# Hindi/Urdu: penis



## Jamshed Aslam

Is the Hindi/Urdu word for "penis" लन or लण्ड or लण ? I believe the Punjabi word for it is only लन .


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## Sheikh_14

For Urdu speakers kindly also write either in Nastaliiq/Nasx or Roman.


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## mundiya

In Punjabi, it's ਲੱਨ lann

In Hindi, I've heard लंड (लण्ड) lanD and लाँड़ laaNR


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## Jamshed Aslam

Sheikh_14 said:


> For Urdu speakers kindly also write either in Nastaliiq/Nasx or Roman.



लन لن
लण्ड لنڈ
लण I don't know how to write this in Urdu.


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## Sheikh_14

There happens to be a Sanskrit derived word quite often used in formal Hindi/Urdu and in Hindu yoga/tantric rituals which is either Linga or Lingam. In Urdu lexicons it is written as linga, however, amongst Anglophones who are practitioners in the ritualistic arts for some reason it is lingam. Are both recognised by Hindi/Urdu speakers or lingam is in fact merely an English corruption of the word linga, which is attributed to Shiva as a symbol of generation?


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## amiramir

I don't think 'penis' is लंड. Penis is a neutral word, akin to ling. For लंड there are a variety of words that would fit a more vulgar register. 


@ sheikh_14, I am just guessing here, but I would imagine that lingam is the sanskrít form of the word.


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## Chhaatr

In formal register I would use _ling_ or _shishn_.

_lunD_ and _lauRaa_ would be extremely vulgar.


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## tarkshya

I am more interested in the etymology of this word _lunD_. Does it derive from लिंग ?


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## littlepond

In my family, including extended family, बऊ, though I have never read this word anywhere!

And Chhatr jii, nice to see you on here after a long time!


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## Moon boy

Jamshed Aslam said:


> लन لن
> लण्ड لنڈ
> लण I don't know how to write this in Urdu.



There must be some way to write the ण in लण in Urdu!


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## mundiya

The word is "lanD" लंड not "lunD" लुंड, and there is no etymological relationship with लिंग

Welcome back, Chhaatr jii!


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## Moon boy

mundiya said:


> The word is "lanD" लंड not "lunD" लुंड, and there is no etymological relationship with लिंग
> 
> Welcome back, Chhaatr jii!



लंड? I thought it was लण्ड!


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## Sheikh_14

is the D silent in lanD I have always heard it as lan and seen it to be wriiten as lanD. Is the sanskrit derived formal word linga, lingam or ling? This word is often associated with Shiva but there seem to be three ways of saying the same thing. Are all three accepted or there is one correct form as far as formal hindi/urdu is concerned?

Jamshed saahib another formal Urdu alternative is Zakar.


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## mundiya

Moon boy said:


> लंड? I thought it was लण्ड!



लंड is the more typical spelling, but either spelling can be used. The pronunciation is the same either way.


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## marrish

Urdu "penis" - *3uzw-e-tanaasul* عُضوِ تَناسُل lit. organ of generation or آلۂ تناسل _*aala*-e-tanaasul_, ذَکَر *zakar*, قضیب *qaziib*.

LP jii, *bauu* as you mentioned and *bahuu* as written in the Farhang-e-Asafiyah is an old Urdu women-folk language usage for a *phunno* (another word for a 'willy'). Question: is it masculine or feminine?

mundiya jii, I always thought that there was some connection with linga? Have you any idea what the etymology of _lanD_ could be?


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## Charsaddawi

Could somebody please tell me if there is any Indic language, e.g. Urdu, Hindi, Sindhi, Punjabi that uses लण (I don't know how to write it in Urdu script) for "penis"?
I already know that लन لن is used in Punjabi and लण्ड لنڈ in Urdu.


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## tonyspeed

Moon boy said:


> There must be some way to write the ण in लण in Urdu!


No, there is not. Urdu script does not distinguish between N sounds based on position of the tongue. Devanagari does.


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## Dib

Sheikh_14 said:


> Is the sanskrit derived formal word linga, lingam or ling? This word is often associated with Shiva but there seem to be three ways of saying the same thing. Are all three accepted or there is one correct form as far as formal hindi/urdu is concerned.



The Sanskrit "dictionary-form", i.e. the word "stem", is "linga-" with a short final -a, spelt लिङ्ग or लिंग in Devanagari. lingam (लिङ्गम्‌/लिंगम्‌) is its nominative singular form.
Hindi uses the stem form of the Sanskrit word, i.e. लिङ्ग/लिंग, but deletes the final short -a in pronunciation as usual; hence "ling" would be the proper Hindi pronunciation.


