# Hindi/Urdu: Is there such a phrase 'nazar jaanaa'?



## lafz_puchnevala

Hi All,

I now know that 'nazar aanaa' means 'to appear'. I was wondering if 'to show' means 'nazar jaanaa'(apart from 'dikhanaa')? Is there such a thing? 

Thanks!


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## marrish

An expression ''_nazar aanaa_'' surely exists! However, it doesn't mean 'to show' but to look at, a look to go (in a direction).
*EDIT: I meant ''nazar jaanaa'' here.*
Now, what is the relation between ''_nazar aanaa_'' and ''_nazar jaanaa_''? Let me explain it plainly: when something appears to us, or we see it, it means that we are looking at it. We have to look at something for it to be visible to our eyes. So when ''_nazar jaatii hai_'' then something may ''_nazar aanaa_''.

Here an excerpt from a ghazal by Urdu poetess Parveen Shakir:


موت وہ ساقی کہ جس کے کبھی تھکتے نہیں ہاتھ
بھرتی جائے گی سدا جام وہ اک جام کے بعد
تھک کے میں بیٹھ گئی اب مگر اے سایہ طلب
کس کی خیمے پہ نظر جاتی تھی ہرگام کے بعد

maut wuh saaqii kih jis ke kabhii thakte nahiiN haath
bhartii jaa'e gii sadaa jaam wuh ik jaam ke ba3d
thak ke maiN baiTh ga'ii ab magar ai saayah talab
kis kii xaime pih nazar jaatii thii har gaam ke ba3d


​


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## Qureshpor

marrish said:


> An expression ''_nazar aanaa_'' surely exists! However, it doesn't mean 'to show' but to look at, a look to go (in a direction).
> 
> Now, what is the relation between ''_nazar aanaa_'' and ''_nazar jaanaa_''? Let me explain it plainly: when something appears to us, or we see it, it means that we are looking at it. We have to look at something for it to be visible to our eyes. So when ''_nazar jaatii hai_'' then something may ''_nazar aanaa_''.
> 
> Here an excerpt from a ghazal by Urdu poetess Parveen Shakir:
> 
> موت وہ ساقی کہ جس کے کبھی تھکتے نہیں ہاتھ
> بھرتی جائے گی سدا جام وہ اک جام کے بعد
> تھک کے میں بیٹھ گئی اب مگر اے سایہ طلب
> کس کی خیمے پہ نظر جاتی تھی ہرگام کے بعد
> 
> maut wuh saaqii kih jis ke kabhii thakte nahiiN haath
> bhartii jaa'e gii sadaa jaam wuh ik jaam ke ba3d
> thak ke maiN baiTh ga'ii ab magar ai saayah talab
> kis kii xaime pih nazar jaatii thii har gaam ke ba3d​



I am so glad you replied to this post first. I had completely different response in mind!!!

I was thinking of "nazar jaanaa" in terms of "nazar chalii jaanaa", i.e "Going blind"!!

"nazar aanaa" is really "dikhaa'ii denaa" or if "lafz_puchnevala" prefers, "dikhnaa".​


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## Faylasoof

QURESHPOR said:


> I am so glad you replied to this post first. I had completely different response in mind!!!
> 
> I was thinking of "nazar jaanaa" in terms of "_*nazar chalii jaanaa*_", i.e "Going blind"!!
> 
> "nazar aanaa" is really "dikhaa'ii denaa" or if "lafz_puchnevala" prefers, "dikhnaa".​


 *But QP SaaHib this too is important! *Learners would want to know this as well, I'm sure. There are other constructs with _naZar_ and _jaanaa_:

So apart from marrish SaaHib’s fine explanation of _nazar jaanaa_ we can also consider these:

_naZar aa jaanaa__ = to appear, become visible_
_naZar lag jaanaa__ = to get the evil eye_
_naZar chalii jaanaa__ = to go blind_ ( اندها अंधा _andhaa ho jaanaa_), _to look at something / give a glance_ 
- _merii naZar u Taraf challi ga'ii_ = _I looked / glanced  that way. 
- uskii naZar chalii ga'ii = He / she went blind_.

