# Hindi - Urdu: प्रकाश बल्ब vs बल्ब



## Aicxytoon

Found this difference in google translate: प्रकाश बल्ब vs बल्ब are they the same a bulb?


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## Aryaved

Just say bulb instead of the non-colloquial prakaash bulb. That's just a literal translation and if someone says that in real life, they'll probably end up sounding like a fool. I'd recommend saying "baalb" if you want to make it sound a little Indic. 

But how would one say light bulb in Hindi/Urdu?


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## marrish

Aryaved said:


> Just say bulb instead of the non-colloquial prakaash bulb. That's just a literal translation and if someone says that in real life, they'll probably end up sounding like a fool. I'd recommend saying "baalb" if you want to make it sound a little Indic.
> 
> *But how would one say light bulb in Hindi/Urdu?*


The answer lies here:


Faylasoof said:


> BP, do you use this for our: بِجلی / بَتَّی کھولنا_  bijlii / battii kholnaa_= to turn on the light? The alternatives for us are: بَتّی / بِجلِی رَوشَن کرنا _battii / bijlii raushan karnaa -To turn on the light_
> 
> *قُمقُمہ رَوشَن کرنا*
> *ququmah raushan karnaa*
> *To turn on the light bulb. *
> 
> *... btw, ququmah قُمقُمہ  / barqii qumqumah  برقى قُمقُمہ are not a new words!*


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## littlepond

Aryaved said:


> I'd recommend saying "baalb" if you want to make it sound a little Indic.



Never heard a "baalb" from any native Hindi speaker: it's usually "balb".

Back to OP's question: "light bulb" itself is quite colloquial in Hindi speech, so you don't have to translate any of those two words.


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## mundiya

marrish said:


> The answer lies here:



P قمقمه _qumquma_ (for A. قمقمة _qumqumat_, v.n. fr. قمقم 'to collect,' &c.), s.m. A bowl; jug; pitcher;—a vessel in which the red powder is contained which is used at the _holī_ festival;—*a round shade or lantern*.

Is "qumqumah" still used for lantern in Urdu or only for light bulb in modern usage? I assume "ququmah" was a typo.

In Hindi we don't use the above term. We say "balb" instead.


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## Aryaved

If you really want a Sanskrit derived translation, one can say 'Vidyut Deep', but again I imagine that to be a non colloquial term although I think it is a rather good alternative.


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## littlepond

^ It is not just non-colloquial but also a made-up word, and hence I don't think it as a good alternative.

In addition, a "vidyut deep" would mean an "electric lamp": an electric bulb is a type of electric lamp, but not all lamps are bulbs.


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## marrish

mundiya said:


> P قمقمه _qumquma_ (for A. قمقمة _qumqumat_, v.n. fr. قمقم 'to collect,' &c.), s.m. A bowl; jug; pitcher;—a vessel in which the red powder is contained which is used at the _holī_ festival;—*a round shade or lantern*.
> Is "qumqumah" still used for lantern in Urdu or only for light bulb in modern usage? I assume "ququmah" was a typo.
> In Hindi we don't use the above term. We say "balb" instead.


Farhang-e-Asafiyyah:

*قُمْقُمَہ* ۔ع۔اِسمِ‌مُذَکَّر۔ (۱) ایک قسم کی چھوٹی قندیل؛تونبڑی (۲۔اُ) لاکھ کا مجوّف بنا ہوا گولہ جس میں ابیر اور گلال یا رنگ بھرا ہوا ہوتا ہے اور اُسے ہولی میں ہندو لوگ باہم ایک دوسرے پر مارتے ہیں، جس کے ٹوٹنے سے تمام کپڑوں پر گلال یا رنگ بکھر جاتا ہے؎

(چشم خُوں افشانِ عاشق قُمقُمہ ‌ ہے ‌ رنگ کا ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ دیکھئے کیونکر رہے گا جیب اور داماں سفید (نصیر

گولن ‌کے ‌ قمقمے بنائے ‌ توپن ‌ کی ‌ پچکاری ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ سینے کھائی دٹی مُکھ اوپر کیسے تک تک ماری

