# Sindhi/Punjabi: waai



## lcfatima

Is there any Hindi or Urdu or even English equivalent for this word, and if you recognize it, can you explain what it means exactly?

Someone used it in this context: You should marinate fish in lemon and salt to avoid "waai." I asked "What is "waai?," She said Sindhis believe fish or some foods cause some type of bloating or something. No one could give me the Hindi word (it may well be "waai,") a present Punjabiphone confirmed that it is the same in Punjabi. I don't think we have this concept for Americans, maybe some ayurvedic thing?


Sorry for the confusing query.


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## bakshink

In Punjabi it's known as Waii or even baae or vadi- There's a saying in Punjabi- " Kise nu maa vaadi te kise nu swadi". Maa or Maan.  sabut (Or Urad Daal) is the most popular punjabi black daal with smattering of red beans (Raj maan) in it- The meaning of the phrase is apt- To someone Maan cause "colic"- indigestion- stomach trouble and for someone they are tasty. Actually they are tasty to all who have tasted those but everyone cannot digest them. I don't know a Hindi word for it- will try to find out soon( the internet search says Udhar-shool which is almost another word for stomach ache and even if it is the word- it has remained in the confines of the books, it's not spoken) but the nearest English equivalent I think is Colic and they(the English) may not have an exact word for it unless they start having Maan Sabut at the Indian Dhabbas!!


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## panjabigator

My father just explained this to me.  In Hindi, it would be वायु or wind.

Bakshink, do you mean ਕਿਸੇ ਨੂੰਂ ਮਾਂਹ ਵਾੜੀ ਤੇ ਕਿਸੇ ਨੂੰਂ ਸੁਆਦੀ?


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## lcfatima

Thanks for the explanation. So it just means like "peT mei.N hawa," or that it will cause gas! Okay.


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## panjabigator

I think so.  That's kind of what my father said.  But is this just a Sindhi and Panjabi thing or do Urduphones have a word for it too?

While we are on the subject, what is the word for flatulence in Urdu?  In Hindi and Panjabi, it's <pad>.


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## lcfatima

I always use pad or pad-pad with my children, usually paired with "maarna." 

Also there is the word pooNh


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## BP.

panjabigator said:


> While we are on the subject, what is the word for flatulence in Urdu?  In Hindi and Panjabi, it's <pad>.



Its *riyaaH* - *ریاح*, meaning 'wind'.

The use of the word _paad_ in front of some people I know would leave them absolutely mortified!


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## panjabigator

BelligerentPacifist said:


> The use of the word _paad_ in front of some people I know would leave them absolutely mortified!



Same here, but I guess universally, there are two types of people: the ones with whom you can discuss flatulence and the others with whom you cannot!

Does پد seem cruder to you?


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## lcfatima

Once when we were at a restaurant my toddler started saying _pad pad kiya_ and _hagga hagga_ very loudly!



> Does پد seem cruder to you?


 
Is that really a question?


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## BP.

I guess you're right!


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## panjabigator

BelligerentPacifist said:


> I guess you're right!



I'm sorry, ICF, you're absolutely right!!!  Of course it is


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## bakshink

Dear PG I heard Kise nu wadi- kise nu swadi maybe wadi (distorted form of wai or warri as you say it is) has been used in this to rhyme with swad or swadi because the word we use is only wai- e.g eh cheezan wai kardian. ne. and it basically means a lot of gas movement in the stomach causing discomfort, pain or fatulence either or all. 

Dear ICF and BP
As regards talking of fatulence- some subjects are always a taboo among the family members- like we don't talk of sex or periods either but I think fatulence is not talked about because of the thought of foul smells coming to mind. We have two words in Hindi and Punjabi to distinguish between one that produces sound an the one that passes out silently- the latter one often or rather generally smells foul. The words are paad and foosi- I am sorry- the subject is a little odd to discuss. In punjabi paad is pad. But in hindi the word used is paadna like in punjabi word marna is always used with it. It is because in hindi pad/paad also means feet- Padukayain- wooden sleepers worn by the Sadhus and shown in the pictures of Lord Ram (His brother Bharat carried them back to the palace and put them on throne- when Lord Ram left for fourteen years to venture in the jungles to fulfill the promise Bharat's mother and one of the wives of their father king Dashrath took from him (Dashrath). Padyatra- to walk (to travel on feet literally especially for a cause). Pad also means post in hindi- Foosi is used in another word combination- kanafoosi- which means whispering into ears- kind of what teenage girls indulge in.


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## lcfatima

Actually from a language learning perspective, it is great to talk about flatulence or anything else under the sun.

And interestingly, you inadvertently answered a question I had as to why some people have silver sandals in their pooja houses or as home decor among collections of other religious objects and statues. That had perplexed me because I thought generally people thought of sandals as low or dirty. But it may be because of this story you have related here?


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## bakshink

Yes it is the reason and besides you can say until at least 1950's- plastic products were unheard of and rubber wasn't much in use either all slippers and shoes were made out of leather which being animal hide is untouchable thing for an orthodox puritan hindu


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## panjabigator

Reviving an old thread here.  I asked an Urduphone friend about this word the other day and she didn't know it.  Can anyone supply an Urdu equivalent?


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## BP.

Good you bumped. You shall be rewarded with new vocabulary.

We in Urdu have this word _baadii_-بادی. I always understood as 'difficult to digest': _zuud hazm nah honaa_-زود ہضم نہ ہونا, or _der hazm honaa_-دیر ہضم ہونا. But there could be another angle to it: _baad_-باد- means wind e.g. _baadii mausam_-بادی موسم-windy weather.


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## panjabigator

Thanks for this.  So could you say پیٹ میں باد ہے to a doctor and be understood?  The usage of باد here strikes me as odd as I usually encounter the word in poetry, i.e., باد نسیم.  Can anyone comment on Pakistani Panjabi?


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## Cilquiestsuens

I just noticed this thread today = BP got it right.

The word is *بادی* baadii and it means litterally windy (from Persian Baad = wind). It is used for a number of food items which create flatulence or 'gas' when you eat them.

Red beans (_*luubiyaa*_) are on top of the list (that delicious *raajma* from Jammu), but also _*chane, chaaval, phuul-gobhii,*_ etc... 

I've got to know this term by going to the doctor here and having had that kind of food (_*baadii*_) banned for me for a while. I am not talking about *Hakiim* (or *yuunaanii* doctors if you like) , but regular doctors. The word *baadii* is used in this sense throughout Pakistan and understood by most of the people except maybe those who are almost completely westernized.

This must be a concept common to both *aayurved* and *yuunaanii* medicine. It is interesting to see that in Sindhi a term from Sanskrit is used while in Urdu and urban Punjabi the 'proper' _yuunaanii_ = Persian word is used. 

.


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## panjabigator

Very interesting - I suspect that both etymologies are related वायु and باد.  Thanks for the confirmation, Cilqui.


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## Cilquiestsuens

panjabigator said:


> Very interesting - I suspect that both etymologies are related वायु and باد.  Thanks for the confirmation, Cilqui.



Welcome and by the way congrats for your past-5000 posts here.... Uuff.. It will take me a lifetime to get there...

Both these words seem to be related etymologically... I would even bet that the English _*wind*_ and the French *vent*... came from the same IE root.

As for your previous post, I don't think you can say *peT me.n baad hai.*..

I have heard... *peT me.n hawaa hai / chal rahii hai* rather. Or people would use the word _*ges*_ (> English = _gas_) instead of *hawaa*


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