[_… and _نظر _naZar _(_sight, vision, glance, look, the evil eye etc._) _should not be confused with _نَذْر _naZr _(an offering), as in _naZr denaa_ ( to make an offering) and _naZr ho jaanaa_ ( to become an offering).  If we wish to discuss the latter then we should in a new thread. I don't think we have one on this topic.]


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## greatbear

Note lafz_puchnevala that "nazar aanaa" is used only when something was hidden or difficult to spot or unexpected or when you are looking for something: it isn't mere appearing. For example, if you were hunting for deer, you could say "tabhi mujhe ek hiran nazar aa gayaa" (sense: looking for/difficult to spot) for when you finally spotted a deer.

Some other examples:
"Ye rahaa meraa batuaa, aakhir nazar aa hi gayaa" (sense: hidden, lost) [There's my purse, finally I've found it (lit. it's seen)]
"Koi dushman kaa sipaahi nazar aayaa kyaa?" (sense: looking for/difficult to spot) [Can you spot any enemy soldier? (lit. Can any enemy soldier be seen?)]
"Aur us khubsoorat din, jab ki maine socha bhi na thaa, woh mujhe nazar aayi" (sense: unexpected/looking for) [And that beautiful day, when I hadn't even expected it, I saw her (lit. she was seen to me)]


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## Alfaaz

> Note lafz_puchnevala that "nazar aanaa" is used only when something was hidden or difficult to spot or unexpected or when you are looking for something: it isn't mere appearing. For example, if you were hunting for deer, you could say "tabhi mujhe ek hiran nazar aa gayaa" (sense: looking for/difficult to spot) for when you finally spotted a deer.



Partially agree. Yes that can be one use, but one could simply say: tumhein apne samne paRa hua yeh seb nazar aaraha hai?

Chashma/ainak laga kar dekho, saaf nazar aaraha hai (where Hindi speakers would probably use "dikh raha hai"....)

Edit: Just another related word: nazireen: viewers (Hindi uses darshak, darshakon)

Tumhari nazar bhi check karvani hai; "nazar" in this case meaning "vision" or "benaa'ii"


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## greatbear

Alfaaz said:


> Partially agree. Yes that can be one use, but one could simply say: tumhein apne samne paRa hua yeh seb nazar aaraha hai?
> 
> Chashma/ainak laga kar dekho, saaf nazar aaraha hai (where Hindi speakers would probably use "dikh raha hai"....)



Here again, you are saying "Can you see this apple in front of you?", and thus there is the sense of "looking for", there is an intent once again.

Hindi speakers would use either of them, "nazar aa rahaa hai" or "dikh rahaa hai". But if I were to say "chasma lagaa kar dekho, saaf prakat ho rahaa hai" then it would be wrong: in other words, "to appear" (which "prakat" means) is not the right translation. That's all I wanted to say, since lafz_puchnevala might take "appear" as literal and get the wrong meaning of "nazar aana".


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## Qureshpor

I have a feeling marrish SaaHib that you meant to write "nazar jaanaa" in your very first sentence of your first post in this thread. If not, my wiring in the brain is still mixed up!


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## marrish

QURESHPOR said:


> I have a feeling marrish SaaHib that you meant to write "nazar jaanaa" in your very first sentence of your first post in this thread. If not, my wiring in the brain is still mixed up!


It's so kind of you to spot and to point my mistake! Your intuition didn't deceive you, it should be _''nazar jaana''_. Thank you, my fingers faithfully reflected what had been going on in my mind, that is to state its relation to _nazar aanaa_.

I offer my apologies to all the readers.


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## Qureshpor

Alfaaz said:


> Partially agree. Yes that can be one use, but one could simply say: tumhein apne samne paRa hua yeh seb nazar aaraha hai?
> 
> Chashma/ainak laga kar dekho, saaf nazar aaraha hai (where Hindi speakers would probably use "dikh raha hai"....)
> 
> Edit: Just another related word: nazireen: viewers (Hindi uses darshak, darshakon)
> 
> Tumhari nazar bhi check karvani hai; "nazar" in this case meaning "vision" or "benaa'ii"




I think both greatbear SaaHib AND you are right (to varying degrees of latitude)

"nazar aanaa" can be thought of as simply "seeing" (dikhnaa/dikhaa'ii denaa) and "coming to view/sight".

