# Urdu, Hindi: a leaflet



## marrish

Hi,

When in the market, one is likely to be handed out a *leaflet*, which is usually a double-side printed sheet of paper, folded in three. Such leaflets are also distributed by banks, companies and public institutions, for purposes of information and advertisement.

Which Urdu and Hindi words might be used so that English borrowings can be avoided?


I was thinking of _kitaabchah_ but _kitaabchah_ should contain more pages to become a _kitaabchah_.


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## UrduMedium

From my recently arrived Oxford English-Urdu Dictionary by Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee ...

leaflet: w_araqchah_, _waraq_, with adjectives _matbuu3ah, bin silaa, teh daar _...
leafleting: _ishtihaarii warqe baNTnaa
_
I'd like suggest the word _parchah _to the list also. Or _ishtihaarii parchah_.


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## Qureshpor

I would go for "varaqchah" for leaflet. "parchah" has also the meaning of "examination paper", so this may not be a suitable equivalent.


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## Faylasoof

ورقچہ _waraqchah_ sounds good! Incidentally, برگچہ _bargchah_ has also been suggseted and Platts has this:

H پتيا पत्तिया _pattiyā_, पतिया _patiyā_ [S. पत्त्त्रिका], s.f. A small leaf, *leaflet;* a letter; written opinion given by Pandits on a point of Hindū law.

Of course it has / had a different usage.


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## marrish

Thank you all for the input, *waraqchah *seems to be very good option, as well as *bargchah* which is very nice! However I'm wondering as to whether these could be easy to understand by the general public. 

*pattiyaa* is also quite interesting to try provided it is used by the modern Urdu or Hindi in a broader sense than the legal advice.

I follow QP SaaHib when he says parchah has some meanings which are reserved already, another one being a police report. So *ishtihaarii parchah* could have a diametrically different sense.

_*ishtihaarii varaqche baaNTnaa*_ sounds very well with regard to the advertisement.


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## greatbear

In normal speech, I would in fact use "kaaghaz" or "pannaa" - the words for paper and sheet of paper - rather than any of the above-mentioned.


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## tonyspeed

S پترکا पत्रिका _patrikā_, s.f. Leaf; written leaf; page;  letter, document


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## greatbear

tonyspeed said:


> S پترکا पत्रिका _patrikā_, s.f. Leaf; written leaf; page;  letter, document



However, the word "patrikaa" is _used _generally for a magazine and occasionally for a booklet.


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## marrish

I agree that *patrikaa* is primarily for a magazine or a booklet, the scope of meaning has narrowed here, whereas _kaaGhaz_ or _pannaa_ is too generic.


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## greatbear

And often in day-to-day speech we do use generic terms for specific things. Most people call a newspaper in India as "paper" (preferred more than "akhbaar", and much, much more than the complete "newspaper"). That's language - practical and dynamic.


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## UrduMedium

marrish said:


> Thank you all for the input, *waraqchah *seems to be very good option, as well as *bargchah* which is very nice! However I'm wondering as to whether these could be easy to understand by the general public.
> 
> *pattiyaa* is also quite interesting to try provided it is used by the modern Urdu or Hindi in a broader sense than the legal advice.
> 
> I follow QP SaaHib when he says parchah has some meanings which are reserved already, another one being a police report. So *ishtihaarii parchah* could have a diametrically different sense.
> 
> _*ishtihaarii varaqche baaNTnaa*_ sounds very well with regard to the advertisement.



FYI- OUD lists (with several literary examples) ten different usages of the word _parchah_. It is not concentrated toward just exam paper. Please check there as it might be helpful in your task.


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## marrish

UrduMedium said:


> FYI- OUD lists (with several literary examples) ten different usages of the word _parchah_. It is not concentrated toward just exam paper. Please check there as it might be helpful in your task.



Thank you for this - helpful indeed. I was not saying that *parchah* means mainly ''exam paper'', I said also that it is a ''police report''. For the meaning of a ''leaflet''/''pamphlet''/''brochure'' only sense 2. and 3. could be tried to adapt, but 1. (Edit: the first mentioned-means 2.!) is very general (I think) and 3. too specific. Do you think we may broaden this sense? Also, concerning the popularity of the given senses, how would you rank these entries?

I would say that the most primary meanings taken nowadays are 7, 5, 10, 2, 4.


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## UrduMedium

^ I agree with your assessment of 1 and 3. But if you are trying to coin a new term, I feel either 2 or 3 can be extended. 

My rough ranking would be 2, 5, 10, 7, 4. 

I like _waraqchah _also. Its just that _parchah _is more familiar and easier to say.


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## JaiHind

marrish said:


> Hi,
> 
> When in the market, one is likely to be handed out a *leaflet*, which is usually a double-side printed sheet of paper, folded in three. Such leaflets are also distributed by banks, companies and public institutions, for purposes of information and advertisement.
> 
> Which Urdu and Hindi words might be used so that English borrowings can be avoided?



"patrika" or पत्रिका is used for this. 

Also if it is an informative leaflet, the word would better be "soochna patra" सूचना पत्र.  

सूचना पत्र वितरण करना.

If it is for advertisement, one can say "prachaar patra" प्रचार पत्र वितरण करना...


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## marrish

^Thank you for contributing. How is this word used in this context - is the meaning as in post #8 the primary one?


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## tonyspeed

marrish said:


> ^Thank you for contributing. How is this word used in this context - is the meaning as in post #8 the primary one?



When Platts compiled his dictionary, the modern periodical magazine was not widespread as it is today. The word patrika was originally designed for leafs but was overloaded to also mean magazine.

In the modern world, I would think magazines have now overtaken the leaflet as the primary form of communication. This would explain the association of patrika with magazine even though this was not the original meaning.


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