# Hindi/Urdu: To have one's hair cut (for a woman)



## xjm

I thought that "to cut" as in cut hair was:
*कटना /  (katana)*
which I thought would make the causative as in "to get one's hair cut":
*कटाना /  (kataana)*
Then my dictionary told me it was actually a long *aa* in the first syllable:
*काटाना / (kaataana)*.

I posted an example sentence with this verb in another thread and someone suggested:


> बाल काटना / बाल कटवाना


while someone else said:


> muNDaanaa/muNDvaanaa



Can someone clarify what the proper causative "to get one's hair cut" is, or if some of these are synonyms?  Thanks!


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## omlick

xjm said:


> I thought that "to cut" as in cut hair was:
> *कटना / (katana)*
> which I thought would make the causative as in "to get one's hair cut":
> *कटाना / (kataana)*
> Then my dictionary told me it was actually a long *aa* in the first syllable:
> *काटाना / (kaataana)*.
> 
> I posted an example sentence with this verb in another thread and someone suggested:
> 
> while someone else said:
> 
> 
> Can someone clarify what the proper causative "to get one's hair cut" is, or if some of these are synonyms? Thanks!


 

To get one's hair cut is  बाल कटवाना

For a woman, you have to conjugate it in the feminine for subject (unless it is in a past tense that requires ने, just like any other verb.)

मैं कल अपने  बाल कटवाऊँगी।


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## greatbear

बाल कटवाना is the right form, but बाल कटाना is also used often in spoken language.


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## tonyspeed

http://dict.hinkhoj.com/words/meaning-of-मुँड़ना-in-english.htmlकाटना - to cut
कटवाना - to get someone else to cut
कटाना - same as above
मुंड़ाना - to shave
मुंड़ना - to be shaved


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## Qureshpor

tonyspeed said:


> http://dict.hinkhoj.com/words/meaning-of-मुँड़ना-in-english.htmlकाटना - to cut
> कटवाना - to get someone else to cut
> कटाना - same as above
> मुंड़ाना - to shave
> मुंड़ना - to be shaved



*You have missed one: kaTnaa "to be cut"*


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## Faylasoof

tonyspeed said:


> काटना - to cut
> कटवाना - to get someone else to cut
> कटाना - same as above
> मुंड़ाना - to shave
> मुंड़ना - to be shaved



 BTW, काटना _kaaTnaa_ = _to cut _, but also _to bite_!


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## xjm

Oh, dear...  I assume it's understood from context that the barber is cutting someone's hair rather than biting it?

If someone cut someone else with a knife, would you have to say something like *चाकू से काटना (chaakoo se kaaTnaa)* for it to be clear it wasn't a question of biting?


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## greatbear

"someone else" or "something else"?


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## Faylasoof

xjm said:


> Oh, dear...  I assume it's understood from context that the barber is cutting someone's hair rather than biting it?
> 
> If someone cut someone else with a knife, would you have to say something like *चाकू से काटना (chaakoo se kaaTnaa)* for it to be clear it wasn't a question of biting?



Yes of course! Context is everything and from the context one would easily know that the barber is cutting and not biting the hair!  I was merely pointing out that depending how the verb _kaaTnaa_ is used it could carry a totally different meaning. In the two contexts below the meaning is very clear in each:

Question 1:  _kis ne kaaTe?_ (Here the reference being the hair.) 
Answer 1: _Hajjaam (_حجام_) ne, aur kisne!_

Question 2:  _kis ne kaaTaa?_ 
Answer 2: _kutte ne!_

BTW, for  _baal kaaTnaa / kaTwaanaa_ we can also use the alternatives of _Hajaamat (_حجامت_) k_a_rnaa / karwaanaa_.



greatbear said:


> "someone else" or "something else"?


Sorry! You lost me there!


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## greatbear

Faylasoof said:


> Sorry! You lost me there!



I was referring to one of your previous sentences, where you said "If someone cut someone else with a knife"; how is that possible? You can either _cut something _with a knife or _stab someone_ with a knife.


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## xjm

greatbear said:


> I was referring to one of your previous sentences, where you said "If someone cut someone else with a knife"; how is that possible? You can either _cut something _with a knife or _stab someone_ with a knife.



I'd disagree; it's only stabbing if you use the pointy end.    E.g.: "Dammit, you cut me when you handed me the knife."  (That's a discussion for the English forums, though.)


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## Faylasoof

greatbear said:


> I was referring to one of your previous sentences, where you said "If someone cut someone else with a knife"; how is that possible? You can either _cut something _with a knife or _stab someone_ with a knife.


  ..... and where is this “previous sentence” you refer to? Besides, what I was saying above was that  काटना has two meanings:



Faylasoof said:


> BTW, काटना _kaaTnaa_ = _to cut _, but also _to bite_!


 Example:

_us ne kek kaaTaa_ = He / She cut the cake

_us ko kutte ne kaaTaa_ = The dog bit him / her.

The verb kaaTnaa is being used with do different meanings!

Also, xjm has given an example where one of the above two meanings of the word is being used. To render that idea into Hindi-Urdu:

_us ne mujhe chhurii dete hu'e merii unglii kaaTii
_
_While handing me the knife he / she cut my finger_

You don't use the verb bhoknaa (to stab) here because of the nature of the action. It is cut not a stab!


