:
> دماغی کمی
> پسماندگی
> 
> I am not looking for a word describing "mental illness", which is something completely different, but rather someone who for example was born with Down Syndrome or the like. Also, how could this word then be used in a sentence, such as: "His sister is mentally challenged."?
> 
> *I am looking for a polite way to express this.* Thank you.


 I think the words you have mentioned might not be the most appropriate/polite ones to use...?! 

Whenever such subjects/topics are discussed (in television programs, news, etc.), Urdu media now tends to use words (especially when mentioning children) like خصوصی (بجے/بچیاں)/بچگان/افراد. These are similar to _special needs, etc._ in English and comparatively more considerate/polite.

Let's see what other suggest!


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## ihsaan

Aha! Interesting. But by using expressions like khoSooSi bacche and the like... Isn't this quite general terms? I mean... does it in some way hint as to what the reason behind their special needs are? I mean, one could be a special needs child due to a physical handicap, and not due to being mentally challenged.


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## Sheikh_14

Faylasoof said:


> Here are some ways to describe various mental illnesses in Urdu. Some terms have overlapping meanings so the listed meanings are not categorical! Neither is this comprehensive.
> 
> Depends on the kind of mental illness (see also the thread on “Bipolar”).
> 
> Mental illness =  _dimaaghii xalal_دِماغی خَلَل = _xalqaan_ خَلقان = _ixtilaal-e-dimaaghii_ اختلال دماغی
> 
> Another general way to express the idea:
> 
> دِماغی حالَت / تَوازُن خَراب / ناساز ہونا
> _dimaaghii Haalat / tawaazun xaraab / naasaaz hona_
> 
> ذِھنی حالَت / تَوازُن خَراب / ناساز ہونا
> _dhihnii (zihnii) Haalat / tawaazun xaraab / naasaaz hona_
> 
> Both of the above would be translated as: to be mentally ill / unbalanced (balance = _tawaazun _تَوازُن).
> 
> Frenzy, obsessive (crazy) behaviour = _junoon_ جُنون  - also used when someone is deeply in love with / attached to someone or something but otherwise quite sane!
> 
> Madness = _paagalpan_ پاگَلپَن
> 
> Mental craziness = _sank_ سَنْک= _diiwaangii_ دِیوانْگی - but also _junoon_.
> 
> Psychosis = _dimaaghii 3aariDhah_ دماغی عارضہ= _maaliixooliyaa_ مالِیخُولِیا
> 
> Dementia =  _xabt ul hawaas_ خَبطُ الحَواس


Faylasoof saaHib has offered a treasure trove of terms relating to mental illness but the mentally ill query remains somewhat unresolved. Firstly maaliixooliyaa is a direct borrowing of the term melancholia which relates to depression and not mental illness perse. Thence the inclusion is confusing. That being said would melancholic be maaliixolii or perhaps maaliixolii-zada? This is something that springs to mind with other terms too that have been Urdised in Ziyaabiitiis I.e. Diabetes (I can't recall of the top of my head how it's spelt so feel free to correct).

Secondly, what are the thoughts of Urdu-phones on using Zehnan and dimaaghan in lieu of the more cumbersome dimaaghii/zehnii taur par? That being said Faylasoof saaHib has already indicated that "taur par" in these constructs is redundant. This is one of my gripes with modern day Urdu-phones who perpetually see the need to elongate terms where that doesn't need to be the case. Urdu used to have a knack at brevity until it was buffeted with an onslaught of English terms and everyone seems to have forgotten about how Urdu was just as well matched in that department if not better. Compound terms do come naturally to the language to begin with there are several unrelated examples such as muNh-toR (in lieu of muNh toR dene waalaa) or joR-toR.

How about the following for someone who is mentally ill:

Zehnii/dimaaGhii Ghair-mutawaazan or Zehnan/dimaaGhan Ghair-mutawazan

Other alternatives on the tawaazun front could be Zehnii/dimaaGhii be-tawaazun again if your uncomfortable with the disclusion of taur par, zehnan/dimaaGhan should do the trick. Lastly how about Zehnii/dimaaGhii tawaazun khoyaa for a male and zehnii/dimaGhii tawaazun kho'ii for a female?

The most common way of stating someone has lost it is "woh apnaa dimaaGhii/zehnii tawaazun kho beThaa/chukaa hai" thence in line with that I have proferred the above.

Zehnii/dimaaGhii xalal-zada and zadagaan in plural form. Zada is a suffix used for those afflicted by a condition or situation. I've always wondered whether the feminine variant could be zadii as is the case for zaada. So for instance the female equivalent could be zehnii/dimaaghii/maghzii xalal-zadii with potential plural forms being zadiyaaN or zadiiyaat?


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## amiramir

I'd like to revive this thread, particularly for Hindi, as I don't think the question has been adequately answered. I'm not convinced people walking down the street, describing the local mentally ill person, really use vikshipt, etc.

I would have thought, if one wanted to avoid the bluntness of paagal, one would use sarphiraa. Somehow that's in my head. But the post #7 says crazy is only one meaning and that the main meaning is more like obstinate (at least for Urdu). 

But maybe I've made this all up, and no one in fact uses sarphiraa in such a situation. 

Any thoughts/suggestions?

Thanks.


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## aevynn

amiramir said:


> I'd like to revive this thread, particularly for Hindi, as I don't think the question has been adequately answered... I would have thought, if one wanted to avoid the bluntness of paagal, one would use sarphiraa.


I feel like @littlepond jii may have something useful to say here and I hope he chimes in. To me... While _sarphiraa_ is maybe less "wild-eyed" than _paagal_, it still doesn't carry the empathetic/clinical feeling that "mentally ill" does. To make a loose analogy, if _paagal_ is roughly as blunt as "insane," then _sarphiraa_ still sounds at least roughly as blunt as "not right in the head" to me. A suggestion made above that felt to me to be both pretty colloquial and roughly as empathetic/clinical as "mentally ill" was this one:


Faylasoof said:


> _dimaaghii Haalat ... xaraab ... hona_





amiramir said:


> I'm not convinced people walking down the street, describing the local mentally ill person, really use vikshipt, etc.


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## amiramir

Thank you. 

As a variation on the above, is it normal to describe someone in a non-mean/non-rude way as iskaa dimaagh kharaab hai? 

I associate it with an incredulous "(teraa) dimaagh kharaab hai kyaa?!?!?!"


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## aevynn

amiramir said:


> As a variation on the above, is it normal to describe someone in a non-mean/non-rude way as iskaa dimaagh kharaab hai?
> 
> I associate it with an incredulous "(teraa) dimaagh kharaab hai kyaa?!?!?!"


lol yeah, I think your association is correct: _dimaaG xaraab hai_ sounds mean/rude to me too. Changing _dimaaG_ to _dimaaGii Haalat_ changes the tone quite a lot, it feels to me


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