(شور ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ دنیا ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ میں ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ مچوری ‌ ‌ ۔ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ہند ‌ میں ‌ کیسو ‌ بھاگ ‌ رچوری ‌جورا جوری (ہولی​
*qumqumah*. Ar. s.m. 1. ek qism kii chhoTii qindiil. toNbRii 2. U. laakh kaa mujawwaf banaa hu'aa golah jis meN abiir aur gulaal yaa raNg bharaa hu'aa hotaa hae aur use holii meN hinduu log baaham ek duusre par maarte haiN, jis ke TuuTne se tamaam kapRoN par gulaal yaa raNg bikhar jaataa hae :؎
_chashm-e-xuuN~afshaan-e-3aashiq qumqumah hae raNg kaa ‌  ‌* ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌*  ‌ ‌dekhi'e kyoNkar rahe gaa jaib aur daamaaN sufaid (Naseer)_
_*‌ ‌ ‌*  ‌* ‌ ‌ ‌*  ‌golan ke qumqume banaate topan kii pichkaarii ‌* ‌ ‌ ‌*  ‌  ‌  ‌ siine khaa'ii daTii mukh uupar kaise tak tak maarii_
_* ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ *shor dunyaa meN macho-rii ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌. ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌* ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌* hind meN kiisuu bhaag racho-rii joraa-jorii (holii)_
​Yes, ququmah, it must be one of many typos. People using lanterns might use qumqumah to call them, perhaps in written and spoken literature it might be found (I'm sure it can), but the modern usage prevails and it is a light bulb. Take all this with a heap of salt because the word is barely used yet in my estimation.


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## Alfaaz

marrish said:
			
		

> Yes, ququmah ... Take all this with a heap of salt because the word is barely used yet in my estimation.


 In my limited experience, the word is still quite commonly used in Urdu (at least for news headlines describing lighting on special occasions). 

Example:

ــــــــــــــــــ کے موقع پر تمام سرکاری عمارتوں کو پرقی قمقموں سے سجایا گیا

__________ ke mauqa3 par tamaam sarkaarii i3maaratoN ko barqii qumqumoN se sajaayaa gayaa_


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## littlepond

marrish jii's answer reminds me that we use "kanDiil" in Hindi for the kinds of lantern that are flown with kites (or the kinds used in China, for example, here).


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## Alfaaz

Extra information: قندیل - _qindiil_ is also used as a feminine name in Urdu, apart from other usages.


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## littlepond

"kanDiil" is feminine as well. Alfaaz jii, so it's "d" in Urdu (as opposed to "D" in Hindi)?


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## Alfaaz

littlepond said:
			
		

> Alfaaz jii, so it's "d" in Urdu (as opposed to "D" in Hindi)?


Yes, it is _qindiil_ (with a د/_d_ as in _daal - lentils_, not a ڈ/_D_ as in _Daalnaa - to put, etc._) in Urdu (Persian and Arabic as well)!


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## littlepond

^ Thanks a lot, Alfaaz jii!


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## marrish

marrish said:


> Farhang-e-Asafiyyah:
> *گولن ‌کے ‌ قمقمے بنائے ‌ توپن ‌ کی ‌ پچکاری ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ سینے کھائی دٹی مُکھ اوپر کیسے تک تک ماری
> (شور ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ دنیا ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ میں ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ مچوری ‌ ‌ ۔ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ہند ‌ میں ‌ کیسو ‌ بھاگ ‌ رچوری ‌جورا جوری (ہولی*​_*golan ke qumqume banaate topan kii pichkaarii ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌  ‌ siine khaa'ii daTii mukh uupar kaise tak tak maarii*_
> _* ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ shor dunyaa meN macho-rii ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌. ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌hind meN kiisuu bhaag racho-rii joraa-jorii (holii)*_​



@tarkshya jii, could you please have a glance at this? I found it interesting.​


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## Dib

littlepond said:


> "kanDiil" is feminine as well. Alfaaz jii, so it's "d" in Urdu (as opposed to "D" in Hindi)?



Looks like the Hindi version has undergone influence from English candle? In any case, the Urdu word via Arabic, and the English word are both borrowed from the same Latin source: candēla.


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