# Hindi: box



## Jianfeng

Hi all,
I want to know how to say "box" for e.g. "two boxes of Kinley" in Hindi. I am not Orissa, and one Oriya boy told me that it is "katum" (or might be kadum) in both Oriya and Hindi. But I can't find such a word in shabdkosh.
Maybe it is an Oriya word and not used in Hindi? Please tell me what it is in pure Hindi. Thanks.


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## panjabigator

I'd say ḍibbā (or maybe ḍabbā?) for a box.  I've never heard the other word before; perhaps it Oriya.

What do you mean by "pure" Hindi?  That a word is included in shabdkosh.com doesn't necessarily mean that it's "pure" (if by pure, you mean "Sanskritic" etymology and/or not used in Urdu).


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## seitt

In Devanagari:
डिब्बा ḍibbā 
डब्बा ḍabbā


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## flyinfishjoe

Out of curiosity, when is "baksaa" used? I saw it on BBC once, and when I looked it up in McGregor, it said that it meant box.


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## akak

flyinfishjoe said:


> Out of curiosity, when is "baksaa" used? I saw it on BBC once, and when I looked it up in McGregor, it said that it meant box.


 
*light bulb comes on*

I had never made the connection between bakas, baksa to box! Strangely I've only heard the words used for trunks and suitcases, not boxes.


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## flyinfishjoe

Ah, so you use it when referring to trunks/suitcases? Yes, McGregor says that both bakas and baksaa come from the English "box."


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## Faylasoof

In both Hindi (colloquial, at least) and Urdu the words _Dibbaa_ (_Dabbaa_) are used on a daily basis to mean a _box_. 

Here is Platts:

H ڐبا डिब्बा_ ḍ__ibbā_, (local) डब्बा_ dabbā_ (q.v., and cf. P. _dabba_), s.m. A box (generally, a round wooden box, for keeping scents, or jewels, &c. in), a casket (syn. _ba__ṭṭ__ā_); a cartridge-box.

These are patently very old definitions (late 19th century!) since we use _Dibbaa_ in our speech to mean a box, which can be of various sizes and they don't have to be round! 



flyinfishjoe said:


> Out of curiosity, when is "baksaa" used? I saw it on BBC once, and when I looked it up in McGregor, it said that it meant box.


 
Here is Platts for baks:

H بکس बकस_ baks_, _bakas_ (corr. from the English), s.m. Box:—_baks_- (or _bakas_-) _wāla_;—s.m. Boxman, pedlar, hawker, huckster (syn. _pherī-wālā_, _bisātī_).

Hmm.. a very old definition, again!

Currently, we use it to mean:

बक्स بكس_ baks _= coffer, trunk, case. (For a coffer / trunk we also have پیٹی पेटी _peTii_ and صَنْدُوق सन्डूक़_ SanDuuq_.)
As you might have guessed, बक्सبكس  _baks_ is a borrowing from the English word _box_.
[In our speech बक्सा بكسا_ baksaa_  is a small case, including a hard-shell case once used by school children to carry their books - now perhaps rare usage as the item itself is rare! The "soft" skin schoolbag popular now a days we always refer to as a _bastah_ بَسْتَہ - a word which has several other usages too!]

डिब्बा ڈِبّا_  Dibbaa _= डब्बा ڈَبّا _Dabbaa _- we use the first form.

डिब्या ڈِبیا  Dibyaa = a very small box.  e.g. माचिस की डिब्या ماچس كی ڈبیا  = matchbox (literally, box of matches).



akak said:


> *light bulb comes on*
> 
> I had never made the connection between bakas, baksa to box! Strangely I've only heard the words used for trunks and suitcases, not boxes.



Yes, Akak! It is an English borrowing! ... and yes we use _baks_ to mean a trunk / suitcase, not really a _box_ = _Dibbaa_.


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## flyinfishjoe

Thanks Faylasoof and Akak.


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## teaboy

_Dibbaa_ also means a can, tin can, and is therefore a slang for cheap little Suzuki 2 cylinder vans.


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## panjabigator

Interesting - I've seen 'box' to mean trunk but never suitcase.  Pashto and Persian both use 'box' to mean briefcase, I believe.


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## bakshink

Dibba also means coach of the train.


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## Cilquiestsuens

teaboy said:


> _Dibbaa_ also means a can, tin can, and is therefore a slang for cheap little Suzuki 2 cylinder vans.


 

Yes, its complete name is actually *Carry Dabba !*

I have never heard *baksaa* in Pakistan, only in India. I don't think the word is used at all in Pk, _*peTii*_ is preferred instead.


