# Hindi/Urdu: raft



## lafz_puchnevala

Hi,

This word is said to mean 'gone/past'. I would like to know the common situations in which this word is commonly used.

As an eg, can I say 'jang ke din raft haiN.' to mean 'The days of war have gone/past.'? If not, do suggest other simple usages.

Thanks!


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## UrduMedium

I have not seen this word used _standalone _in Urdu. May be used in Hindi.


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## hindiurdu

'Jang ke din rafta hain' is obsolete usage in HU now - I don't think 'Jang ke din raft hain' was correct usage even back then. It certainly is obsolete in Punjabi ('Jang de din rafta ne'). I can visualize my granddad saying it but not my dad. The usage of this word has shrunk in everyday HU. People say 'rafta-rafta' to mean 'jaaatey-jaatey', 'hotey-hotey' or even 'ahista-ahista' (though they mean slightly different things). They also say 'raftaar' for speed and 'giraft'/'giraftaar' for seizure/arrest. This could be regional in its pattern. Maybe people are still using it in, say, Patna. Not in Western Hindi though. I think if you used it, most people would know what you mean but you would sound unusual. I do hear 'aamad-o-raft' sometimes ('aanaa-jaanaa'/'coming-going') but it isn't that common either.


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## UrduMedium

^ Now that you mention, _aamad-o-raft_ is definitely familiar to me. It is still in use also. Another one is_ pesh raft_ (progress). 

Still cannot think of any _standalone *raft *_usage.

_raftah _is definitely used, such as _3umr-i-raftah_ (days past), _3azmat-i-raftah_ (past glory), and so on.


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## marrish

lafz_puchnevala said:


> Hi,
> 
> This word is said to mean 'gone/past'. I would like to know the common situations in which this word is commonly used.
> 
> As an eg, can I say 'jang ke din raft haiN.' to mean 'The days of war have gone/past.'? If not, do suggest other simple usages.
> 
> Thanks!



It is extremely difficult to ascertain its meaning because we don't know two things:

1) the language
2) the context

Courtesy would dictate that the completion of these two conditions would oblige to try to find a suitable respond.


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## greatbear

Agree with post 3: it's an Urdu word that is quite obsolete now;  "raftaa-raftaa" can still be heard, and "jang ke din raftaa ho gaye" is  very old Hindustani - people would understand you but would look oddly  at you, as where you've come from.


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## greatbear

marrish said:


> It is extremely difficult to ascertain its meaning because we don't know two things:
> 
> 1) the language
> 2) the context
> 
> Courtesy would dictate that the completion of these two conditions would oblige to try to find a suitable respond.



Is Hindustani, or Hindi/Urdu, not the language already indicated in the label? Posts 3, 4 and 6 could understand the word without more ado.


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## Qureshpor

hindiurdu said:


> 'Jang ke din rafta hain' is obsolete usage in HU now - I don't think 'Jang ke din raft hain' was correct usage even back then. It certainly is obsolete in Punjabi ('Jang de din rafta ne'). I can visualize my granddad saying it but not my dad. The usage of this word has shrunk in everyday HU. People say 'rafta-rafta' to mean 'jaaatey-jaatey', 'hotey-hotey' or even 'ahista-ahista' (though they mean slightly different things). They also say 'raftaar' for speed and 'giraft'/'giraftaar' for seizure/arrest. This could be regional in its pattern. Maybe people are still using it in, say, Patna. Not in Western Hindi though. I think if you used it, most people would know what you mean but you would sound unusual. I do hear 'aamad-o-raft' sometimes ('aanaa-jaanaa'/'coming-going') but it isn't that common either.



I have to confess that I have never come across usage of the type, "jaNg ke din raftah haiN" in Urdu, old or new. The same applies even more emphatically for Punjabi although we need not concern ourselves regarding its presence or absence in this language. Perhaps you would be kind enough to cite an example, if possible, even though the usage is "obsolete". Although the OP is not concerned with "raftah", I am not sure if it means "jaate jaate". As for "raftaar" and especially "giriftaar" I don't see why these constructions have to be thrown into the pot to aid elucidation of "raft". "aamad-o-raft" is very common in Urdu but once again the query is about "raft" and not "aamad-o-raft".


