# Your Urdu-Hindi-Panjabi: Chilli pepper



## BP.

Hello,
Continuing with threads like this, could you please tell me what you call this in your household?

People get amused by what we call it in our household: _mirchaa _- مرچا. And it is masculine.

The little black pepper is however called _siyaah mirch_, and is feminine. I think both due to its diminutive size.

I've heard somep eople use the feminine plural _mircheeN _for chilli in general. "saalan meeN mircheeN teez haiN", while we'd say "saalan meeN mirchaa teez hai". Do some people also say "saalan meeN mirch teez hai"?

The typing box is all yours.


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## Qureshpor

lagtaa hai kih aaj-kal aap kunjRaa ban_ne kaa tahaiyyah kar rahe haiN!


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## marrish

Interesting, I call that _surx_ or _laal _or _sabz or siyaah or kaalii mirch_ accordingly. I've even heard _mirchii_ or _marich_ for it.


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## marrish

QURESHPOR said:


> lagtaa hai kih aaj-kal aap kunjRaa ban_ne kaa tahaiyyah kar rahe haiN!


_mumkin hai unheN baaGhbaanii kaa shauq hai._


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## BP.

marrish said:


> Interesting, I call that _surx_ or _laal _or _sabz or siyaah or kaalii mirch_ accordingly. ...


Thanks. I believe that is the standard manner.



marrish said:


> ...I've even heard _mirchii_ or _marich_ for it.


Oh yes _mirchii_, heard that too.

marich! Good to know another regional variation.

Sounds remotely like what I'd call it when talking while absolutely at ease with the listener, _mirachwaa_! That's feminine, by contrast with mirchaa.


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## BP.

QURESHPOR said:


> lagtaa hai kih aaj-kal aap kunjRaa ban_ne kaa tahaiyyah kar rahe haiN!


kiijiyee istehzaa, khuub kiijoyee, jawaab nah diijiyee gaa bas!

That's the deal, it's the little khaanagii vocabulary that's going to be quirky, not the one in mazaamiin e filaasifa.


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## UrduMedium

Base word is _mirch _(sometimes mirchii for small ones). The prefixes vary as: _harii _(most common), _laal_, _kaali_, _shimlah_, etc. Also, _baRii _mirch (large green), and _chhotii _mirch (small green, very hot). laal mirch can be _lambii _or _gol _(in the US desi stores sometimes called _Pakistani laal mirch_). I have also heard people say _mirach _instead.

With regard to usage, we say, "saalan meN mircheN bohut ziyadah haiN"


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## BP.

^We know it is such generally, but is that the base word in your family's language? Just a little confused.


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## UrduMedium

BelligerentPacifist said:


> ^We know it is such generally, but is that the base word in your family's language? Just a little confused.



Yes, indeed, that is how we say it, _mirch_.


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## Abu Talha

mbasit said:


> Base word is _mirch _(sometimes mirchii for small ones). The prefixes vary as: _harii _(most common), _laal_, _kaali_, _shimlah_, etc. Also, _baRii _mirch (large green), and _chhotii _mirch (small green, very hot). laal mirch can be _lambii _or _gol _(in the US desi stores sometimes called _Pakistani laal mirch_). I have also heard people say _mirach _instead.
> 
> With regard to usage, we say, "saalan meN mircheN bohut ziyadah haiN"


That's how I say it too, except I also say, "saalan meN mirch bahut tez hai."


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## BP.

Thanks everyone.

Why do I always end up different?


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## panjabigator

I've grown up hearing "mirch" and "mirchii" in my house, both feminine. We sometimes say "march" in Panjabi.


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## greatbear

We say "mirch" in general, and to be specific "harii mirch" for green chillies, "kaali mirch" for black pepper, and so on. I would also say "... meiN mirch bahut tez hai". I have heard many Gujaratis saying "mirchi" when they are speaking Hindi.


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## panjabigator

When asking if the spices are OK, my mother asks: namak-mirch ṭhīk hai? Or in Punjabi: nūn-mirch ṭhīk ai?