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## Sheikh_14

I wouldn't agree with the former comment especially when it comes to Punjabi origin Urdu speakers who interchange the two quite often. Yes peTii is more common but it isn't the only kid in the block by any means.
Punjabigator the comment you made with regards to Persian and Pashto is indeed interesting but could you elaborate with regards to the words that dawned upon you? Perhaps the Pashto word you had in mind was Baks which has come to mean briefcase in Pashto though I am not clear with the Persian alternative unless it is the very same word.


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## Qureshpor

Cilquiestsuens said:


> Yes, its complete name is actually *Carry Dabba !*
> 
> I have never heard *baksaa* in Pakistan, only in India. I don't think the word is used at all in Pk, _*peTii*_ is preferred instead.


I would say that baksaa is possibly of even more frequent occurrence than peTii in Pakistan. I am only talking about the Punjab, mind you.


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## littlepond

In India, at least, all of them are used: baksaa, peTii, sandook ... for boxes and trunks and chests.

"Dibbaa" is something small for me: like lunch kaa dibba (as in the film "Stanley kaa Dabbaa").


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## Dib

Jianfeng said:


> Hi all,
> I want to know how to say "box" for e.g. "two boxes of Kinley" in Hindi. I am not Orissa, and one Oriya boy told me that it is "katum" (or might be kadum) in both Oriya and Hindi. But I can't find such a word in shabdkosh.
> Maybe it is an Oriya word and not used in Hindi? Please tell me what it is in pure Hindi. Thanks.



I am not Oriya, either, but am a close neighbour. I think, the word in question is probably English "carton", which is, at least, used in Bengali in the shape - kaTon/kaTun. For a "carton/box of kinley (water)", we'd use either kaTon or peTi, indeed.


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## littlepond

^ "peTii" in Hindi is used for quite big chests, too, Dib jii: not just cartons of water (in fact, for a carton/crate of dozen Kinleys, I would not use "peTii", but baksaa/dibbaa/thappii (though mostly for a pile)/Tokrii (if shape is somewhat basket like)/carton itself).


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## nizamuddin

other meaning of Box is "peTTii, Sandooq, PaTari" پیٹی، صندوق، پٹاری
http://www.urduinc.com/


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## littlepond

In Hindi, we use "piTaarii", but that has a very different nuance for me: of a box that seems to hold many wonders and marvels in it, that tempts you.


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## marrish

I'm sorry but it's all Hindi "piTaari" or "paTaarii" are unknown to my Urdu. I'm sorry to offend Hindi


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## littlepond

^ I don't what is there to "offend Hindi" if you are not familiar with a couple of words. By the way, from post 18, it is clear that "paTarii" does exist in Urdu.


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## amiramir

Just a quick roundup after all the suggestions above:

For a modern-day suitcase that we take to the airport, etc-- baksa? or suitcase? or neither?

A medium sized box (i.e. 1 foot by 1 foot by 1 foot) where I stick my kids' toys in at the end of the day-- can I call this a dabba?
Thank you. There were so many suggestions, so I'd just like to crystalize the usage in my head.


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## littlepond

^ "baksaa" is only for a trunk/chest, not a suitcase. Trunks have now become obsolete from most parts of India. (Gone are the days of heavy baksaas and heavy bedrolls, with train stations swarming with porters.) For a suitcase, you will have to use English/French-derived words: "sooTkes" or "aTaichii" (a smaller-sized one, but bigger than a briefcase). _Some_ older people also call a suitcase as a "VIP" (pronouncing each initial: vii-aaii-pii), as the brand used to be almost the only good enough suitcase brand many years back.

For a medium-sized box in which you are putting toys inside, you can call it by numerous names: "Dabbaa" including. If it is towards the larger size in medium, you can also call it "baksaa" ("khilaunoN kaa baksaa").


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## amiramir

Thanks again, lpji. You're always so helpful and clear.


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## Sheikh_14

I haven't a clue why but suitcases in Urdu are referred to as Taichii not even aTaichii which seems to be derived from attache and the bags an envoy would carry. Although your every day suitcase is not an attache bag/brief case, it is referred to as a Taichii irregardless. Despite the variance of magnitude. Thus  contrary to Little pond I would add that all suitcases are referred to as such, how that came to be is a mystery.


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## Sheikh_14

Although written as اٹیچی i.e. ataichii, like many other English loan words or adaptations over time and with increased awaremess, the "a" is nothing more than a formality and largely ignored. For instance hardly would you find someone call a skuul i.e. school, askuul, a station/sTaishan an asTaishan a sTaamp i.e stamp, asTaamp. Similarly aTaichii is almost always pronunced as Taichii I am yet to find someone who regularly says aTaichii though one may occasionally do so. The term is often used in compound form as Taichii-case.


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