# Hindi/Urdu: We must be the change we wish to see in the world



## Pseudofool

Hello all,

I am looking for a translation for a tatoo; I know this may seem a bit  superficial, but I really want to get this right.  I just don't trust  google translate.

I need Ghandi's famous "We must be the change  we wish to see in the world" translated back into Hindi.  If I can  somehow find the original quote in Hindi that would be ideal,  but I'm  pretty sure he verbalized the quote and didn't write it down.   I've  noticed lots of variations of the verbs "must/need"  "wish/want" and I'd  like to be precise as a possible.

Best,

pf


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## omlick

Pseudofool said:


> Hello all,
> 
> I am looking for a translation for a tatoo; I know this may seem a bit superficial, but I really want to get this right. I just don't trust google translate.
> 
> I need Ghandi's famous "We must be the change we wish to see in the world" translated back into Hindi. If I can somehow find the original quote in Hindi that would be ideal, but I'm pretty sure he verbalized the quote and didn't write it down. I've noticed lots of variations of the verbs "must/need" "wish/want" and I'd like to be precise as a possible.
> 
> Best,
> 
> pf


 
well, if you really mean "must" then the verb would have to be पड़ना pa.Dnaa

हमें परिवर्तन होना पड़ता है कि दुनिया में देखना चाह्ते हैं।
hame.n parivartan pa.Dtaa hai ki duniyaa me.n dekhnaa chaahte hai.n

I don't have the original quote in Hindi that Gandhi made.  I wish I did.


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## Pseudofool

Thanks so much.

I don't know if I mean "must," but I like the imperative the word brings, just not sure if it's implicated in the original quote.

I'm curious why google translates it as such
हम बदल  हम दुनिया में देखना चाहते हैं होना चाहिए


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## panjabigator

> "We must be the change we wish to see in the world"


Did Gandhi deliver the original quote in Hindi?

I'll tweak Omlink's suggestion to:
हमें वही परिवर्तन होना चाहिये जो दुनिया में देखना चाहते हैं.


But I wonder if it'd make make more sense to split the first clause up to something like this:
हमें वही परिवर्तन जो हम दुनिया में देखना चहते हैं होना चाहिये।

Or maybe होना is too literal here.  How about बनना?

You can also substitute संसार for दुनिया, though it's less common (in my experience).


> I'm curious why google translates it as such
> हम बदल हम दुनिया में देखना चाहते हैं होना चाहिए



Google translate is good for some languages, terrible for others.  It's just not very dependable.  I'd use it (sparingly) to search for words or double check spelling, but never to generate a sentence.


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## Pseudofool

Thanks for your reply!

I believe he did deliver it in Hinidi, but I'm not sure.  A wiki answers suggests so, I know, how reliable can that be.  His grandson supposedly remembers hearing the quote from his lips as suggested by a PBS interview (I can't post links, but it's easily googable).  His grandson also suggests that he spoke it during prayer service, if that gives any more clarification.


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## panjabigator

No problem.  I just discovered that we did discuss this very sentence before, but in Gujarati   Looking briefly at the sentence that Cweetguy2000 provides some syntactic support for my second sentence, but lets wait for some more informed opinions.

Gujarati: Be the change you want to see happen in the world

If no one opposes, I'd like to open this thread to include Urdu as well.  Here is my suggestion for Urdu:
ھمیں وھی تبدیل جو دنیا میں دیکھنا چاھتے ھیں بننا چاھیے۔

Thoughts?


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## Pseudofool

I understand that Urdo and Devanagari are basically (clearly I'm dumbing-down here) different scripts of the same language, but I don't understand either's social import today or back when Ghandi coined the phrase.  Why would I use one over the other?


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## omlick

panjabigator said:


> Did Gandhi deliver the original quote in Hindi?
> 
> I'll tweak Omlink's suggestion to:
> हमें वही परिवर्तन होना चाहिये जो दुनिया में देखना चाहते हैं.
> 
> 
> But I wonder if it'd make make more sense to split the first clause up to something like this:
> हमें वही परिवर्तन जो हम दुनिया में देखना चहते हैं होना चाहिये।
> 
> Or maybe होना is too literal here. How about बनना?
> 
> You can also substitute संसार for दुनिया, though it's less common (in my experience).
> 
> 
> Google translate is good for some languages, terrible for others. It's just not very dependable. I'd use it (sparingly) to search for words or double check spelling, but never to generate a sentence.


 
Pgator, here is a translation from a native speaker using "bannaa" and the formal "aap" for you form for the imperative

aap vah parivartan ban.on jo duniyaa me.n dekhnaa chaahte hai.n

आप वह परिवर्तन बनें जो दुनिया में देखना चाहते हैं  (you be the change that you want to see in the world)  

for "we" we could use:

hame.n  vahii parivartan bannaa chaahiye  jo duniyaa me.n dekhnaa chaahte hai.n.

हमें वही परिवर्तन बनना चाहिये जो दुनिया में देखना चाहते हैं।  (we should become the change that we want to see in the world)


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## BP.

panjabigator said:


> ...
> If no one opposes, I'd like to open this thread to include Urdu as well.  Here is my suggestion for Urdu:
> ھمیں وھی تبدیل جو دنیا میں دیکھنا چاھتے ھیں بننا چاھیے۔
> Thoughts?



Nice translation gator. Put a comma before _bannaa _to separate the clauses.

