# Urdu, Hindi: sports club/centre



## marrish

Hi,

Just wondering how you would say 'sports centre, sports club' in Urdu and in Hindi, bearing in mind that in such a place there are facilities to indulge into different sports.

Of course it is very easy to say: sporTs klab but I am looking for an expression which doesn't contain English loanwords.

I'd appreciate if you could give an existent expression, if possible.

Let us start with _kheloN kaa markaz/kendra._


----------



## Alfaaz

warzish khaanah/gah would be place of exercise or gymnasium: عریانی مرکز in its original meaning....

sports center/place/club: khel markaz/gah/anjuman, or these really wild ones with izaafats:  مرکز لہو و لعب , مرکز الریاض ! (The last two could be misunderstood for something really different...?)


----------



## flyinfishjoe

I think _jimxaanaa_ would be a good Hindi candidate. Although this might derive from the English word "gym." I'm not sure of this.


----------



## Alfaaz

> I think _jimxaanaa_ would be a good Hindi candidate. Although this might derive from the English word "gym." I'm not sure of this.



Yes it does seem like an English-Urdu hybrid: gym-gymnasium and khaanah/خانہ : place...

But wouldn't that be more like exercise place than sports club (as mentioned in the post above)...or maybe it can work for both? might even depend on regional differences (some people/parts of the world may view a gym and sports center differently...)


----------



## Alfaaz

Could baazi/بازی  also be used in place of khel (if making an izaafat was desired)...?


----------



## Faylasoof

flyinfishjoe said:


> I think _jimxaanaa_ would be a good Hindi candidate. Although this might derive from the English word "gym." I'm not sure of this.


 _jimxaanaa / __jimxaanah or _gymkhana as it was known at the time of the British is discussed here. However, there are other meanings too, here and here. So not exactly ideal for what we are looking for.


----------



## greatbear

In Hindi, I'd say "khel kendra" or "kriDaa kendra" for sports/recreation centre and "khel addaa" for sports club. Of course, gymkhaanaa very much exists also for a sports center.


----------



## marrish

greatbear said:


> In Hindi, I'd say "khel kendra" or "kriDa kendra" for sports/recreation centre and "khel addaa" for sports club. Of course, gymkhaanaa very much exists also for a sports center.



Thanks for this contribution - very accurate. Is _jiimxaanah _also used for a sports centre?


----------



## marrish

Faylasoof said:


> _jimxaanaa / __jimxaanah or _gymkhana as it was known at the time of the British is discussed here. However, there are other meanings too, here and here. So not exactly ideal for what we are looking for.


Thank you for providing background information. Your suggestion is important - it would be indeed not opportune to use jimxaanah as such.


----------



## Qureshpor

marrish said:


> Hi,
> 
> Just wondering how you would say 'sports centre, sports club' in Urdu and in Hindi, bearing in mind that in such a place there are facilities to indulge into different sports.
> 
> Of course it is very easy to say: sporTs klab but I am looking for an expression which doesn't contain English loanwords.
> 
> I'd appreciate if you could give an existent expression, if possible.
> 
> Let us start with _kheloN kaa markaz/kendra._




I would like to see a trend in Urdu towards compound word-formation. I would also like to start from grass root words of the language, if possible, before soaring high in the sky in search of other words. The latter course of action of course is not always avoidable.

jim-xaanah is a good example and I would like to reserve this for "gym" alone.

khel-markaz (Sports Centre/s)
khel-club (Sports Club/s) (I know you don't want any English words but "club" has been around for a long time.
khel-akhaaRaa (Sports Arena)
khel-dangal (Sports Stadium)
khel-maidaan (Sports Ground/Field)


----------



## greatbear

marrish said:


> Thanks for this contribution - very accurate. Is _jiimxaanah _also used for a sports centre?



Gymkhana is a sports center; it isn't anything else! My university's sports center used to go by the name of gymkhana - the word "gym" has nothing to do with the English gyms, but the word for ball in Hindi, "gend". So it's neither an anglicism nor a wrong choice - the only reason I would select "khel kendra" or something similar is that gymkhanas were set up during the British Raj and the word is obsolete now.


----------



## Faylasoof

marrish said:


> Thank you for providing background information. Your suggestion is important - it would be indeed not opportune to use jimxaanah as such.


 marrish SaaHib, though gymkhana (_jimxaanah_) is indeed used for a sports centre in South Asia (well at least in India and Pakistan), the word however is categorised as ‘Anglo-Indian’, as you would easily recognise it. So I guess it would not meet your original criterion. I mean this,


marrish said:


> ....
> Of course it is very easy to say: sporTs klab but _I am looking for an expression which doesn't contain English loanwords._
> .....


 The ‘gym’ in gymkhana_ is_ from English! 

gymkhana 1861, Anglo-Indian, said to be from Hindustani gend-khana, lit. “ball house;” _altered in English by influence of gymnasium_. 