Imagine a soldier is looking through his binoculars. 

use ek pul nazar aa rahaa hai jis par dushman ke chand sipaahii khaRe haiN. pul ke daa'eN baa'eN daryaa ke kinaaroN par  use daraxt dikhaa'ii de rahe haiN. hare bhare ghaas par kuchh gaa'eN char rahii haiN...(Alfaaz's viewpoint)

But then...(music indicating alarm/danger)

use ek TankoN kii qataar usii kii jaanib aatii nazar aatii hai..(greatbear's viewpoint)


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## lafz_puchnevala

marrish said:


> An expression ''_nazar aanaa_'' surely exists! However, it doesn't mean 'to show' but to look at, a look to go (in a direction).
> *EDIT: I meant ''nazar jaanaa'' here.*
> Now, what is the relation between ''_nazar aanaa_'' and ''_nazar jaanaa_''? Let me explain it plainly: when something appears to us, or we see it, it means that we are looking at it. We have to look at something for it to be visible to our eyes. So when ''_nazar jaatii hai_'' then something may ''_nazar aanaa_''.
> 
> Here an excerpt from a ghazal by Urdu poetess Parveen Shakir:
> 
> 
> موت وہ ساقی کہ جس کے کبھی تھکتے نہیں ہاتھ
> بھرتی جائے گی سدا جام وہ اک جام کے بعد
> تھک کے میں بیٹھ گئی اب مگر اے سایہ طلب
> کس کی خیمے پہ نظر جاتی تھی ہرگام کے بعد
> 
> maut wuh saaqii kih jis ke kabhii thakte nahiiN haath
> bhartii jaa'e gii sadaa jaam wuh ik jaam ke ba3d
> thak ke maiN baiTh ga'ii ab magar ai saayah talab
> kis kii xaime pih nazar jaatii thii har gaam ke ba3d
> 
> 
> ​


Looks like 'nazar jaanaa' and 'dekhna' are the same. Both means to look at something. Am I right?


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## Alfaaz

> Looks like 'nazar jaanaa' and 'dekhna' are the same. Both means to look at something. Am I right?



Again, it would depend on context...but, "nazar jaana" would be like "eyes went in that direction" or "sight went there" while "dekhna" would be plain old "seeing", but then again you could say "udhar dekha", but even that doesn't seem the same as "udhar nazar gayi"....very fine lines/differences between the two (of course depends on every indivdual's perception/interpretation/ and nazar!)


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## lafz_puchnevala

'nazar jaanaa' means something attracting one into looking at it?


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## Alfaaz

> 'nazar jaanaa' means something attracting one into looking at it?



Yes, kind of, but not necessarily; If "nazar jaa rahi hai", that could mean there is something attractive, unique, or grotesque....

_something_ that causes people to look at it/towards it would be: pur-kashish, dil-chasp, dil-fareb, attractive;

_"jaise hi woh pur-kashish Haseen/Haseenah kamre mein dakhil hua/hui, tamaam nazrein uski taraf jaa rahi thi"
"As soon as that attractive Handsome/Beauty entered into the room, all eyes/glances/sights were going towards him/her."
_
_"jaise hi woh pur-kashish Haseen/Haseenah kamre mein dakhil hua/hui, tamaam log uski taraf dekh rahe the"_
_"As soon as that attractive Handsome/Beauty entered into the room, all people/everyone were/was looking towards him/her."_

Hope this doesn't cause even more confusion!


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## BP.

I'll leave you with an example that would tell you how I see this expression:
"_taa kujaa keh nazar jaatii th.hii, sabzah hii sabzah nazar aataa th.haa_".


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## Qureshpor

BelligerentPacifist said:


> I'll leave you with an example that would tell you how I see this expression:
> "_taa kujaa keh nazar jaatii th.hii, sabzah hii sabzah nazar aataa th.haa_".




BP SaaHib, please let us know the source of this sentence. I am particularly interested in the use of "kujaa" in this sentence.


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## lafz_puchnevala

To clarify, would this be correct, 'use sunte hii, meri nazar vahaan gayii'? While I would guess saying ' use sunte hii, main vahaan nazar jataa hun' would be wrong. Makes sense? If this makes sense, one should not take 'nazar jaanaa' as 'to look' but rather 'to let one's line of vision to go towards something'... 

