# Urdu, Hindi: As/Like



## jimmy7

Hey There I am new to the site and was wondering if you guys could help me with some Urdu/Hindi grammar/speaking issues I have.

I don’t really understand how you use the term “like/as” in phrases such as “He is like a child”   or “he is as good as the cricketter”

I understand that the key word in hindi/urdu is “jaisa/jaiese/jaisee”?? But I have no idea how to use it and in what forms it should be used in depending upon the subject.

I’d really appreciate someone’s help on this with some examples if possible?


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## tonyspeed

jaisaa / jaisii / jaise  behave like adjectives

The ending changes according to if the thing being described is masculine singular (jaisaa), feminine singular or plural (jaisii) or masculine plural (jaise). 

Example:

यह तो मेरी बेटी जैसी है (like my daughter) - jaisii because the person being described is a woman
*सलमान-अक्षय भी एक जैसी फिल्‍में करते हैं (the same type of films)  - jaisii because the thing being described (filmeN) is feminine.*

*आप मेरे जैसे हो? (like me) - jaise because "aap" is assumed to be masculine plural in this case*



The thing that comes before jaisaa/jaisii/jaise (the thing the object is like) must be in oblique form. That is a different story.

It should also be noted that the full phrase is (ke jaisaa). Ke is often dropped.


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## Alfaaz

jimmy7 said:
			
		

> *Hey There I am new to the site and was wondering if you guys could help me with some Urdu/Hindi grammar/speaking issues I have.
> 
> **I don’t really understand how you use the term “like/as” in phrases such as “He is like a child” *...


 Welcome to the forum. Can you read the script of either language? 

_He is like a (male) child:_ 

_woh bachche *jaisaa* hai _(singular)
_woh bachche *jaise* haiN_ (majestic plural and plural)
_She is like a (female) child:_ 

_woh bachchii *jaisii* hai_ (singular)
_woh bachchii *jaisii* haiN _(majestic plural and plural)
Apart from_ jaisaa/jaisii/jaise_, the following can also be used for "as, like":

_woh bachche/bachchii kii *maanind *haiN_
_woh bachche/bachchii kii *tarH *haiN_
جیسے - جس طرح :_ jaise - jis tarH_
ایسے - اس طرح :_ aise - is tarH_
ویسے - اس طرح : _waise - us tarH_

_woh *misl*-e-tifl haiN_
A few examples from poetry:




_shaam ke surma'ii andheroN meN, yuuN mere dil ke daagh jalte haiN
*jaise* parbat ke sabz peRoN par, barf ke ba3d dhoop paRtii hai
*jaise *SaHraa kii ret uR uR kar, ajnabii kaa tawaaf kartii hai

Khwaja Pervez_
شام کے سرمئی اندھیروں میں، یوں میرے دل کے داغ جلتے ہیں
*جیسے* پربت کے سبز پیڑوں پر، برف کے بعد دھوپ پڑتی ہے
*جیسے* صحرا کی ریت اڑ اڑ کر، اجنبی کا طواف کرتی ہے

خواجہ پرویز
_raat phailii hai tere surma'ii aaNchal *kii tarH*
chaand niklaa hai tujhe DhuunDne, paagal *kii tarH*

xusk patoN *kii tarH l*og uRe jaate haiN
shahr bhii ab to nazar aataa hai, jaNgal* kii tarH

*Kaleem Usmani_
رات پھیلی ہے تیرے ، سرمئی آنچل *کی طرح* 
 چاند نکلا ہے تجھے ڈھونڈنے ، پاگل *کی طرح *

 خشک پتوں *کی طرح *، لوگ اُڑے جاتے ہیں 
 شہر  بھی اب تو نظر آتا ہے  ، جنگل* کی طرح*

کلیم عثمانی
_us se ik baar to ruuThuuN main usii *kii maanand*
aur mirii tarH se woh mujhko manaane aa'e

Parween Shakir_
اس سے اک بار تو روٹھوں میں اسی *کی مانند*
 اور مری طرح سے وہ مجھکو منانے آئے

پروین شاکر
_kaheeN khiNchaa rahaa dunyaa se *misl*-e-dast-e-faqeer
*misaal*-e-dast-e-tamannaa kaheeN baRhaa huaa main

Bilal Ahmad_
کہیں کھنچا رہا دنیا سے *مثلِ* دستِ فقیر
*مثالِ *دستِ تمنّا کہیں بڑھا ہوا میں

بلال احمد


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## jimmy7

Hey thank you for your contributions they help a lot.

I cann read a little bit of Urdu script but romanized would be easier.

Just to see if I have got this right does the following sentence say ‘he is like a little girl’?

Voh chautti chautti larkee jaisa hai

Because ‘voh’ is referring to a male?


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## Alfaaz

_woh_ can be used for _he/she/it_, but in your sentence it refers to a male (indicated by _jaisaa_).

_chhoTii_ does not have to be repeated in this case. 

_*Male*_ described as/compared to a  _female child_:_ *woh* chhoTii laRkii/bachchii jais*aa* hai._

_*Female*_ described as/compared to a _male child_: _*woh *chhoTe laRke/bachche jais*ii* hai._


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## jimmy7

Hi

Thanks for clearing that up.

So how would you go about making more complex sentences using ‘as’? For exapmle:

He is as smart as his teacher

And

H is as good at cricket as his older brother

Thanks in advance!


