# Hindi/Urdu: to smoke



## Anatoli

Hi,

What is the verb for "to smoke" in Hindi and Urdu? Please provide the native script and the romanisation (if you can).

Can the verb पीना / پینا (pīnā) "to drink" be used in this sense?


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## Cilquiestsuens

*Piinaa* is the common verb used for smoking.....

*tambaakoo-noshii* means smoking (as in : smoking is injurious to health)


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## tamah

In Hindi
The verb पीना which you are talking about is said in case of alcohol or illicit drug consumption 
like 
शराब (alcohol) पीना - sharaab pina
सिगरेट (cigarette) पीना - cigarette pina
चरस (marijuana) पीना - charas pina.

When one is consuming some substance ranging from alcohol to heroin, 
the substance name + पीना is used very commonly. 

But to smoke = सुलगाना (sulgana) or धुआं देना (dhuan dena)


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## Anatoli

Thank you!



> But to smoke = सुलगाना (sulgana) or धुआं देना (dhuan dena)



This must be "to smoke" in a sense "to give off smoke" like "a truck is smoking"?


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## Cilquiestsuens

*sulgaana* = _to kindle (a fire)_.

*dhuaa.N denaa* would be to give off smoke... 

Here we use more *dhuaa.N chhoRnaa* or even more often *dhuaa.N maarnaa* (this is more colloquial).

As for smoking cigarettes *piinaa* is the word. If you want a more formal word, you could say *nosh karnaa* (which means the same as piinaa) or the following:

*sigareT noshii karnaa* = to smoke cigarettes
*tambaaku-noshii karnaa* = to smoke tobacco

But this is high register.


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## Anatoli

Thank you, guys. 

I matched सिगरेट पीना (sigaret pīnā) to Urdu spelling and got سگریٹ پینا.  The answer in 2 languages for the price of one.


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## Faylasoof

Anatoli, 

I see you are sorted out about this, but just a liitle extra info here. 

سِگرَٹ پِینا _sigraT piinaa_  =  to smoke a cigarette     (- note the alternative spelling. This pronunciation is also used, apart from سگریٹ. In fact, we use the former, i.e. سِگرَٹ _sigraT_. Also, yet another is سِگْرِٹ_sigriT_)

 سِگار _sigaar_ =   cigar;  حُقَّہ_ huqqah_  =   water pipe / hubble bubble / hookah.

 نوش کرنا / فَرمانا _nosh  karnaa / farmaanaa_ =  to consume / eat / drink. 

 Use of _nosh_ _farmaanaa_ gives it an even higher register than _nosh_ _karnaa_ in Urdu.

 _nosh_ is from Persian and can be used for anything you drink or eat:

نوش_ nosh_ = drinker / consumer (of food or a substance).

شراب نوش/ مے نوش/ بادہ نوش_ sharaab / may / baadah nosh _= drinker of alcoholic beverage. 

تَمْباکُو نوش_ tambaakoo nosh _= smoker (literally, tobacco [تَمْباکُو] drinker / consumer).

تَمْباکُو نُوشِی _tambaakoo noshii _= smoking tobacco i.e smoking - as Cilqui mentioned


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## BP.

The norm is to use _piinaa _or _naushii_, but personally I find them illogical. For some years I've been using the word _p.huu.nknaa_-پھونکنا. Everybody understands apparently.


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## Faylasoof

Well, we can have our personal opinions but there is something call linguistic convention! 

We don't use _p-hooknaa_ in this sense, but do in the sense of _blowing _(_air_) and other meanings, e.g. when you mean to say _to waste money_ = _paysaa p-hooknaa_ = _to burn your money; _or when you talk of burning down or destroying something.  

_p-hooknaa_ can also be considered equally illogical  as you don't blow at /a cigarette or smoke. Anyway, first you need to take in (_piinaa_) the smoke!


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## Subhash Kumar

BelligerentPacifist said:


> The norm is to use _piinaa _or _naushii_, but personally I find them illogical. For some years I've been using the word _p.huu.nknaa_-پھونکنا. Everybody understands apparently.


Yes, I think they started to say "piinaa" probably because it goes hand in hand with sharaab piinaa which is another _popular_ bad addiction.
But p.huu.nknaa, though appearing to be more correct, may not be actually so because p.huun.nknaa is to blow air (out or away) and cigaret smoking is more to do with inhaling the smoke .
BTW, formal Hindi (in public notices etc) uses धूम्रपान करना Dhoomrapaan karnaa for smoking which again corresponds to drinking (paan means piinaa).


