# Hindi/Urdu: bakhshish (बख्शिश )



## lafz_puchnevala

Hi,

Meaning and sample usage will be appreciated.

Thanks!


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## Alfaaz

Platts:


> *بخشش* _baḵẖshish_, vulg. _baksīs_ (abst. s. fr. _baḵẖsh_, q.v.), s.f. Present, gift, donation, grant, gratuity, reward; beneficence, liberality, generosity; pardon, forgiveness:—_baḵẖshish-nāma_, s.m. Deed of gift (=_dān-patr_).



_zindagi teri a'ataa hai to yeh jaane wala 
teri bakhshish teri dehleez pe dhar jaa'ega
waqt ka kya hai, guzar ta hai, guzar jaa'ega
aankh se door na ho, dil se uttar jaa'ega

Ahmad Faraz
_
Khudaraa, mujhe bakhsh do! 
For God's Sake! Forgive me!


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## JaiHind

bakhshish (बख्शिश )

I think it means alms. So "daan" would be best word in Hindi. Like we give alms to beggars, we give daan (Hindi) to the poor. 

There is another word in this context, "dakshina". But it is meant to be given to the priests for religious service performed. Without it, alms giving or bakshish is called "daan".


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## Qureshpor

JaiHind said:


> bakhshish (बख्शिश )
> 
> I think it means alms. So "daan" would be best word in Hindi. Like we give alms to beggars, we give daan (Hindi) to the poor.
> 
> There is another word in this context, "dakshina". But it is meant to be given to the priests for religious service performed. Without it, alms giving or bakshish is called "daan".



No, it has never meant "alms" in Urdu. Apart from the meanings given by Platts in one of the above posts, colloquially it has acquired the meaning of a "tip".


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## lafz_puchnevala

It might have different meanings depending on the context. Another word which comes to mind is 'kripaa'. Not sure if it Hindi or Urdu though...


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## marrish

JaiHind said:


> bakhshish (बख्शिश )
> 
> I think it means alms. So "daan" would be best word in Hindi. Like we give alms to beggars, we give daan (Hindi) to the poor.
> 
> There is another word in this context, "dakshina". But it is meant to be given to the priests for religious service performed. Without it, alms giving or bakshish is called "daan".


I believe you take its English meaning as Hindi. http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/baksheesh


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## marrish

lafz_puchnevala said:


> It might have different meanings depending on the context. Another word which comes to mind is 'kripaa'. Not sure if it Hindi or Urdu though...


Could you please be so kind as to specify why you associate _baxshish_ with _kripaa_?
_kripaa_ is Hindi/Sanskrit.


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## tonyspeed

If you ever find yourself in Rajasthan at a place named Amer Fort and you want to take an elephant ride to the top, you will see a laughable sign that says "बख्शीश मना है / _bakhshish manaa hai_". Of course, if you don't give the elephant driver bakhshish, your ride will not be pleasant because in India _sab kuch bakhshish se chaltaa hai_!


So बख्शीश is a very important word!


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## tonyspeed

JaiHind said:


> So "daan" would be best word in Hindi.



I have usually heard daan in the context of donation and not usually tip. A tip is a payment for services given. A donation is something given without any services being furnished.


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## Alfaaz

> No, it has never meant "alms" in Urdu. Apart from the meanings given by Platts in one of the above posts, colloquially it has acquired the meaning of a "tip".



Interesting! Could you please shed some more light on this! 



> _teri bakhshish teri dehleez pe dhar jaa'ega_


In the quote above from Faraaz, would it mean "teri tip tere threshold/door pe dhar jaaega"


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## Qureshpor

I was not aware that Faraz wrote in the colloquial language.


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## Alfaaz

> I was not aware that Faraz wrote in the colloquial language.



Yeh mazaaq hai yaa haqeeqat?


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## omlick

If you ever watch the film "The Big Lebowski"  you will hear John Goodman say it.  But he used it to mean getting money in not such a legal manner.  But I don't recall the context exactly, I guess the word is popular in Los Angeles though.  I would assume it would mean "tip" like giving a taxi driver a tip.