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## Alfaaz

Attempt:
woh itnaa hii zaheen hai jitnaa keh us ke ustaad. → woh apne ustaad jitnaa zaheen hai.

woh cricket meN utnaa hii (achhaa/qaabil) hai jitnaa keh us kaa baRaa bhaa'ii. → woh cricket meiN apne baRe bhaa'ii jitnaa (achhaa/qaabil) hai.


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## amiramir

Alfaaz said:


> woh cricket meiN apne baRe bhaa'ii jitnaa (achhaa/qaabil) hai.



If the comparison is to me, is it: vo cricket meiN *mere jitnaa* achchhaa hai? I googled it to see if it's idiomatic and "mere jitna" in quotes only elicited ca. 7K google hits.

Also, would mere jaisa work in this context? 

And mere should definitely be oblique in all cases, no? not Mera?

Thanks


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## MonsieurGonzalito

2 things to add to the already excellent answers:


as in Hindustani adverbs accept inflection, normally the direct form will appear as a headword. See this thread . But when the adverb is modifying a verb, generally the oblique form is expected.

the adjectival suffix -se (optionally written separately) also fulfills the function asked about in the thread title.



amiramir said:


> And mere should definitely be oblique in all cases, no? not Mera?



I believe not, @amiramir
_mera jaisa_ is possible, if the construction is modifying a nominal word that is itself in direct case.

For example:

_agar mērā jaisā garīb hī nahīṁ hōtā tō tr̥vinskē upar śāsan kartā_
If I had not been so poor ("as myself" is implied), I would have ruled over [some place]

There _garīb _is an adjective in direct case, therefore _mērā jaisā_ is in direct too.


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## Alfaaz

amiramir said:
			
		

> If the comparison is to me, is it: vo cricket meiN *mere jitnaa* achchhaa hai? I googled it to see if it's idiomatic and "mere jitna" in quotes only elicited ca. 7K google hits.
> 
> Also, would mere jaisa work in this context?
> 
> And mere should definitely be oblique in all cases, no? not Mera?


 Yes, _mujh/mere jitnaa achchhaa - as good as me_.

_mere jaisaa _(_like me_) doesn't seem appropriate, because it would imply that you're a _type of good/adept_ and the other person is _the similar type of good/adept_. *

Yes, that is correct. 

* Another example for _jaisaa vs. jitnaa_: _a lot for constructing a new home_

_tumhaarii lot jaisii lot - a lot like your lot (in terms of location, topography, size, etc.)_
_tumhaarii lot jitnii lot - a lot the size of your lot _


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## amiramir

Thank you. Mere jitna is what sounded right, but I doubted myself due to the low g-hits. Probably a transliteration thing I suppose.


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## littlepond

amiramir said:


> If the comparison is to me, is it: vo cricket meiN *mere jitnaa* achchhaa hai? I googled it to see if it's idiomatic and "mere jitna" in quotes only elicited ca. 7K google hits.
> 
> Also, would mere jaisa work in this context?



"mere jitnaa" is fine. "mere jaisaa" is also fine if the person whom you are speaking to already knows that you are referring to your being good in cricket. Otherwise, can mean, as Alfaaz jii indicated, similar type as me (e.g., a very orthodox batsman).


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## MonsieurGonzalito

then my example:

_agar meraa jaisaa gariib hii nahiiN hotaa, to ..._

is gramatically wrong? It should have been:

_agar mere jaisaa ...? _


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## Qureshpor

MonsieurGonzalito said:


> then my example:
> 
> _agar meraa jaisaa gariib hii nahiiN hotaa, to ..._
> 
> is gramatically wrong? It should have been:
> 
> _agar mere jaisaa ...? _


Yes


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## aevynn

MonsieurGonzalito said:


> then my example:
> 
> _agar meraa jaisaa gariib hii nahiiN hotaa, to ..._
> 
> is gramatically wrong? It should have been:
> 
> _agar mere jaisaa ...? _


People say _meraa jaisaa X_ quite frequently, and there are even literary examples to be found on Rekhta and Gadyakosh.


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## MonsieurGonzalito

aevynn said:


> People say _meraa jaisaa X_ quite frequently, and there are even literary examples to be found on Rekhta and Gadyakosh.


My uneducated observation is that people are all over the place with this X _jaisaa_ agreement. It would seem that thet often react based on the sheer "proximty" to other words,  (like in my former question here)  rather than out of careful grammatical considerations.


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## Qureshpor

aevynn said:


> People say _meraa jaisaa X_ quite frequently, and there are even literary examples to be found on Rekhta and Gadyakosh.


They might say it but grammatically this would be wrong. I am of course speaking from an Urdu perspective. For "meraa jaisaa", I would expect "mujh jaisaa/jaisii"...


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## MonsieurGonzalito

Qureshpor said:


> For "meraa jaisaa", I would expect "mujh jaisaa/jaisii"...


Interesting! 
So, "_mere jaisaa_" is a less preferable form, akin to, say, Mumbaii's "_mere ko_"?  
(I heard it in some Urdu songs, though).


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## Dinraat

MonsieurGonzalito said:


> Interesting!
> *So, "mere jaisaa" is a less preferable form*, akin to, say, Mumbaii's "_mere ko_"?
> (I heard it in some Urdu songs, though).


Yes, mere jesa is less preferable but not uncommon in everyday speech. Mujh jesa is the formal (and grammatically correct) form though.


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