Thanks!


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## BP.

QURESHPOR said:


> BP SaaHib, please let us know the source of this sentence. I am particularly interested in the use of "kujaa" in this sentence.



It might not be a standard usage, but the interrogative here simply replaces the affirmative, and I've heard it spoken.


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## Faylasoof

BelligerentPacifist said:


> I'll leave you with an example that would tell you how I see this expression:
> "_taa kujaa keh nazar jaatii th.hii, sabzah hii sabzah nazar aataa th.haa_".


 _waah! waah! BP SaaHib, aap ne hamaarii bolii ko xuubtar bayaan kiyaa!_ QP SaaHib these kinds of expression are rare now in common speech except amongst those who are still hanging on to / like the old way of saying things!


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## Qureshpor

Faylasoof said:


> _waah! waah! BP SaaHib, aap ne hamaarii bolii ko xuubtar bayaan kiyaa!_ QP SaaHib these kinds of expression are rare now in common speech except amongst those who are still hanging on to / like the old way of saying things!



Sure, Faylasoof SaaHib. I just wanted to know if "kujaa" here implied "jahaaN". At least this is the meaning I am taking.


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## Alfaaz

Could someone explain the following: 



> "_taa kujaa keh nazar jaatii th.hii, sabzah hii sabzah nazar aataa th.haa_".



kahaaN tak keh nazar jaati thi....? 

Don't remember exactly, but probably heard something like this on TV (maybe in a drama). 

Is this like one of those expression often used on TV: "Alif kitna shareef insaan hai yeh tu tumhein *jab* maloom hoga bewuquf kam-a'ql larki, jab ke tum aik bebas, lachaar chiRya ki tarh uske sone ke chamkte qafas jaise buland mahal mein qaid hojaaogi; Ab bhi waqt baqi hai Sheen, uski daulat ke sihir mein se nikal aao!" (thinking music starts playing and ش starts thinking about ا and whether he is a good person or not ...)

jab instead of tab? kujaa/kahaaN instead of jahaaN?...


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## Faylasoof

QURESHPOR said:


> Sure, Faylasoof SaaHib. I just wanted to know if "kujaa" here implied "jahaaN". At least this is the meaning I am taking.


 Yes QP saaHib! Exactly so as used here, with taa: _taa kujaa_ = _jahaan tak_


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## Faylasoof

Alfaaz said:


> Could someone explain the following:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> "_taa kujaa keh nazar jaatii th.hii, sabzah hii sabzah nazar aataa th.haa_".
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> kahaaN tak keh nazar jaati thi....?
Click to expand...

 Not _kahaaN tak_ really but_ jahaaN tak_!


Alfaaz said:


> jab instead of tab? kujaa/kahaaN instead of jahaaN?...


 Alfaaz, _kujaa_ in Farsi means _where_ and _taa_ means till /untill etc. So _taa kujaa_ is literally _till where_ in English but in Urdu we would translate it as _jahaaN tak_. It is used in poetry quite a lot but also high register Urdu prose and speech.


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## Alfaaz

> Alfaaz, _kujaa_ in Farsi means _where_ and _taa_ means till /untill etc. So _taa kujaa_ is literally _till where_ in English but in Urdu we would translate it as _jahaaN tak_. It is used in poetry quite a lot but also high register Urdu prose and speech.



Thanks! (a dictionary gave the meaning as "kahaaN" which was confusing..)


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## marrish

Alfaaz said:


> Thanks! (a dictionary gave the meaning as "kahaaN" which was confusing..)


Actually that dictionary was right as well, I hope I'm not complicating the matter. Just as Faylasoof SaaHib had pointed out, kujaa means where in Persian which is equivalent to _kahaaN_.
But as you are undoubtedly aware, the pronoun 'where' in English is used in function of relative pronoun, and the same story goes for _kujaa_. On the other hand, in Urdu we have distinct forms of relative pronouns, like _kahaaN-jahaaN_. So '_kujaa', 'where' _can be translated as_ kahaaN _or_ jahaaN_ in Urdu, depending on its function in the sentence.