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## marrish

Alfaaz said:


> Interesting! Could you please shed some more light on this!
> 
> 
> In the quote above from Faraaz, would it mean "teri tip tere threshold/door pe dhar jaaega"


I'd suggest that one takes the appropriate meaning according to the nature of the text in question; the meaning as 'tip' has been explained already by many members. Of course since Urdu poetry is for the most part not colloquial, we have to have a discerning eye as it comes to understanding it. You are free to perceive it as a tip, however you yourself have quoted other meanings according to Platts. Which one would you choose for this poem?


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## Alfaaz

> I'd suggest that one takes the appropriate meaning according to the nature of the text in question; the meaning as 'tip' has been explained already by many members. Of course since Urdu poetry is for the most part not colloquial, we have to have a discerning eye as it comes to understanding it. You are free to perceive it as a tip, however you yourself have quoted other meanings according to Platts. Which one would you choose for this poem?



I'm not sure; In another thread, QP SaaHib said that reading poetry can be difficult, as each reader may have his/her own interpretation. 

This seems to have caused the confusion: Tip can mean: a certain percentage of the bill given to a waiter or waitress or advice/mashwarah. 

I would guess that this "bakhshish" used in the poem could either mean forgiveness/pardon or small amounts of money...as the previous line seems to allude to God "the Sustainer" but also He is "the Forgiver/Pardoner" (of sins)...

Zindagi teri a'ataa hai to yeh jaane wala (If life is your grant/granted by you that this departing soul...)

teri bakhshish teri dehleez pe dhar jaa'ega (will stop/stay/end at your threshold, your generosity/benevolence; forgiveness/pardon


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## marrish

Alfaaz said:


> I'm not sure; In another thread, QP SaaHib said that reading poetry can be difficult, as each reader may have his/her own interpretation.
> This seems to have caused the confusion: Tip can mean: a certain percentage of the bill given to a waiter or waitress or advice/mashwarah.
> I would guess that this "bakhshish" used in the poem could either mean forgiveness/pardon or small amounts of money...as the previous line seems to allude to God "the Sustainer" but also He is "the Forgiver/Pardoner" (of sins)...
> Zindagi teri a'ataa hai to yeh jaane wala (If life is your grant/granted by you that this departing soul...)
> teri bakhshish teri dehleez pe dhar jaa'ega (will stop/stay/end at your threshold, your generosity/benevolence; forgiveness/pardon


Very good, considering that the poet talks of life as granted, one might take the meaning of pardon/forgiveness of course. But if you think further, a grant can make more sense. _dhar jaa'e gaa_ means '_rakh jaa'e gaa'._ No tip here-no colloquial usage, as per Qureshpor SaaHib's remark!


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## Qureshpor

Alfaaz said:


> I'm not sure; In another thread, QP SaaHib said that reading poetry can be difficult, as each reader may have his/her own interpretation.
> 
> This seems to have caused the confusion: Tip can mean: a certain percentage of the bill given to a waiter or waitress or advice/mashwarah.
> 
> I would guess that this "bakhshish" used in the poem could either mean forgiveness/pardon or small amounts of money...as the previous line seems to allude to God "the Sustainer" but also He is "the Forgiver/Pardoner" (of sins)...
> 
> Zindagi teri a'ataa hai to yeh jaane wala (If life is your grant/granted by you that this departing soul...)
> 
> teri bakhshish teri dehleez pe dhar jaa'ega (will stop/stay/end at your threshold, your generosity/benevolence; forgiveness/pardon




(Dear Lord)...

If life is a favour from you, this departing soul
Will place your beneficence at your threshold


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## Alfaaz

oooooohhhhhh! Get it now!! Thanks for the reply marrish and the wonderful translation Qureshpor!


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## marrish

Thank you for coming in, Qureshpor SaaHib!! I was trying to avoid direct answers-to guide a bit.


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## greatbear

Bakhshiish could mean a range of things, from bribe through tips and gift to bonus and alms. Most commonly, it refers to tips, bribe and bonuses. I am surprised no one mentioned the meaning of bonus till now, since, for example, when an employee gets a bonus on his salary for Diwali, he or she is said often to get a "bakhshiish". It is rarely used for alms, though: the word more appropriate for alms is either "daan" or "chandaa" (and "dakshinaa" to Brahmins for rituals, to teachers as a gift, etc.).


