# Urdu/Punjabi: a sour face



## lcfatima

Can someone write this word for me in devnagri or nastaliq? I don't know which consonants are aspirated or not, also I am not sure if it is really and Urdu word or just a Punjabi term said in Urdu. The word means like a sour face. It is boothi or bhooti or something.

In a sentence it would be like : aise kyon bhooti/boothi bana rahe ho?


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## francois_auffret

Yes it's a Punjabi and not an Urdu word.


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## panjabigator

Just looked this word up in the dictionary and it defined it as "ugly face."  Where and from whom did you hear this phrase?


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## lcfatima

I have heard it a lot, said to kids, even said to me by my husband (who is not Punjabi).

"Aisii boothi kyon bana rahe ho?"


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## Illuminatus

Interesting. I have never heard this before.


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## BP.

Me neither.

Can this word be used for 'grimace'?


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## Illuminatus

To say sour face, we say _chota se muh _OR _teDha se muh_


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## panjabigator

How about <muu.nh laTkaye>? (मुंह लटकाये)


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## Illuminatus

Will do. <Aise kyon muh laTkaye baitThe ho? Kisi ne piTayee kee kya?>


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## lcfatima

What about a torsh chehra/roo/rukh/shakil? Do any of them work?


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## Illuminatus

By _shakil_, do you mean the same word as _shakl_, which means face?

_shakl-o-soorat_?


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## lcfatima

Yes. Is shakil not used in Hindi? I am sure I have heard it before. In Urdu as far as I know it can mean like rang-roop and also chehra. It also means shape.


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## Illuminatus

We always say Shakl, with a Half K (i.e. with a Sukoon)


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## lcfatima

I think we mean the same thing, just spelling it differently with English orthography.


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## Faylasoof

lcfatima said:


> What about a torsh chehra/roo/rukh/shakil? Do any of them work?



 The word _torsh_ is certainly used for manner of speaking or conduct:

_osne mujhse torsh lahje mein baat ki 

_He spoke to me curtly_ 

oska ravayyah torsh thaa._

He was curt.

But I don't remember us ever using _torsh_ for someone's 'boothi'. In fact it is quite normal to use: '_*kaRwa munh / kaRwi shakl banaana*_' 
( كڑوا منہ /  كڑوی شكل بنانا )


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## lcfatima

Okay Thanks Faylasoof. Lots of good words to use here.

Illuminatus: I looked in the dictionary and yes, the best way to express *shakl* in English orthography is as you wrote it based on its Hindi and Urdu spellings. I guess since it is always said in two distinct syllables in common speech, I didn't realize it was a sakoon word. Incidentally, the dialect of Arabic where I live also doesn't pronounce sukoons (our prayer time fajr is fajar, bahr is behar, and shakl is shakal, too) so sometimes I forget about them. It is such a common word, thanks for the correction.


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## Illuminatus

You don't need to worry. Lax pronunciation often makes it <shakal> in Hindi. I have myself been guilty of saying <shakal> on more than one occasion!


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## lcfatima

Since Bakshi Saheb is here, maybe he can confrim if this word is used in Southern Punjabi. By the way, I have heard it in a new way since this post: *saRii buuthii* , implied meaning sour face, too.


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## teaboy

To express this, *کروی موںہ* _karvi munh_ (bitter face) is what you would hear in Lahore.


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## lcfatima

I am pretty sure saRii buuthi is a very Lahori thing to say.


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## panjabigator

Isn't there some word, <bothṛā> or <thobṛā>?


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## BP.

_t.hobRaa_ is a slang for _face_. In which language I can't tell.


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## cweeetguy2000

_t.hobRaa_ is a slang for face which is used in bambaiyaa Hindi which is derived from marathi word Thobaad (थॉबाङ). While speaking in hindi we use it to derogatorily refer to someones face.


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## panjabigator

cweeetguy2000 said:


> _t.hobRaa_ is a slang for face which is used in bambaiyaa Hindi which is derived from marathi word Thobaad (थॉबाङ). While speaking in hindi we use it to derogatorily refer to someones face.



I've always translated it as "mug," as in "get a load of the mug on that guy."  Are you certain of the etymology by the way?  I've heard this word by Delhi speakers who aren't familiar with Bambaiya slang (i.e., bindaas, etc.).


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## lcfatima

Platt's says thobRa means a snout, nose or muzzle of an animal and gives "mug" as slang.


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## BP.

A snout is a _t.hot.hnii_-تھوتھنی in Urdu.


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## bakshink

Yes Icfatima,
I will tell you a few more BhaiRRii boothhii, BhaiRRii shakal ( which is as said above shakl in Hindi/Urdu) Baandar (Monkey) Boothhii, then there is sujii hoyee boothii even boothhaa if it is much too swollen. b is soft and it's not with t but 'th'. ਭੈੜੀ ਬੂਥੀ,ਭੈੜੀ ਸ਼ਕਲ,ਸੁਜਿ ਹੋਈ ਬੂਥੀ,ਬਾਨ੍ਦਰ ਬੂਥੀ ​


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## lcfatima

BP: Pakistani Urdu-bolne waley shayad filmo.n ki vajah se thobRa samajhte honge, magar aapke khayaal mei.n khud "thobRa" nahi.n  istemaal karenge?

So it means _boothi_ is used in Indian Punjabi, maybe just not in P.G.'s family?


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## BP.

That may be true, but honestly I have no idea if this is a popular word. I've never used it but have sure heard it.


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## panjabigator

lcfatima said:


> BP: Pakistani Urdu-bolne waley shayad filmo.n ki vajah se thobRa samajhte honge, magar aapke khayaal mei.n khud "thobRa" nahi.n  istemaal karenge?
> 
> So it means _boothi_ is used in Indian Punjabi, maybe just not in P.G.'s family?



Eh, well, I've heard some interesting words for face, but it could be that I never picked up on that one.  My mother speaks a Hindi which is laced with Panjabicisms, so I may not have been exposed to this word.  I'll ask them about it.


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## tamah

mmmm
Face = थोबड़ा (thobDaa) typical mumbaiyya hindi slang = चेहरा (chehraa) word in Hindi.


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## Qureshpor

lcfatima said:


> Can someone write this word for me in devnagri or nastaliq? I don't know which consonants are aspirated or not, also I am not sure if it is really and Urdu word or just a Punjabi term said in Urdu. The word means like a sour face. It is boothi or bhooti or something.
> 
> In a sentence it would be like : aise kyon bhooti/boothi bana rahe ho?



buuthii/buuthaa simply means a face/expression but it is always used in a derogatory way.

p_haiRii buuthii vaalaa = bad-shakl(aa)

Never sohNrRii buuthii vaalaa! One dictionary gives the meaning as "animal's face".


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## lcfatima

Thanks Qureshpor


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## Qureshpor

buuthii or buuthaa: The word is strictly speaking for an animal's face (quadruped) and by extension it is used for human face especially when one is implying that it is an ugly face. This is a Punjabi word.


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## panjabigator

UPDATE: My mother uses this word ALL THE TIME in Hindi. How did I miss it!


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## Qureshpor

panjabigator said:


> UPDATE: My mother uses this word ALL THE TIME in Hindi. How did I miss it!


I hope she has the neighbour's goat in mind and not you when she uses this word!


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