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## panjabigator

Right, I've seen धूम्रपान निषेध many times for "no smoking."

The <phūknā> bit is interesting.  Do other Karachites also use this?  I've also seen <phuknā> in the sense that FLS has mentioned above:

<āj tum ne kitne paise phūk diye>

and also
<phūk mar ke pi'o>.

I never seemed to listen to that last one!


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## tamah

Subhash Kumar said:


> BTW, formal Hindi (in public notices etc) uses धूम्रपान करना Dhoomrapaan karnaa for smoking which again corresponds to drinking (paan means piinaa).


 The perfect one Subhash Kumar.
 धूम्रपान निषिद्ध है is the phrase which I never ignore while roaming around in India but I just couldn't remember it for this thread. Thank you.


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## Cilquiestsuens

*sigareT phunknaa...* I've heard it and read it (I think that was in *marHuum kii yaad me.N* by Pitras Bukhari, I'm not sure though but still, this is _mizaahiya_ litterature anyway).

I think this would describe the way of smoking of an addict serial smoker... (like smoking a lot of cigarettes, quickly, one after the other or with ostentation...)... I would describe using this expression as *mubaalighah-aaraa'ii*. 

*dhumra-paan* is the exact Hindi equivalent of _*tambaakuu-noshii*_, in which *noshii / paan* both mean drinking in their respective Farsi and Sanskrit.

So there is no escaping it... In the Sub-continent we do drink cigarettes / huqqa or whatever smoky substance.

*Well, this is not completely true, because Bengali speakers actually 'eat' cigarettes.*


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## linguist786

Is निषिद्ध really a Hindi word? Because I know it is used in Bangla, for example "ekhaane khaadh-o nishedh" (eating is forbidden here)


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## panjabigator

Yes it is.  You find it on signage, though I haven't really heard it spoken.  I assume most people would just say मना/منع.


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## Subhash Kumar

linguist786 said:


> Is निषिद्ध really a Hindi word? Because I know it is used in Bangla, for example "ekhaane khaadh-o nishedh" (eating is forbidden here)


As far as I know निषिद्ध is a Sanskrit word. Therefore, it is used in many IA languages as a तत्सम word (as it is form).


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## BP.

_p.__huunknaa _doesn't only mean blowing out, but burning as well e.g. _aag ne tamaam b.huusaa p.huunk Daalaa_. But 'blowing out' gives me an idea: we could use its antonym to denote smoking i.e. the verb _kashiidan _- to pull - _cigarette kashii_. After all you do take _kashs _- puffs - of the tobacco stick.

In colloquial language _cigarette jalaana_ - to burn a ciggie - was used in Karachi slang about 10 years ago, can't say about now.


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## Faylasoof

BP, you are right! _p-hooknaa_ indeed has this meaning too, i.e. burning. In fact that is what I mentioned above (post # 9). 

_kashiidan_ (from Persian) gives us _kash_ and we do say _kash lena_ and that meant to <deeply take in smoke> or take in a <puff> as you say. 
_sigraT kashii _was being used by some when I was residing in the Indo-Pak subcontinent. Not sure if it ever became widespread and whether it is still used.


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## bakshink

tamah said:


> In Hindi
> The verb पीना which you are talking about is said in case of alcohol or illicit drug consumption
> like
> शराब (alcohol) पीना - sharaab pina
> सिगरेट (cigarette) पीना - cigarette pina
> चरस (marijuana) पीना - charas pina.
> 
> When one is consuming some substance ranging from alcohol to heroin,
> the substance name + पीना is used very commonly.
> 
> But to smoke = सुलगाना (sulgana) or धुआं देना (dhuan dena)



Piina literally means to drink and in Hindi all liquids will use the verb piina. Chaaye piinaa - drink tea, doodh piinaa- drink milk etc. 
If used all by itself like "wo bahut piitaa hai"- He drinks a lot or "usne pii rakhii thii" - He had imbibed(liquor), the unsaid noun is "sharaab-liquor". However for smoking too the verb piina is used therefore cigarette piina, charas piina, gaanja piina etc. is how will we describe smoking these products. Sulgaanaa means to light. So cigarette sulgaana means to light a cigarette.
Poonknaa means to blow or burn so "paise phoonknaa"- to blow up money, "ghar phoonknaa"- to torch the house, jaan phoonkna- to put in one's best or to put life into something etc.