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## marrish

greatbear said:


> Bakhshiish could mean a range of things, from bribe through tips and gift to bonus and alms. Most commonly, it refers to tips, bribe and bonuses. I am surprised no one mentioned the meaning of bonus till now, since, for example, *when an employee gets a bonus on his salary for Diwali, he or she is said often to get a "bakhshiish"*. It is rarely used for alms, though: the word more appropriate for alms is either "daan" or "chandaa" (and "dakshinaa" to Brahmins for rituals, to teachers as a gift, etc.).


This is new for me - thanks for sharing!
BTW, I suppose this is a colloquial expression, not an official one?


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## BP.

^And what if they got a malus?


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## greatbear

marrish said:


> This is new for me - thanks for sharing!
> BTW, I suppose this is a colloquial expression, not an official one?



I don't understand by what do you mean by an "official" expression. If you mean a company's annual reports, then the word "bonus" is used (in Hindi as well). Otherwise to call bonus as bakhshiish is a widespread and old usage.


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## lafz_puchnevala

So it does not mean 'forgiveness'?


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## greatbear

lafz_puchnevala said:


> So it does not mean 'forgiveness'?



No, not even remotely.


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## BP.

lafz_puchnevala said:


> So it does not mean 'forgiveness'?


It could. Certainly as a synonym to _nijaat_.


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## marrish

greatbear said:


> I don't understand by what do you mean by an "official" expression. If you mean a company's annual reports, then the word "bonus" is used (in Hindi as well). Otherwise to call bonus as bakhshiish is a widespread and old usage.


What I briefly intended to point out is that I was suspecting baksheesh to be colloquial, not used in official contexts. I can imagine a clerk at the ministry of Hindi laguage getting a ''bonus'' and sharing this news with his friends along the lines of baksheesh, maybe because he is not that happy with its amount (BP SaaHib, a malus!). Probably he would be sarcastic and use baksheesh a bit, let's say, deprecatively. Respectively, an ''official'' expression or term would be in writing, printed in the rules. Then, if it is the case of the ministry of Hindi language, I'm almost sure it wouldn't be a bonus nor baksheesh.


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## Qureshpor

I have a feeling that the pristine Urdu "baxshish" (as quoted in the poem in the opening post) is being mixed up with the "Westernised" (for want of a better word) "bakshiish".


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## marrish

QURESHPOR said:


> I have a feeling that the pristine Urdu "baxshish" (as quoted in the poem in the opening post) is being mixed up with the "Westernised" (for want of a better word) "bakshiish".


This must be the feeling I've had since my post #5; but now I'm not so sure whether this word is 'westernized' or 'hindized', or both!


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## greatbear

marrish said:


> What I briefly intended to point out is that I was suspecting baksheesh to be colloquial, not used in official contexts. I can imagine a clerk at the ministry of Hindi laguage getting a ''bonus'' and sharing this news with his friends along the lines of baksheesh, maybe because he is not that happy with its amount (BP SaaHib, a malus!). Probably he would be sarcastic and use baksheesh a bit, let's say, deprecatively. Respectively, an ''official'' expression or term would be in writing, printed in the rules. Then, if it is the case of the ministry of Hindi language, I'm almost sure it wouldn't be a bonus nor baksheesh.



No, there is no deprecative or sarcastic element involved in using "bakhshiish" for a bonus: the word simply also means bonus, with no other feeling involved.


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## Faylasoof

lafz_puchnevala said:


> So it does not mean 'forgiveness'?


  This certainly is one of its meaning! Perhaps once its primary meaning! _baxshish_ بخشش बख़्शीश is from the Presian verb _baxshiidan_  بخشیدن = to forgive. From this we got our  verb _baxshnaa_ بخشنا = to forgive, grant etc. and baxshish _baxshish_ بخشش बख़्शीश is the noun derived from this, meaning:

1) انعام _in3aam_ = benefaction, gratuity, largess, favour, gift, present; reward, prize; grant of rent-free land etc.

2) عطیہ  3 _aTiyah_ = A gift; a grant; an assignment; a stipend an allowance.

3) _*معافی ma3aafii*_ =  _*forgiveness, pardon, remission, reprieve*_.

Platts is very clear about all this:

P بخشش _baḵẖshish_, vulg. _baksīs_ (abst. s. fr. _baḵẖsh_, q.v.), s.f. Present, gift, donation, grant, gratuity, reward; beneficence, liberality, generosity; _*pardon, forgiveness*_:—_baḵẖshish-nāma_, s.m. Deed of gift (=_dān-patr_).

Interestingly, he also mentions _daan-patr_!


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