# Hindustani/Punjabi: Gender and the word 'Jaan'



## amiramir

Hi,

I just wrote a whole post that got lost in cyberspace. I will summarize again. Essentially I have a question on the use of the word 'Jaan' as a term of endearment. Specifically:

1) "Meri jaan" -- is this just used by females to men (i.e. wives to husbands, mothers to sons?) or also males to females (i.e. husbands to wives, and fathers to daughters?)
2) "Jaan-e-man" -- is this just used by females to men (i.e. wives to husbands, mothers to sons?) or also males to females (i.e. husbands to wives, and fathers to daughters?)
3) I am aware particularly muslim speakers might use "abba-jaan" when referring to their fathers. Do people (of any religious persuasion) regularly use "papa-jaan?"

Thanks so much for your help and time.

(Sorry, I pressed the 'submit button' after I realized I hadn't finished the full title of the thread: It should read: Hindustani/Punjabi: Gender and the word 'Jaan')


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## aprctr

Since Urdu is compiled from several regional languages, including Farsi & Arabic, the word in question is Persian and meaning is the same as Meri Jaan used in Hindi, but the word Jaan here still adopted from Arabic & Persian into Hindi. Suggested use of Jaan-e-Man (sweetheart) in Farsi & Urdu is for female (male to female) but also usable for male as well (female to male), so the suggested gender of Jaan is feminine but usable as masucline as well.

Abba-Jaan (dear father) is Urdu calling for father while Papa (father) is a derivation of Latin-English into Urdu, but not as frequently used as Abba ie Abba-Jaan.


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## Qureshpor

aprctr said:


> Since Urdu is compiled from several regional languages, including Farsi & Arabic, the word in question is Persian and meaning is the same as Meri Jaan used in Hindi, but the word *Jaan* here still adopted from *Arabic* & Persian into Hindi. Suggested use of Jaan-e-Man (sweetheart) in Farsi & Urdu is for female (male to female) but also usable for male as well (female to male), so the suggested gender of Jaan is feminine but usable as masucline as well.
> 
> Abba-Jaan (dear father) is Urdu calling for father while Papa (father) is a derivation of Latin-English into Urdu, but not as frequently used as Abba ie Abba-Jaan.




Just a slight correction. jaan, in the sense we are talking about is Persian and not Arabic.


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## aprctr

Qureshpur!

The meaning of Jaan is life & body, now in what sense you want to dedicate (family, love, nation, faith, etc) its upto you.
Regarding origin, thousands of Arabic base word derivations were adopted & altered regionally by others in course of time. Some instances are Jaan Haazir, Jaan Fida, Merjaan etc. More instances available...


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## Qureshpor

aprctr said:


> Qureshpur!
> 
> The meaning of Jaan is life & body, now in what sense you want to dedicate (family, love, nation, faith, etc) its upto you.
> Regarding origin, thousands of Arabic base word derivations were adopted & altered regionally by others in course of time. Some instances are Jaan Haazir, Jaan Fida, Merjaan etc. More instances available...




aprctr, I don't know why you need to place an exclamation mark after my name. Is there anything I need to know?

You might have misunderstood what I said. Just to reitterate. In "merii jaan" and "jaan-i-man", "jaan" is Persian and not Arabic. That's all I have said and nothing more. "jaann" and "marjaan", I believe are found in Surah Rahman of the Holy Qur'an and they mean "jinn" and "coral" respectively. 

By the way, one does find "marjaan" in Classical Persian but there the word is "mar-jaan", where "mar" is understood to be an emphatic particle. Therefore "mar-jaan" could be translated as "the very life" or "life itself"


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## Todd The Bod

I remember a song (from the classic blockbuster smash hit Aashiqui I think) using Jaaneman, which I've till this post always misunderstood to be saying "go man".  So I guess from what you're saying, it means "sweetheart".  How did that song go?  "Something something jaaneman, tuujhe hai meri qasam; tuu jo muujhe na myli, mar jaunga Main sanam...."  Sorry, I digress.  So does "jaaneman" mean "sweetheart"?


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## aprctr

Both of you, Mind Your Own Language!

Sweetheart in the sense it is used, otherwise, being a Persian compound word, literal meaning is MyDear .......  other meanings also available ......


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## amiramir

Thanks, all for your replies.


Just to clarify:

1) Re: papa-jaan: my question is whether anyone actually says this in real life, particularly in india, where abba-jaan might be less common?

2) Will wives say to their husbands "meri jaan"-- i.e. does the presence of the feminine 'meri' make this an unappealing term of endearment? Will wives then just call the husbands "jaan" without the "meri?" Or does the grammatical gender not affect anyone's perception of human gender in this case?

Thanks,
Nikhil


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## Qureshpor

amiramir said:


> 2) Will wives say to their husbands "meri jaan"-- i.e. does the presence of the feminine 'meri' make this an unappealing term of endearment? Will wives then just call the husbands "jaan" without the "meri?" Or does the grammatical gender not affect anyone's perception of human gender in this case?




Yes, "merii jaan" is perfectly acceptable for women to say to their husbands. "merii" of course qualifies "jaan".


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## amiramir

Thank you, Qureshpor. Much obliged.


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## greatbear

amiramir said:


> 1) Re: papa-jaan: my question is whether anyone actually says this in real life, particularly in india, where abba-jaan might be less common?



No, papa-jaan is not used; if a person (usually a Muslim) won't be saying abba-jaan, then he would be saying abba, papa or daddy (or some other word, but not papa-jaan or daddy-jaan).


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## amiramir

Ok, thanks for the clear answer, greatbear.