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## tamah

bakshink said:


> Piina literally means to drink and in Hindi all liquids will use the verb piina. Chaaye piinaa - drink tea, doodh piinaa- drink milk etc.
> If used all by itself like "wo bahut piitaa hai"- He drinks a lot or "usne pii rakhii thii" - He had imbibed(liquor), the unsaid noun is "sharaab-liquor". However for smoking too the verb piina is used therefore cigarette piina, charas piina, gaanja piina etc. is how will we describe smoking these products. Sulgaanaa means to light. So cigarette sulgaana means to light a cigarette.
> Poonknaa means to blow or burn so "paise phoonknaa"- to blow up money, "ghar phoonknaa"- to torch the house, jaan phoonkna- to put in one's best or to put life into something etc.


hey bakshink how are you doing?
Anatoli specifically asked about पीना in connection with 'to smoke' so I mentioned verb पीना only in context of illicit substances.
Also I have a question about sulgana . I have heard some guys talking about smoking as 'sulga raha tha'. I learnt about the difference a month back , between 'to smoke' and 'to light up' in context of hindi. I was confused when I heard the guys talk about smoke as sulgana. Is sulgana a rare form of usage relating to smoke?


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## bakshink

Dear Tamah,

1. Sulgaanaa only means to 'light up' (fire) so some people may use it in an extended sense of the word but when we say "Wo biidii/cigarette sulagaa rahaa hai" then literally it will mean that he is lighting up a biidii/cigarette which obviously is necessary for smoking unless someone is smoking an electronic cigarette. 
2. BTW sulagnaa सुलगना means smoulder "laka.Dii abhii bhii sulag rahii hai"  the wood is still smouldering and "Meraa dil sulag rahaa hai". )


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## tamah

O Bakshink 
Coincidentally I came across this line in a poem today 
पल में जल जाना देर तक सुलगने से अच्छा है  
I am able to understand the word सुलगना even better now thanks to your explanation. 
You are a star thank you.


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## bakshink

Thats a good one tamah. Excellent example incidentally for clearing the smoke around Jalanaa and Sulagnaa.


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## Sheikh_14

bakshin;8384455paise phoonknaa"- to blow up money said:
			
		

> Precisely, by Paise phukna the imagery that comes to.mind is reminiscent to blowing your money away I.e. Uraanaa rather than burn it away per se. Nevertheless there may be two different takes on this?


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## amiramir

Faylasoof said:


> Well, we can have our personal opinions but there is something call linguistic convention!
> 
> We don't use _p-hooknaa_ in this sense, but do in the sense of _blowing _(_air_) and other meanings, e.g. when you mean to say _to waste money_ = _paysaa p-hooknaa_ = _to burn your money; _or when you talk of burning down or destroying something.
> 
> _p-hooknaa_ can also be considered equally illogical  as you don't blow at /a cigarette or smoke. Anyway, first you need to take in (_piinaa_) the smoke!



Can we use phookna in the following example:
- Blow on the tea to cool it down. Chaay par phooko jisse vo thoda thanda ho jaye ?

(Also, what is implied by writing p-hookna instead of phookna? Is the former the convention in this forum for denoting an aspirated p?)



Thanks.


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## urdustan

The English "smoking" and Hindi "dhuumrapaan" that have been mentioned in this thread include all smokable substances (tobacco, marijuana, hashish, etc.). The Urdu "tambaakuu-noshii" refers specifically to tobacco. Is there an Urdu term that would include all smokable substances? How about "duud-noshii" or "duxaan-noshii"?


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## Alfaaz

urdustan said:
			
		

> ... Is there an Urdu term that would include all smokable substances? How about "duud-noshii" or "duxaan-noshii"?


 From the Arabic root دخن (the derivatives دخان and مدخن are present in Urdu), there are the following which could probably be borrowed into Urdu (and are already used in some online articles/listed in a few online dictionaries):

تدخین - _smoking_
مدخِّن - _smoker_
مدخَّن - _smoked_
دخینہ | جمع: دخائن - _cigarette _(or anything similar)
Examples to illustrate possible usage:

_Smoking is injurious to health. _- .تدخین مضرِ صحّت ہے
_Smoking prohibited! - _!تدخین ممنوع
_Smoking of tobacco is also called "_تمباکو نوشی_" in Urdu._ - .تمباکو *کی تدخین* کو اردو میں تمباکو نوشی بھی کہتے ہیں
Note: The purpose of this example is to show that تدخین is treated as _feminine _(based on usage in online Urdu articles). Therefore, کی is used. 

Would دود کشی be appropriate...?

Suggestions and corrections would be appreciated!


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