# Hindi: chalte hain / subha



## shanya

hey everyone,
I would like to know what " chalte hain" means? and the word " subha " ? 
If you can give me some exemples of each of them , I would be greatful
thanks in advance..


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## jugalk1111

Subha

Means morning ,

Chalte hai I think it should be Chalte hai hum

Means, We go ,

hope you got,


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## shanya

But "hum" doesn't mean " me" or I? 
"Ham" means " us" so, why "we" go?? This shouldn't be chalte hai ham?


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## BP.

I wish you had specified the language so people like me could know whether or not to speak. Now I am.

Well, I'm pretty confident the word you wish to know about isn't _subha_ but _SubaH_-صبح, meaning morning. It could mean either _matin_ or _matinée_ (<-the words for this contract to _subah_ as well). Do notice the a between the b and the h.

About the second, it is said when people leave. It means _I/we'd better be going_-_faut que j'y aille_ or more formally _On va/je vais s/m'en aller maintenant_. 

The fact that someone uses the fist person plural conjugasion of chalna depends on 1- how many people are actually leaving, 2- the disposition of the single person leaving to give themselves some respect while speaking about themselves, 3- its culturally polite or deaply imbibed that fist person plural comes out sponteneously.


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## shanya

Well said Thank you lots for these clarifications..! I was hesitating about writing subha or subah...now I'm sure..
So about _chalte hain_, am I right, is it like this I have to write it? Or as Jugal said chalte hai hum/ham..?


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## BP.

You're writing it better. Just make sure the last n is semi-plosive. We write it as .n over here.


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## shanya

Oh yeah that's true chalte hai.n !! Got it . Thank you lots once more ..


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## Faylasoof

Yes, it would help enormously to know which is your target language. Although it is obvious that this is Hindi-Urdu, which have a large overlap in common speech, it’s always good to know given that there are differences between the two!


The word for <morning, dawn etc.> in Urdu is  <*subh*>, which is frequently mispronounced as <_subah_ or _subha_>. The latter is also used in everyday Hindi to mean the same. Comes from Arabic. More here about pronunciation and the various combinations it is found in. All very useful.

<chalte hai.n>, when used by itself is as BP explained in post #4. 

Can also form part of a full sentence to mean: <we / they move>, literally <we / they walk> – used this way as well.


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## bakshink

Dear Shanya,

Main chalta hoon/chalti hoon literally means I walk. So Hum chalte hain means we walk. Ve chalte hain means they walk. 
Achha hum chalte hain means OK then I/We make a move. 
Have you heard the song "Achha to hum chalte hain. Phir kab miloge, jab tum kahoge" from an old Rajesh Khanna movie (named Aap Ki Kasam I think, I am not sure)? Search it on Youtube. 
Hum, though in old times used by the kings and people feeling self important is now used by everyone. I don't know about grammatical correctness of this but it's accepted form of speech. 
Have you heard the song "Hum to bhayee aise hain aise rahenge" from the movie Veer-Zara? Search it and hear it.
Main/Hum if omitted is also ok because it's understood. Even Chalte hain can mean wait man don't be so restless will leave shortly. Here full expression will be "Chalte hain, Tthero zara or Ruko zara". And "Hum bhi chalte hain" means wait I/we also will come along.


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## Faylasoof

There are indeed many uses of <chalnaa> and the meanings <walking / moving> happen to be the ones that may come to mind first. 

Other examples of the use of this verb are:


اس کمپیوٹرمیں \ پر کئی  \  بہت سے  پروگرام  \ بر نامے چلتے ہیں

_is kampeoTar mei.n / par  kai / bahut se prograam / bar name chalte hai.n_

Many programs run / work on this computer

اس جگہ بہت جھكّڑ چلتے ہیں
_is jagah bahut jhakkaR chalte hai.n _

Gusty winds blow in this place.
[_jhakkaR = tund hawaa’= gusty wind(s)_]

Then there are these:

اس سڑك پر صرف گدھے چلتے ہیں

_is saRak par Sirf gadhe chalte hai.n !_
Only donkeys use this road!