As this etymology makes plain, our original _gend-khana_ (_gend-xaanah _گیند خانہ  गेंद-ख़ाना = ball house) became _gymkhana_ (_jimxaanah_) under the influence of the English word _gymnasium_. This hybrid term was popularised during the British era and now we all use it!

Since you are looking for a term that doesn’t include English loanwords (gym being such a lone word) therefore you may wish to revert to our original _gend-xaanah _گیند خانہ  गेंद-ख़ाना, except it would, I suppose, give a very limited meaning! 

In that case, some of the other (entirely native) terms already mentioned might be better. BTW, there is also _mall-bhuu_ (= wrestling ground, athletic ground, arena, gymnasium etc.), but its use too will raise some issues!


----------



## nineth

gymkhana is what's being used for sports center / club in Indian universities for example.  "kreeda kendra" is actually an equally good or a better way to refer to sports center in Hindi.


----------



## marrish

nineth said:


> gymkhana is what's being used for sports center / club in Indian universities for example.  "kreeda kendra" is actually an equally good or a better way to refer to sports center in Hindi.


Thanks for the information. I repeat my question posed elsewhere, do you use in your speech (GYMKHANA)?
Thank you for confirming what greatbear SaaHib has already said (kriiDaa kendra).


----------



## Faylasoof

QURESHPOR said:


> I would like to see a trend in Urdu towards _*compound word-formation. I would also like to start from grass root words of the language*_, if possible, before soaring high in the sky in search of other words. The latter course of action of course is not always avoidable.
> 
> jim-xaanah is a good example and I would like to reserve this for "gym" alone.
> 
> khel-markaz (Sports Centre/s)
> khel-club (Sports Club/s) (I know you don't want any English words but "club" has been around for a long time.
> khel-akhaaRaa (Sports Arena)
> khel-dangal (Sports Stadium)
> khel-maidaan (Sports Ground/Field)


 _*In that case QP SaaHib, it seems that khel ghar کھیل گھَر has also been coined!*_ It even gets a listing here, down the page! Also elsewhere. 
.... and we know that جمخانہ _jimxaanah_ is in current use all over South Asia. I found this and it is in Punjabi too!


----------



## nineth

marrish said:


> Thanks for the information. I repeat my question posed elsewhere, do you use in your speech (GYMKHANA)?
> Thank you for confirming what greatbear SaaHib has already said (kriiDaa kendra).



Yes, I use it in speech since I go there (and it's called Gymkhana here) almost everyday.


----------



## marrish

Faylasoof said:


> _*In that case QP SaaHib, it seems that khel ghar کھیل گھَر has also been coined!*_ It even gets a listing here, down the page! Also elsewhere.
> .... and we know that جمخانہ _jimxaanah_ is in current use all over South Asia. I found this and it is in Punjabi too!


Thank you for this contribution - it is indeed very concise. _jimxaanah_ be it used or not, is a half-English word so it doesn't fit to my query.


----------



## marrish

nineth said:


> Yes, I use it in speech since I go there (and it's called Gymkhana here) almost everyday.


Thanks for first-hand information. May I ask what kinds of sports can be practised there?


----------



## nineth

marrish said:


> Thanks for first-hand information. May I ask what kinds of sports can be practised there?



All kinds of sports - just about everything. There is no restriction in either direction for it to be called gymkhana.


----------



## Sheikh_14

In such a case we could also say khel nadi the latter meaning club in arabic. Personally I don't see the harm since its an established word for just that and since riyadha hasnt been put down. However, seasoned members have come up with good suggestions. It really boils down to whether urdu does have a non english term for club and if so nadi would be a candidate.


----------



## Faylasoof

In Classical Arabic and MSA the word is _*nadwah*_ for a club but there is already a famous _nadwah_ in Lucknow where _3aalims_ (religious scholars) are trained! It is called _*nadwat-ul-3lamaa2*_ or simply _*nadwah*_!

Besides, as you note yourself, there are plenty of good suggestions above. I don't think we are lacking any number of good terms, it is just most are not used or used only rarely.


----------



## Sheikh_14

Alfaaz said:


> warzish khaanah/gah would be place of exercise or gymnasium: عریانی مرکز in its original meaning....
> 
> In farsi warzishgah apparently means stadium though khaanah defintely hits the spot.


----------



## Sheikh_14

Faylasoof said:


> In Classical Arabic and MSA the word is _*nadwah*_ for a club but there is already a famous _nadwah_ in Lucknow where _3aalims_ (religious scholars) are trained! It is called _*nadwat-ul-3lamaa2*_ or simply _*nadwah*_!
> 
> 
> 
> Besides, as you note yourself, there are plenty of good suggestions above. I don't think we are lacking any number of good terms, it is just most are not used or used only rarely.



They are indeed except the alternatives for club are dire on their own thus the arabic nadwah as you have suggested and its furrent colloquil form nadi would suffice. Since I assume that based upon vicarious knowledge gathered from you it is in use. Running on that very thread is riyadha as Alfaaz saab suggested acceptable for sport?


----------