_taa kujaa _means here_ jidhar, jahaaN tak, jitnaa duur_


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## Alfaaz

Thanks for the explanation. According to Platts: har-kujaa: _everywhere_ and az-kujaa-_from where, whence

_So one could say:_ 
tum az kujaa aarahe ho?_ 
Tum kahan se aarahe ho?
or 
_Yeh kya tufaan-e-badtameezi hai? Har kujaa kapRe bikhre hue hain!
_Har taraf kapRe bikhre hue hain!

or would these be too exotic...?


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## marrish

lafz_puchnevala said:


> To clarify, would this be correct, 'use sunte hii, meri nazar vahaan gayii'? While I would guess saying ' use sunte hii, main vahaan nazar jataa hun' would be wrong. Makes sense? If this makes sense, one should not take 'nazar jaanaa' as 'to look' but rather 'to let one's line of vision to go towards something'...
> 
> Thanks!


Thrice yes, once not only (see post#2), sometimes one can use it in a sense 'the sight to reach somewhere'.


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## marrish

Alfaaz said:


> Thanks for the explanation. According to Platts: har-kujaa: _everywhere_ and az-kujaa-_from where, whence
> 
> _So one could say:_
> tum az kujaa aarahe ho?_
> Tum kahan se aarahe ho?
> or
> _Yeh kya tufaan-e-badtameezi hai? Har kujaa kapRe bikhre hue hain!
> _Har taraf kapRe bikhre hue hain!
> 
> or would these be too exotic...?


Of course Platts' entry is correct.
In normal speech (as per examples you gave ) it sounds hilarious!
You'd have to switch to another register:
_
janaab az kujaa tashriif laa rahe haiN?_ Still, in this case it sounds equally unusually for a day-to-day speech. Mostly you wouldn't be understood.

Wow! _tuufaan-e badtamiizii_?


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## Alfaaz

> In normal speech (as per examples you gave ) it sounds hilarious!


Agree! People would probably think the person is مبتلا in جنون عظمت and having  اوھام عظمت !


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## lafz_puchnevala

lafz_puchnevala said:


> To clarify, would this be correct, 'use sunte hii, meri nazar vahaan gayii'? While I would guess saying ' use sunte hii, main vahaan nazar jataa hun' would be wrong. Makes sense? If this makes sense, one should not take 'nazar jaanaa' as 'to look' but rather 'to let one's line of vision to go towards something'...
> 
> Thanks!



Any clarifications on these anybody?


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## Alfaaz

marrish replied to this in post #27! 



> To clarify, would this be correct, 'use sunte hii, meri nazar vahaan gayii'? While I would guess saying ' use sunte hii, main vahaan nazar jataa hun' would be wrong. Makes sense? If this makes sense, one should not take 'nazar jaanaa' as 'to look' but rather 'to let one's line of vision to go towards something'...


 
Yes; 
Yes that would be wrong, you could say: "woh 5:00 ghar ata/ati hai aur uske aane se chand lamhe pehle hi meri nazar darwaaze ki taraf chali jaati hai aur wahaaN tiki rehti hai, jab tak keh uska chehrah na dekh loon"
Yes, for the most part your definition is correct...


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## JaiHind

lafz_puchnevala said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I now know that 'nazar aanaa' means 'to appear'. I was wondering if 'to show' means 'nazar jaanaa'(apart from 'dikhanaa')? Is there such a thing?
> 
> Thanks!



Never heard in Hindi.


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## Qureshpor

JaiHind said:


> Never heard in Hindi.




A couple of examples of "nazar jaanaa".

 Here is a couplet from Anand Dwivedi's poem "phir se" in his blog entitled, "*jiivan kii kitaab aur prem ke panne*"

http://anandkdwivedi.blogspot.com/2012/01/blog-post_27.html

वो तो बेमौत ही मरा हो गा
जिस पे तेरी *नज़र गयी* फिर से 

And a further example from elsewhere.