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## Qureshpor

greatbear said:


> Agree with post 3: it's an Urdu word that is quite obsolete now;  "raftaa-raftaa" can still be heard, and "jang ke din raftaa ho gaye" is  very old Hindustani - people would understand you but would look oddly  at you, as where you've come from.



If it is an Urdu word and not a Hindi one, then the thread label ought to reflect this. You also state that this word has become obsolete in Urdu. Can you offer any references of its usage when it was in vogue? What is Hindustani? All the books that I have had access to point to it being nothing but another name for Urdu.


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## Qureshpor

greatbear said:


> Is Hindustani, or Hindi/Urdu, not the language already indicated in the label? Posts 3, 4 and 6 could understand the word without more ado.



There is no such language called Hindustani recognised under the Indian constitution. You have indicated that the word is Urdu in your previous post. If it is used in Hindi as well, then the word is Urdu/Hindi. Without proper reference or context it is difficult to say exactly what this word is as it is rarely used "stand alone". In at least one case that I am aware of when it has been used on its own, OP is unlikely to iunderstand the quote, as it is from an Urdu Ghazal. Let's wait and see what the OP's reference is and hopefully that would narrow down not only what the word is but also its language.


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## marrish

greatbear said:


> Is Hindustani, or Hindi/Urdu, not the language already indicated in the label? Posts 3, 4 and 6 could understand the word without more ado.


Now that you are asking, I can tell you that as I've said, I have substantial difficulty with relating this word to Urdu. My difficulty becomes uncertainty about Hindi and culminates in the state of helplessness I reach with Hindustani, the language that I don't speak.

I have to disagree with you. None of the posts, 3, 4, 6 and certainly not #7 have mentioned its meaning or common situations where this word could be used.


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## hindiurdu

lafz_puchnevala, you might be interested in the thread on Persian called 'together with' as that demonstrates one usage of 'raft' in Modern Persian - با دوستاش رفت مهموني - "went to (رفت) the party (مهموني) with (با) his friends (دوستاش)". Hope this helps.


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## Qureshpor

hindiurdu said:


> lafz_puchnevala, you might be interested in the thread on Persian called 'together with' as that demonstrates one usage of 'raft' in Modern Persian - با دوستاش رفت مهموني - "went to (رفت) the party (مهموني) with (با) his friends (دوستاش)". Hope this helps.



My understanding from the initial post was that he wished to find its usage in Urdu and Hindi. Perhaps I have misunderstood his aim but if it is to find its usages in Modern Persian as well, then the title of thread ought to reflect this. I am sure Persian speakers will then be able to come up with many many usages of the word in their language. Taking the current title into account, as I have indicated in an earlier post, a link providing context would be helpful to all of us.


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## lafz_puchnevala

hindiurdu said:


> lafz_puchnevala, you might be interested in the thread on Persian called 'together with' as that demonstrates one usage of 'raft' in Modern Persian - با دوستاش رفت مهموني - "went to (رفت) the party (مهموني) with (با) his friends (دوستاش)". Hope this helps.



Thank you for that extra research. Probably this word has Persian roots. Anyway, I guess we will limit out discussion to Hindi/Urdu as that in itself is quite substantial I think.


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## panjabigator

Instead of grumbling about off topic posts, let's just stay ON TOPIC. Thanks. All off topic posts will be deleted.

Panjabigator
Moderator


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## Faylasoof

lafz_puchnevala said:


> Hi,
> 
> This word is said to mean 'gone/past'. I would like to know the common situations in which this word is commonly used.
> 
> As an eg, can I say 'jang ke din raft haiN.' to mean 'The days of war have gone/past.'? If not, do suggest other simple usages.
> 
> Thanks!


 _raft _رفت is not used as a standalone word in Urdu or Hindi and since Hindustani was nothing but middle register Urdu, in that too you wouldn’t find _raft_ used as a standalone word! 

In Urdu _raft _forms plenty of compounds as has been mentioned above. 