اس راہ پر صرف بیوقوف لوگ چلتے ہیں
_is raah par Sirf bewaqoof log chalte hai.n_

Only dumb / stupid people take this path.  


... And talking of songs using the verb <chalnaa>, who can forget the Bollywood movie “Pakeezah” with Meena / Mina Kumari performing to the famous song:

<_chalte chalte koi mil gayaa thhaa sar-e-raah_>.

Just search _Youtube_ for her songs.

Dear bakshink,

I've answered about the grammatical correctness / incorrectness of the use of <ham> here.


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## shanya

Hi all,
Well Thank you for all these explanations bakshink and Faylasoof and BeligerentP..I now understand the meaning better..and how to use this in different contextes. Yes, I have heard the veer zara song bakshink, and will again to hear clearly what you said. ( by the way, I forgot to tell on my 1st post I wanted to translate into Hindi sorry for that becaue I know there are a lot of differences between Urdu-Hindi...)

I have heard " chalte hai.n" from _Sorry Bhai_ movie : 
Jalte hai.n chalte hain sang sang mere
Khamoshi aanhein andhere
Dekh le jhaank le in nazro mein
 Ho toote toote se hain sapne tere...

Do you know this one? So I was just wondering the meaning of all this..
About subah thank you to remind me that the word is from arabic subh.I just forgot this !!! 
Bakshink when you say Ve chalte hain for they walk, Can I use also "yeh" ? because personal pronouns are , correct me if I'm wrong:
Hum/ tum/ usko-uska/ ham-hum/ aap/ yeh .... hai naa??


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## BP.

Faylasoof said:


> The word for <morning, dawn etc.> in Urdu is  <*subh*>, which is frequently mispronounced as <_subah_ or _subha_>.



Someone told me that when I must've been three, It seemed awkward even then since everybody calls it _SubaH_, except for compound words like _SubH e kaazib_ and _waqt e SubH_ etc. Thanks for reiterating the fact, now unlike all those years ago I'm not afraid of being the odd one out saying a word correctly!


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## shanya

Good so my thread was usefull for you too


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## Faylasoof

Hello Shanya,



shanya said:


> ...( by the way, I forgot to tell on my 1st post I wanted to translate into Hindi sorry for that becaue I know there are a lot of differences between Urdu-Hindi...)



... and many similarities too! It all depends on the register being used.



> About subah thank you to remind me that the word is from arabic subh. I just forgot this !!!



It has Arabic etymology but is used in daily Hindi speech like many other words of Arabic and Persian origin. Of course in Urdu we use even more from both.

…and just for added info, in Urdu we also use another Arabic word for morning, viz. <_Sab__ā__H_ >. Normally in this compound: <_‘alaS-SabāH_  > = just before dawn / early dawn. 

Although in essence it is a bit different from _SubH-e-S__ādiq _(= true dawn = crack of dawn = first light_)_, we use the two virtually synonymously. 





BelligerentPacifist said:


> Someone told me that when I must've been three, It seemed awkward even then since everybody calls it _SubaH_, except for compound words like _SubH e kaazib_ and _waqt e SubH_ etc. Thanks for reiterating the fact, now unlike all those years ago I'm not afraid of being the odd one out saying a word correctly!


 BP, this reminds me of all the trouble I had in school for saying <subh> or even <subH>, i.e. with a distinct <_He_  ح> at the end. The latter, in particular, was an anathema to my friends who thought I had been standing in the sun too long!

Your mentioning _SubH-e-kāzib_ reminded me of the following Urdu verse that uses the antonym _SubH-e-S__ādiq_:


صبحِ صادق كا سماں رہتا ہے نورِ عرش پر
گلشنِ  خُلدِ بریں  میں  آفتاب  آتا  نہیں

(مُحِب لكھنوی)

_SubH-e-S__ādiq kā samā.n rahtā hai noor-e-’arsh par_
_gulshan-e-xuld-e-barii.n   mei.n  āftāb   ātā   nahii.n_

(_MuHib Lakhnavii_)


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## shanya

Hey everyone, 
thank you lots for all this explanations...you have helped me a lot..I noted apart all your explications on these words.
thanks, and see you soon.


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