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## mundiya

marrish said:


> mundiya jii, I always thought that there was some connection with linga? Have you any idea what the etymology of _lanD_ could be?



It's connected to words of contempt. For example, according to Turner, Skt. laTTa "bad man", laDDa "wretch, villain", and Pkt. laṁDua "rejected"_. _Hence, the crude and impolite connotations of the word in Hindi/Urdu, and its similarities to English slang words. I suspect it's also related to offensive terms such as ranDii.


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## tarkshya

Moon boy said:


> There must be some way to write the ण in लण in Urdu!



You should be telling us this, having Urdu as your mother tongue. 

Anyway, as per the forum's guidelines page here Transliteration of Urdu and Hindi as used in this Forum, Urdu uses a small superscript ط to represent retroflex N (ण ), as ڻ. However, this leaves the possibility of getting this letter confused with ٹ, especially in the word-middle positions. Also, I don't this practice of ڻ to represent ण is standard and widespread usage.

I guess retroflex N is not important in Urdu anyway. Urdu prefers Prakrit forms over Sanskrit forms, and in Prakrit forms most ण s turn into न (गुण -> गुन ).


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## mundiya

Dib said:


> The Sanskrit "dictionary-form", i.e. the word "stem", is "linga-" with a short final -a, spelt लिङ्ग or लिंग in Devanagari. lingam (लिङ्गम्‌/लिंगम्‌) is its nominative singular form.
> Hindi uses the stem form of the Sanskrit word, i.e. लिङ्ग/लिंग, but deletes the final short -a in pronunciation as usual; hence "ling" would be the proper Hindi pronunciation.



I think Wiktionary got it wrong. It lists "liṃgaḥ" as the nominative singular and "liṃgam" as the accusative singular.


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## mundiya

tarkshya said:


> I guess retroflex N is not important in Urdu anyway. Urdu prefers Prakrit forms over Sanskrit forms, and in Prakrit forms most ण s turn into न (गुण -> गुन ).



There are many Prakrit words with retroflex ण, and this sound is also present in non-loanwords in many NIA languagues such as Punjabi. In standard Hindi and other dialects of the UP region, it's mainly present as a stand alone consonant in loanwords from Sanskrit. So, this ण to न change is not a Prakrit feature, but a particular feature of certain modern languages/dialects.


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## littlepond

marrish said:


> LP jii, *bauu* as you mentioned and *bahuu* as written in the Farhang-e-Asafiyah is an old Urdu women-folk language usage for a *phunno* (another word for a 'willy'). Question: is it masculine or feminine?



Thanks a ton, marrish jii: finally, I have more information about the only word used for penis in my hearing!

Well, it's feminine always; what's the gender in most Urdu dictionaries?


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## Dib

mundiya said:


> I think Wiktionary got it wrong. It lists "liṃgaḥ" as the nominative singular and "liṃgam" as the accusative singular.



I believe so. They list it with the wrong gender. liṃga- is neuter, not masculine.


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## Sheikh_14

So lingam essentially is an English calque or extension of ling/linga? Lingam is not the actual word as tantric/yoga practioners would have you believe?


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## Dib

Sheikh_14 said:


> So lingam essentially is an English calque or extension of ling/linga? Lingam is not the actual word as tantric/yoga practioners would have you believe?



I can't comment about tantra/yoga practices, but as far as the Sanskrit language is concerned, lingam is a perfectly valid word. As I said:



Dib said:


> lingam (लिङ्गम्‌/लिंगम्‌) is its nominative singular form.



Nobody can stop (some) English-speakers from borrowing the word in this form, rather than the stem-form as is common in Hindi, Bengali, etc. I'd expect "lingam" to be the form also in some modern Indian languages, like Tamil and Malayalam (those in the know, please confirm or refute!!), though the explanation of it may be different from that of the English case, unless the English form is borrowed from them, rather than Sanskrit directly.


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## Sheikh_14

Wonderful, understood. Yes the English word is derived directly from Sanskrit as that would be most appropriate in appealing to rituals associated with Hinduism rather than Hindi per se. From what I have understood the original term is indeed lingam which is why that ought to be an acceptable form in languages that derive heavily from it I.e. hindi/urdu but hindi has a trend of eliding the short am sound in favour of ling. In other words all three forms ling/linga and lingam have the same root and the same meaning and thus are equally acceptable. However, with the caveat that popular choice rests with ling, the reasons to which have already been explained by yourself.


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## Nunnus

I don't know if this a largely accepted word in hindi or not but I have heard many people call it _nunnu. _


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## sga

In Karachi the word لن is unknown; only لنڈ is used. The polite alternative is ذكر.


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