# Hindi - baabuu-jii



## tonyspeed

For whom is the term baabuu-jii used for in Hindi?


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## Cilquiestsuens

I'd say for WCW's.


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## littlepond

Could be for one's father. For a boss. For a person belong to higher class/status. Could also be used as a joke between friends, esp. if say one person has worn very smart clothes, well-oiled hair, etc. ...


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## Qureshpor

Yes, agreeing with posts 2 and 3 and with a little addition.

Essentially, the word means "father", also "baapuu" (but no where near as common) as in the "baapuu kii amar kahaanii". 

The secondary and the more popular usage it seems is for a person who is educated, wearing a shirt and a tie at least but perhaps also a jacket. Examples of this can be given by way of two characters whose rural counterparts call them "baabuu jii" (One in the film Madhumati and the other in "do badan"). There is also a song by Asha Bhosle "ko'ii shahrii baabuu....."

I agree with the white collar worker definition. One could say that everyone who has a clerical job in the Civil Service, the Railways and other such bodies would be a "baabuu".

The word "baabuu" is used as part of proper names as in "Ram Babu Saksena" who wrote the first history of Urdu literature in 1927.


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## Dib

Just to avoid any confusion, let me state this explicitly: it is used exclusively for men.


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## littlepond

Since Quresh jii mentioned songs, it reminded me of the quite-erotic song "Babujii dhire chalnaa ..." (I think filmed on Shakila? I might be wrong).

By the way, "Bapu" is more commonly used - in Hindi - for Mahatama Gandhi. In certain other languages, "bapu" is the standard word for "father" - and highly used. However, "bapu" is never used for white-collar workers, etc. "bapu" is mostly used in those languages for one's own father, for Gandhi, or for elders.

Back to Hindi: There is also the derivative "babuaa": "o babuaa, tanik idhar aavo" ... an affectionate term mostly, and often used with children or teenagers, especially when they are smartly dressed. As in: "yeh babuaa bane kahaaN chale?"


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## Dib

In the Bihari circle "baabuu" (but not "baabuujii") is often used by older people to address younger men/boys/male children affectionately.


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## marrish

Although not _baabuu_, I think it is nevertheless related to your contribution Dib (_baabuu!_): _baabaa_, although normally in (sorry, in Urdu, but I am afraid it is due to be used by some Hindi speakers at least): _baabaa_ - normally used for the elderly but also in this situation for youngsters and not only in Bihar but in places as far remote as Pakistan. _baabuu_ has been notoriously used as a honorificative for Bengali men in function because of the centre of learning in British India in Calcutta and then expanded to all clerks, but also to all Bengalis. The difference is that a _baNgaalii baabuu_ is not a _baabuu jii_. Could someone tell how it is in Hindi actually?


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## littlepond

^ Well, it's not restricted to Bengalis: we also have "bihari baabuu". "marathi manoos", "gujju bhaai", and so on - these terms depend a lot on cultural contexts. I do not understand your question "Could someone tell how it is in Hindi actually?", since i_t is in Hindi_ that one is saying "bengali/bihari baabuu"! For the Bengalis, post Anand (the film), something like "baabu-moshaaye" is also very common, as is the addition of suffixes "-da" or "daadaa".


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## marrish

littlepond said:


> ^ Well, it's not restricted to Bengalis: we also have "bihari baabuu". "marathi manoos", "gujju bhaai", and so on - these terms depend a lot on cultural contexts. I do not understand your question "Could someone tell how it is in Hindi actually?", since i_t is in Hindi_ that one is saying "bengali/bihari baabuu"! For the Bengalis, post Anand (the film), something like "baabu-moshaaye" is also very common, as is the addition of suffixes "-da" or "daadaa".


Even though you didn’t understand my question you have answered it, for which thanks. Didn’t I write in my post that I was talking about Urdu? (sorry, in Urdu, …). I hope it’s not difficult to imagine that I simply didn’t know how it is used in Hindi and therefore asked this question?


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## Chhaatr

marrish said:


> Although not _baabuu_, I think it is nevertheless related to your contribution Dib (_baabuu!_): _baabaa_, although normally in (sorry, in Urdu, but I am afraid it is due to be used by some Hindi speakers at least): _baabaa_ - normally used for the elderly but also in this situation for youngsters and not only in Bihar but in places as far remote as Pakistan. _baabuu_ has been notoriously used as a honorificative for Bengali men in function because of the centre of learning in British India in Calcutta and then expanded to all clerks, but also to all Bengalis. The difference is that a _baNgaalii baabuu_ is not a _baabuu jii_. Could someone tell how it is in Hindi actually?



Another variation in the usage of _baabaa_ is:

_arey baabaa, meraa matlab yeh nahiiN thaa!_


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## littlepond

@marrish: So far as you've got your answer, all is well  Remember that anyone reading your post would assume that only the point about "baabaa" was limited to your Urdu knowledge. None of us possesses extra-sensory powers to know what you were thinking in your mind; we can only go by the syntax of your posts.


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## littlepond

Chhaatr said:


> Another variation in the usage of _baabaa_ is:
> 
> _arey baabaa, meraa matlab yeh nahiiN thaa!_



And also: "baabaa re baabaa, yeh maine kyaa kar Daalaa!"


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## Chhaatr

_baap re baap, aap to bahut tez haiN! _


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## littlepond

_^ Par aap bhii to kuchh kam tez nahin nikle, Chhaatr baabu! _


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