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## BP.

Thanks all.

gb's post reminds me that the usual green chili pepper is called by us the _sabz _or _haraa mirchaa_, the even more voluminous bell pepper is called _shimlah mirch_, in the feminine.


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## Qureshpor

panjabigator said:


> When asking if the spices are OK, my mother asks: namak-mirch ṭhīk hai? Or in Punjabi: nūn-mirch ṭhīk ai?



luuNR-march Thiik e? (?)


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## panjabigator

That too. I dont hear "march" too much, though.


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## Qureshpor

BelligerentPacifist said:


> kiijiyee istehzaa, khuub kiijoyee, jawaab nah diijiyee gaa bas!
> 
> That's the deal, it's the little khaanagii vocabulary that's going to be quirky, not the one in mazaamiin e filaasifa.



nahiiN istihzaa yih, nah kiije dil ko xaraab
Hiss-i-mizaaH hii to hai liije meraa javaab

I had n't given this spicy topic much thought before. I would normally say, "saalan meN mirch tez hai" but "saalan meN mircheN tez haiN" is also fine with me.


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## marrish

_marchaaN tez neN_ for Punjabi or _march masaalaa tez ae._


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## greatbear

BelligerentPacifist said:


> gb's post reminds me that the usual green chili pepper is called by us the _sabz _or _haraa mirchaa_, the even more voluminous bell pepper is called _shimlah mirch_, in the feminine.



Finally, you have one kind of _mirch _in feminine 
Yes, we also call capsicums as "shimla mirch" (I never understood why; do they grow in Shimla?).

By the way, BP, if you call mirch as _mirchaa_, what do you call the sensation of _mirch _as?
For example, "MaaN, mujhe mirch lag rahii hai", which doesn't necessarily refers to the vegetable chilli, but to the sensation of feeling hot in the mouth (well, I can't find any better way of describing it in English, since there is no real word for "mirch" and "mirchiilaa" in English): in this sentence, which word would you use, or how would you rephrase the sentence?


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## BP.

"_mirchaa lag rahaa hai_" of course. "_mirchaa lagaa, paanii laa2oo_"!
And one way to describe spicy food is _mirchee daar_.


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## UrduMedium

I found the following via a google search where it refers to _Mirchaa _powder. The company is headquartered in Bihar. Could this give a clue to some regional variation?

http://www.shahiproducts.com/product3.htm#mircha


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## lcfatima

A lot of communities say mirchi instead of mirch. I hear this very commonly, maybe even more than just mirch. I can't specify all communities from who I hear this, though. I know for sure Hyderabadis say mirchi. (mirchi ka saalan, one never hears mirch ka saalan).

PakoRa mirch is the mirch for frying and stuffing.

I have heard mirch and mirchi, as well as accented variations on mirch (mirich, mirach) but never heard anyone say mircha. I have heard mircheN pluralized as mirchaaN by some communities.


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## lcfatima

I have heard mirchdaar, not mirchidaar.


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## Faylasoof

BP SaaHib, in our house it is _always_ *mirch* and never _mirchaa_ (but see below) or _mirach_!

So for us they are:
*harii / sabz mirch*
*siyaah / kaalii mirch*
*surx / laal mirch*
*pahaaRii mirch* (= _shimla mirch_).

Of course dependending on size:
*baRii mirch*
*chhoTii mirch *

But we also have another term and that is *tatayyaa mirch* ! This is for that very small extra strong and highly pungent *mirch* that would be at least 8.9 on the mirch-Richter scale!!

… and we always say;

_saalan meN mircheN bahut / be Hadd tez haiN!

mujhe mircheN lag rajii haiN! faryaad! faryaad! dohaa'ii ! dohaa'ii !
_


BelligerentPacifist said:


> "_mirchaa lag rahaa hai_" of course. "_mirchaa lagaa, paanii laa2oo_"!
> And one way to describe spicy food is _mirchee daar_.