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## marrish

You  may find it interesting on the margin of mascuine-feminine divagatons, and because in the title of this thread Punjabi is mentioned as well, that you may address a man _janu_ and call a  dear woman as jano in Punjabi.


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## Qureshpor

Todd The Bod said:


> I remember a song (from the classic blockbuster smash hit Aashiqui I think) using Jaaneman, which I've till this post always misunderstood to be saying "go man".  So I guess from what you're saying, it means "sweetheart".  How did that song go?  "Something something jaaneman, tuujhe hai meri qasam; tuu jo muujhe na myli, mar jaunga Main sanam...."  Sorry, I digress.  So does "jaaneman" mean "sweetheart"?



jaanam, jaan-i-jaaN
jaanam, jaan-i-jahaaN

jaan-i-jigar*, jaan-i-man
mujh ko hai terii qasam
tuu jo mujhe nah milaa/milii
mar jaa'uuN gii/gaa maiN sanam

Literally...

My life, (my) life of life
My life, life of the world

Life of my liver* (!), my life
I swear by you!
If I don't have you
I shall die, oh my idol**

*jigar literally means "liver". But in Urdu poetry its significance is soul or heart. So, it does n't mean "You are my liver" but "you are my heart, you are my soul". Of course "dil" is heart and "ruuH" is soul normally.

**sanam is an "idol" in Urdu just like "but". So, the lovers are calling each other "sanam" because an idol is to be worshipped and they worship each other!


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## greatbear

QURESHPOR said:


> **sanam is an "idol" in Urdu just like "but". So, the lovers are calling each other "sanam" because an idol is to be worshipped and they worship each other!



Didn't know that! After having heard 'sanam' in dozens of songs, I had always assumed that the word must mean sweetheart. Thanks!


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## Qureshpor

greatbear said:


> Didn't know that! After having heard 'sanam' in dozens of songs, I had always assumed that the word must mean sweetheart. Thanks!





greatbear, you must have heard the famous Rafi song:

patthar ke sanam tujhe ham ne muHabbat kaa Khudaa jaanaa
baRii bhuul hu'ii are ham ne yih kyaa samjhaa yih kyaa jaanaa

A صنم _ṣanam_, s.m. An idol, image (syn. _but_);—a mistress,  lover, sweetheart;—name of a game among children (one says _ṣanam āʼī_, 'your sweetheart is come'; and asks 'whence?' 'in what dress?' 'what does she eat?' &c.; with whatever letter the answer to the first question begins, those to the others must begin with the same; otherwise, the person failing is condemned, by way of penalty, to imitate the voice of some animal, as a cock, or an ass, &c.):—_ṣanam-ḵẖāna_ or _ṣanam-kada-ě-ćīn_, s.m. An idol-temple, a pagoda, &c. (see _but-ḵẖāna_).


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## greatbear

QURESHPOR said:


> greatbear, you must have heard the famous Rafi song:
> 
> patthar ke sanam tujhe ham ne muHabbat kaa Khudaa jaanaa
> baRii bhuul hu'ii are ham ne yih kyaa samjhaa yih kyaa jaanaa
> 
> A صنم _ṣanam_, s.m. An idol, image (syn. _but_);—a mistress,  lover, sweetheart;—name of a game among children (one says _ṣanam āʼī_, 'your sweetheart is come'; and asks 'whence?' 'in what dress?' 'what does she eat?' &c.; with whatever letter the answer to the first question begins, those to the others must begin with the same; otherwise, the person failing is condemned, by way of penalty, to imitate the voice of some animal, as a cock, or an ass, &c.):—_ṣanam-ḵẖāna_ or _ṣanam-kada-ě-ćīn_, s.m. An idol-temple, a pagoda, &c. (see _but-ḵẖāna_).



Thanks for the details, QP! Yes, I've heard the song, and I had always taken it to mean a stony-hearted lover! Now thankfully I can appreciate the song better.

However, I have doubts now if all those using "sanam" in Bollywood do even know its meaning! In the late eighties, it was an extremely popular word, almost everywhere, so much so that there were even films titled like "Sanam Bewafa" - now an "infidel idol" doesn't make any sense at all, particularly when one considers the cheesy, romantic films they were.


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## Qureshpor

greatbear said:


> Thanks for the details, QP! Yes, I've heard the song, and I had always taken it to mean a stony-hearted lover! Now thankfully I can appreciate the song better.
> 
> However, I have doubts now if all those using "sanam" in Bollywood do even know its meaning! In the late eighties, it was an extremely popular word, almost everywhere, so much so that there were even films titled like "Sanam Bewafa" - now an "infidel idol" doesn't make any sense at all, particularly when one considers the cheesy, romantic films they were.




I think the song/story writers would know the meaning of the word "sanam".

maanii hazaar mannateN rad nah hu’ii balaa-i-dil 
dard kuchh aur baRh gayaa maiN ne jo kii davaa-i-dil 

merii tarah Khudaa kare teraa kisii pih aa’e dil 
tuu bhi jigar ko thaam ke kahtaa phire kih haa’e dil 

roNdo nah merii qabr ko is meN bharii haiN HasrateN 
rakhanaa qadam saNbhaal ke dekho kuchal nah jaa'e dil 

3aashiq-i-naamuraad kii qabr pih thaa likhaa hu’aa
jis ko ho zindagii 3aziiz vo na kahiiN lagaa’e dil 

puuchhate kyaa ho beraHm milate haiN *bevafaa sanam 
*chhoRo butoN kii dostii detaa yahii hai raa’e dil


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