और खोज के उपक्रम में *नज़र गयी* की-बोर्ड पर
ब्लैक की-बोर्ड पर लाल-लाल छोटी चींटियाँ
न जाने कब से बना रखा था उन्होंने की-बोर्ड को अपना ठिकाना
मैंने बहुत सोचा आखि़र क्या कर रही थीं वे की-बोर्ड में

http://www.hindisahitya.org/अभिज्ञात/धन्यवाद-चीटियो-धन्यवाद/​


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## nineth

lafz_puchnevala said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I now know that 'nazar aanaa' means 'to appear'. I was wondering if 'to show' means 'nazar jaanaa'(apart from 'dikhanaa')? Is there such a thing?
> 
> Thanks!



In Hindi, it's not used in an idiomatic sense that you seem to hint.  If one says,

meri nazar uspay gayi

Hindi speakers would find it a bit weird but may still understand it as "That drew my sight/attention / My attention fell on it". They would instead expect:

meri nazar uspay paDi/giri.


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## greatbear

nineth said:


> In Hindi, it's not used in an idiomatic sense that you seem to hint.  If one says,
> 
> meri nazar uspay gayi
> 
> Hindi speakers would find it a bit weird but may still understand it as "That drew my sight/attention / My attention fell on it". They would instead expect:
> 
> meri nazar uspay paDi/giri.



I'm afraid it is very much used in Hindi, nineth; all "us pe gayi/padi/giri" are commonly used, and there is neither weird about any of the three to a Hindi speaker.


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## nineth

greatbear said:


> I'm afraid it is very much used in Hindi, nineth; all "us pe gayi/padi/giri" are commonly used, and there is neither weird about any of the three to a Hindi speaker.


I'm afraid it's neither good usage (though I do expect to hear it from some native speakers) nor is it logical. Nazar, as we know, is sight/view (synonym for drushTi), and sight falls on something (nazar paDi, giri), sight meets with something (meri nazar ussay mili), something comes into/ is in sight, (nazar aana), but sight going somewhere is not really good usage (to mean seeing / catching attention) -- it can be connotative of losing sight.  I would always use "meri nazar uspey paDi".


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## greatbear

nineth said:


> I'm afraid it's neither good usage (though I do expect to hear it from some native speakers) nor is it logical. Nazar, as we know, is sight/view (synonym for drushTi), and sight falls on something (nazar paDi, giri), sight meets with something (meri nazar ussay mili), something comes into/ is in sight, (nazar aana), but sight going somewhere is not really good usage (to mean seeing / catching attention) -- it can be connotative of losing sight.  I would always use "meri nazar uspey paDi".



It's however not a question of good or bad usage at all, since it's idiomatic! And a well-entrenched idiom, a very good one at that, and I would rather say "nazar padnaa" rather more illogical: how can a sight "fall"? Maybe just because you are used to the English falling, it seems logical to you, but sight can at least understood to be going somewhere (by turning head), but falling? Anyway, "padnaa" is also fine, since that is again idiomatic.

Regarding losing sight, "nazar chalii jaanaa" is of course used for losing sight, and context usually makes it clear what is meant (also the usually added word "chalii").


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## nineth

greatbear said:


> It's however not a question of good or bad usage at all, since it's idiomatic! And a well-entrenched idiom, a very good one at that, and I would rather say "nazar padnaa" rather more illogical: how can a sight "fall"? Maybe just because you are used to the English falling, it seems logical to you, but sight can at least understood to be going somewhere (by turning head), but falling? Anyway, "padnaa" is also fine, since that is again idiomatic.
> 
> Regarding losing sight, "nazar chalii jaanaa" is of course used for losing sight, and context usually makes it clear what is meant (also the usually added word "chalii").



I agree with everything you say. Something being idiomatic is obviously tightly integrated with good usage. In this case, if either of them is correct, it would be because it's idiomatic. In fact, falling is far more idiomatic here -- sight is directional like light, and it falling on something is as good as sunlight/rays falling on something. Then, how would it fall on something without going there? So, I don't think my post meant "nazar jaana" was bad usage in all contexts; if it did, I do take it back. On some more thought, I found that I would actually use "meri nazar vahaaN tak gayi" and consider it much better than "meri nazar vahaaN tak paDi".  So, it all depends on the context. To put it better, I was saying "meri nazar uspey gayi" is not a good idiom, but "meri nazar vahaaN tak gayi" is perfectly fine.


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