 _mirchaa lag rahaa hai_? janaab, I thought you had a _lakhnavi_ connection! I think most _lakhnavii_s would rather die than say _mirchaa_!


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## Faylasoof

lcfatima said:


> I have heard mirchdaar, not mirchidaar.


 We always say _*mirch-daar*_ or _*mirchoN-waalaa*_ /_*-waalii*_


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## lcfatima

I wonder if tatayyaa mirch is what we call Thai chile or Thai bird chile in English.

Does it look like this:

http://www.thai-eyes.com/thailand/prik-kee-noo-thai-chilli/


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## greatbear

lcfatima said:


> I wonder if tatayyaa mirch is what we call Thai chile or Thai bird chile in English.
> 
> Does it look like this:
> 
> http://www.thai-eyes.com/thailand/prik-kee-noo-thai-chilli/



Don't know about Faylasoof, but we use "tataiiyaa mirch" for any (hari) mirch which is super-strong in its hotness: it looks the same.

And for spicy food, we say the "khaanaa" is "mirchiilaa" or "bahut/baRa mirchiilaa".


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## lcfatima

Does tataiiyaa have a meaning on its own?


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## greatbear

lcfatima said:


> Does tataiiyaa have a meaning on its own?



The "tataiyaa" that I know is a kind of wasp, whose sting bites real sharp: hence the same name for the mirch.


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## lcfatima

Very interesting. Thanks.


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## BP.

Thank you all once more for the contributions.


Faylasoof said:


> _...__
> mirchaa lag rahaa hai_? janaab, I thought you had a _lakhnavi_ connection! I think most _lakhnavii_s would rather die than say _mirchaa_!


Yes but this rustic one shall never unlearn what he learnt from his very villager buaa.


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## marrish

Platts acknowledges _*mirchaa*_; and so does another respectable Hindi dictionary.


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## Faylasoof

greatbear said:


> The "tataiyaa" that I know is a kind of wasp, whose sting bites real sharp: hence the same name for the mirch.


 Yes! *tatayyaa* is actually a term for a wasp! But we reserved it for a kind of *mirch*, which generally is rather small and green (but can be red too!) and extremely hot! 
(BTW, we refer to a wasp as _*bhiR*_!)


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## Faylasoof

BelligerentPacifist said:


> Thank you all once more for the contributions.
> 
> Yes but this rustic one shall never unlearn what he learnt from his very villager buaa.


 Just fine BP SaaHib! After all many of my elders were fluent in Awadhi too and they would sometimes use such words although I never heard them say *mirchaa *but I’ve just been talking to some of my more distant relations in Bihar and some at least do say *mirchaa*! … and they are Urduphones!


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## greatbear

Faylasoof said:


> Yes! *tatayyaa* is actually a term for a wasp! But we reserved it for a kind of *mirch*, which generally is rather small and green (but can be red too!) and extremely hot!
> (BTW, we refer to a wasp as _*bhiR*_!)



Ah, we do call a wasp as "tataiiyaa": and when it is near, as kids we used to mutter constantly "choona-miTTi-tel" from its fear and in the belief that the wasp will then go away (I mean we didn't believe it, but it was fun!).


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## marrish

BelligerentPacifist said:


> Hello,
> Continuing with threads like this, could you please tell me what you call this in your household?
> 
> People get amused by what we call it in our household: _mirchaa _- مرچا. And it is masculine.
> 
> The little black pepper is however called _siyaah mirch_, and is feminine. I think both due to its diminutive size.
> 
> I've heard somep eople use the feminine plural _mircheeN _for chilli in general. "saalan meeN mircheeN teez haiN", while we'd say "saalan meeN mirchaa teez hai". Do some people also say "saalan meeN mirch teez hai"?
> 
> The typing box is all yours.




janaab-e BelligerentPacifist SaaHib, according to a source, the word which is heard in your household originates in Western Awadhi, more specifically the dialect of District Lakhimpur Kheri.

This being said within the last two hours of April 2012.


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