Terms like _aamad-o-raft_, _raft-guzasht_, _baaz-raft_, _pesh-raft_, _pas-raft_ etc. we all use and so also its derivatives _raftah_ and _raftagii_. The former (_raftah_) also makes many compounds but here we are concerned with _raft _itself and how may we use it.

The following would be a perfectly idiomatic Urdu usage of the idea you are trying to convey: 

_jang ke din raft-guzasht ho chuke haiN! _

_The days of war are dead and gone! --- _(Idiomatic translation)


_raft-guzasht honaa / ho jaanaa = to be dead and gone._
_raft-guzasht _also mean_s settled / forgiven and forgotten_


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## lafz_puchnevala

greatbear said:


> Agree with post 3: it's an Urdu word that is quite obsolete now;  "raftaa-raftaa" can still be heard, and "jang ke din raftaa ho gaye" is  very old Hindustani - people would understand you but would look oddly  at you, as where you've come from.



On a side note, why is not "jang ke din rafte ho gaye/haiN"? A random google search reveals that 'rafte' does exist. Thanks for the clarification in grammer!


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## Qureshpor

As no context is forthcoming, here is "raft" used in "stand alone" position. LP may have heard of an Urdu poet called Ghalib. This couplet is from one of his Ghazals.

letaa huuN maktab-i-Gham-i-dil meN sabaq hanoz
lekin yahii kih "raft" gayaa aur "buud" thaa

I would just like to add that this quote does NOT go against Faylasoof SaaHib's post as the poet is illustrating his point using verb conjugations.


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## marrish

^That's the most witty and surprising contribution this month, yet introducing a piece of beauty! 

Actually I can use Chinese words in Urdu if I want, so that they can be called Urdu words in this respect.

We can conclude that 'raft' is a Persian/Hindi/Urdu word which in Urdu is found as the constituent of some compound nouns.


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## marrish

lafz_puchnevala said:


> On a side note, why is not "jang ke din rafte ho gaye/haiN"? A random google search reveals that 'rafte' does exist. Thanks for the clarification in grammer!


, 
FYI every possible five letters combination exists in the internet. Had you provided us with a link, we would've been able to tell you more. 

What GB states be possible to hear, ''raftah-raftah'' is another word and it can be classified as an adverb here. So it cannot be used this way in your sentence. Instead, you can follow the good piece of advice from Faylasoof SaaHib, if you really want to use *raft*.


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## lafz_puchnevala

marrish said:


> ,
> FYI every possible five letters combination exists in the internet. Had you provided us with a link, we would've been able to tell you more.
> 
> What GB states be possible to hear, ''raftah-raftah'' is another word and it can be classified as an adverb here. So it cannot be used this way in your sentence. Instead, you can follow the good piece of advice from Faylasoof SaaHib, if you really want to use *raft*.



 A rather dubious source but here it is:1. “Life mai paiFa kamane ke do hi_raFte_ hote _hain" from _amitesh-whatever.blogspot.com/ 2. Paifa kamane ke do _rafte_ hote _hain from _http://www.filmygora.com/movies/168 I was expecting a reply from your knowledge of this word though ie. if this adjective changes its form based on singular/plural/gender etc.

Thanks!


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## hindiurdu

lafz_puchnevala said:


> A rather dubious source but here it is:1. “Life mai paiFa kamane ke do hi_raFte_ hote _hain"_


_

Hahahaha! Totally unexpected and haven't laughed so hard in quite some time. Jiyo merey dost! Dil khush kitta ee!_


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## Qureshpor

lafz_puchnevala said:


> On a side note, why is not "jang ke din rafte ho gaye/haiN"? A random google search reveals that 'rafte' does exist. Thanks for the clarification in grammer!



Were you able to ascertain which language "rafte" belonged to from the random google search?


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## lafz_puchnevala

QURESHPOR said:


> Were you able to ascertain which language "rafte" belonged to from the random google search?



It is HU of course!


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## Qureshpor

lafz_puchnevala said:


> It is HU of course!



That's interesting.  When I searched in google I did n't see anything in Urdu and certainly nothing in Hindi. Could you provide a particular link which shows this word being part of Urdu or Hindi.


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