I'd go with a more forceful but less literal translations like:
_laazim hae keh khud* woh tabdiilii huaa jaae jis kii [keh**] dunyaa se talab ho_ - لازم ہے کہ خود وہ تبدیلی ہوا جاے جس کی کہ دنیا سے طلب ہو۔.

* You could use _bakhud _instead of _khud _if you chose to replace _huaa _with _banaa_.

** This _keh _is probably a family idiosyncrasy, and optional for you. 

PS: I'd like to point out the little typo you made for the benefit of novices: you forgot the terminal _ye _in the word _tabdiilii_.


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## panjabigator

Thanks BP.  I like your translation and considered using طلب too; it's a nice word!

Thanks for the correction as well.


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## Pseudofool

Thanks for all the work and consideration, and I don't mean to sound unappreciative, but given the debate over particular words, I'm not really sure which sentence to use.


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## Faylasoof

Here is another (non-literal) way to put it: 

جو تغیر ہمیں  \ ہمكو دنیا میں ديكھنا ہے وہی تغیر ہم پرلازم ہے

_jo taghayyur hame.n / hamko dunyaa mei.n dekhnaa hai wahii taghayyur ham par laazim hai__._

We must be the change we wish to see in the world

(تغیر_ taghayyur = _change)


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## esharah

Faylasoof said:


> Here is another (non-literal) way to put it:
> 
> جو تغیر ہمیں  \ ہمكو دنیا میں ديكھنا ہے وہی تغیر ہم پرلازم ہے
> 
> _jo taghayyur hame.n / hamko dunyaa mei.n dekhnaa hai wahii taghayyur ham par laazim hai__._
> 
> We must be the change we wish to see in the world
> 
> (تغیر_ taghayyur = _change)



Why complicate make it simple: 

जो तब्दीली दुनिया में देखना चाहते हो उसे खुद अपनाओ
​اس تبدیلی کو خود اپناؤ جو دنیا میں دیکھنا چاہتے ہو


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## hindiurdu

My entry into this contest is -


جیسے دنیا بدلنا چاہتے ہو ویسا پہلے خود کو بدلو
जैसे दुनिया बदलना चाहते हो वैसा पहले खुद को बदलो

jaise duniya badalna chahte ho vaisa pehle khud ko badlo


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## UrduMedium

خود اپناوَ وہ تغیّر جو چاہتے ہو دیکھنا دنیا میں 

xud apnaa'o woh taGhayyur jo chahte ho dekhnaa dunyaa meN

I thought about using _tabdiilii_ but it is a lightweight word usage-wise. Seems to give an impression of some insignificant change, like a change of a light-bulb, or a change of clothes ..  [yes, I am exaggerating]


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## marrish

Actually I would take it from another angle and use_ اصلاح_ instead.


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## Faylasoof

esharah said:


> Originally Posted by *Faylasoof*
> Here is another (non-literal) way to put it:
> 
> جو تغیر ہمیں  \ ہمكو دنیا میں ديكھنا ہے وہی تغیر ہم پرلازم ہے
> 
> _jo taghayyur hame.n / hamko dunyaa mei.n dekhnaa hai wahii taghayyur ham par laazim hai__._
> 
> We must be the change we wish to see in the world
> 
> (تغیر_ taghayyur = _change)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Why complicate make it simple:
> 
> जो तब्दीली दुनिया में देखना चाहते हो उसे खुद अपनाओ
> ​اس تبدیلی کو خود اپناؤ جو دنیا میں دیکھنا چاہتے ہو
Click to expand...

 There is nothing complicated in what I said! If you have an issue with the word _taghayyur _تغیر then I can assure you that we use it on a daily basis. It means more or less the same as _tabdiilii_ تبدیلی but _taghayyur_تغیر is more appropriate here. I see UM SaaHib also uses it! 
.... and neither is the word _laazim_ لازم a problem nor the sentence itself. There is more than one way to say what the OP asked for.


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## marrish

^I agree with you, your sentence is absolutely simple, as far as Hindi/Urdu is concerned.
What I was actually thinking was that _taGhayyur_ or _tabdiilii_ are the literal equivalents of ''a change'' here, agreed, and I wouldn't go for _tabdiilii_ whatsoever, but _taGhayyur_ and _tabdiilii_ don't imply anything more than a change or transformation, be it for better or for worse. That is why _islaaH_ came to my mind.


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## Qureshpor

It appears that Mahatma Gandhi may not have even uttered this quote.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/opinion/falser-words-were-never-spoken.html

 “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
 jo dunyaa meN chaahte ho use kar ke dikhaa'o!

​


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## UrduMedium

marrish said:


> ^I agree with you, your sentence is absolutely simple, as far as Hindi/Urdu is concerned.
> What I was actually thinking was that _taGhayyur_ or _tabdiilii_ are the literal equivalents of ''a change'' here, agreed, and I wouldn't go for _tabdiilii_ whatsoever, but _taGhayyur_ and _tabdiilii_ don't imply anything more than a change or transformation, be it for better or for worse. That is why _islaaH_ came to my mind.



I think taGhayyur is used in the same type of "change" as well, as in the Gandhi quote. For example:

ham ta bah abad sa3ii-o-*taGhayyur *ke walii haiN
ham mustafavii, mustafavii, msuatafavii haiN

Jamiluddin Aali

I agree _Islaah _is a good substitute and very much consistent with the intended meaning too.


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