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## omlick

The verb kaaTnaa is very versatile and can be used in many situations.  Here are a few:

سانپ کاٹناसाँप काटना = a snake (or any other animal or insect that applies to situation may be substituted for saa.np)  to bite
پیڑ کاٹناपेड़ काटना  = to cut down a tree
گردن کاٹناगर्दन काटना = to decapitate
کسی کی بات کاٹناकिसी की बात काटना = to cut or interrupt a conversation
حساب کاٹناहिसाब काटना = to deduct money
جیب کاٹناजेब काटना =  to pickpocket
سمئی کٓٹناसमय or other time expression काटना = to spend or pass (the time expression)
چیک کاٹناचेक काटना = to cut a check
گھاس کاٹناघास काटना = to cut grass...

These are some examples of idiomatic uses of काटना


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## amiramir

Hello,

How would I say: The baby cut herself while playing with the pen ad she's bleeding. (i.e. not in the sense of self-harming-- which I assume would be 'us ne apne aap ko kata' or maybe kaat liyaa-- but rather in the sense of getting hurt. Chot lag gayi isn't specific to getting cut, so I wasn't sure what to say.

Many thanks.


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## Englishmypassion

We are usually specific about the body part cut in such situations.

Shishu/Bacche ne pen/chaaku se khelte huwe apna haath/pair kaat liya...
Also, through passive

Chaaku se khelte huwe, ladke ka hath kat gya. = The boy's hand got cut while (he was) playing with a knife.
"Playing with a knife, the boy's hand got cut" is literally closer to the Hindi version if common sense is added to the English translation, otherwise you know the English sentence has a dangling modifier and means the boy's hand was playing, not the boy (which is, obviously, not the intended meaning or the meaning of the Hindi sentence).

Can a pen cut?


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## Sheikh_14

how would you differentiate cut from cut off in Hindi/Urdu? Would haath hii kaT gayaa suggest having cut off one's rather than just cut something? I guess not, perhaps kaaT nikaalaa or not kaT utraa/niklaa? Haath he kaT gayaa would rather suggest surprise rather than anything else.


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## Englishmypassion

"Haath hii cut gya" could mean both as there is no special verb to make the distinction. The "hii" here usually emphasizes the hand, as opposed to the object meant to be cut/cut off. But sometimes it may indicate shock, etc also.

Wah khaane k liye seib kaat rha tha lekin uska haath hi cut gya. (got cut)
Machine se uska haath cut gya. (Got cut/cut off, depends on the context) 
Uska haath cutkr alag ho gya. (Got cut off)


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## littlepond

Sheikh_14 said:


> how would you differentiate cut from cut off in Hindi/Urdu? Would haath hii kaT gayaa suggest having cut off one's rather than just cut something? I guess not, perhaps kaaT nikaalaa or not kaT utraa/niklaa? Haath he kaT gayaa would rather suggest surprise rather than anything else.



"haath kaT jaanaa" usually means hand getting cut _off_! If you want to say getting a cut on the hand or something like that, then "haath pe kharoNch lagnaa/aa jaanaa/lag jaanaa" (or the Hindi-English "cut lag jaana") is the way to go.

"mazdoor ke factory meN haath kaT jaanaa" was a very common motif of Hindi films in newly industrialised India (1960s, 1970s).


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## Englishmypassion

Sorry, I disagree. As I said earlier "haath cut jana" can mean both the hand receiving a cut and its getting cut off. So context is the king and without that you can't really tell. Yes, "cutkr alag ho jana" is getting cutt off, though it's a little detailed expression. "Kharonch" is scratch, something different and less painful.
"Cut lag jana" sounds clinical/technical and seems to make the injury less serious.

A mother will never say this to her child playing with a knife: "Chaaku se apne haath me cut/kharonch mat laga lena".
She will usually say "Chaaku se apna haath mat kaat lena".
She doesn't mean cutting the hand off at all.


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## littlepond

^ Emp jii, I never talked about "haath kaaT _lenaa_", did I? I was talking about "haath kaT jaanaa/gayaa" construction.

Your sentence "Chaaku se khelte huwe, ladke ka hath kat gya." is strange: of course, given the context, people would still not imagine the boy's hand to be cut off. But a more proper sentence would have been "... laRke ne apnaa haath kaaT liyaa", or, better IMO, "laRke ko kharoNch aa gayii": a knife would give only a kharoNch, accidentally wielded. We are not talking of a stabbing. "kharoNch lagnaa" in accidental cuts is idiomatic Hindi.

I do agree with you that a mother will say to her child playing with a knife: "chaaku se apna haath mat kaaT lenaa", "... uNglii mat kaaT lenaa", etc..


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## Englishmypassion

But "kharonch" is usually just a scratch without even blood oozing out. In the factory context, "haath kat jana/ktna" can mean, and would probably mean, that the hand got cut off but that's because of the context. In a factory, there are usually heavy machines and unfortunately people's hands getting cut off there is common enough to set the context.
I don't think "haath ktna/ kat jana" on its own necessarily means the hand getting cut off.

I hope some Hindi scholar makes the meaning clear.
Thanks.


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## littlepond

Yes, kharoNch may or may not draw blood: but so may or mayn't a "cut", the original question. But, true, "kharoNch" is more close to a scratch than a cut.

OK, let's remove "factory" from the context. Let's say you just hear this sentence from someone, Emp jii: "Are, us aadmii kaa haath kaT gayaa!" What would you think? That he got a cut on his hand, or that his hand got cut _off_? I would say any Hindi speaker would think the latter.

There is also the very usual threat: "tere haath-paaNv katvaa DalooNgaa" ...
Which brings us to the verb "Daalnaa", which we haven't discussed till now. "kaaT Daalnaa" is quite unambiguously "cutting off", whether it's _peR kii darakht_ or _insaan kaa haath_.


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