# Indian languages: Rabi & Kharif



## Lotfi MA

Helo everybody!
Rabi & Kharif are the names of two of the four seasons in an Indian language(s).
Could someone please tell me:
1- In which language(s) these names are used?
2- What are the names of the other two seasons: Summer & Winter in the same language(s)?

Thanks in advance.


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## JAI GURU DEVA OM

Hello,

I just know there are two seasons only over there in India.

Let me see if i can get you name of them,

see you soon


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## JAI GURU DEVA OM

Ok, after doing some research i found that  these two names you gave Rabi and Kharif are crop seasons and they are written in Hindi.

Now, name for the four seasons of the year are:
Patjhad = Autumn
Saawan = Summer/Monsoon
Basant= Winter
Bahaar = spring

Hope this helps you out


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## DrLindenbrock

Hi,
these two words are of arabic origin.
In Arabic,
ربيع rabī3 = spring (n.b. 3 is the letter 3ayn in Arabic)
خريف kharīf = fall, autumn

Interestingly I learn from you that in Hindi you only use these as crop season, while for the four season of the year you have other names. conversely, in Arabic, they do indicate the seasons of the year.


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## Lotfi MA

Jai Guru Deva Om,
Deeply thankful for your taking effort helping me.  Could you please affirm for me the season of the year that meets each crop season of these two: Rabi & Kharif?  E.g, Say that Rabi is the season for harvesting rice crop, does this occur in Spring time? And so with Kharif.


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## panjabigator

I have never heard of these terms.  I suppose they are more prevalent with Urdu and in Pakistan.


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## vicmath

As salaam walaykum ya Lotfi,

I know I have arrived here a verrrry long time after you posted your question. So, my answer may not help you. May satisfy the curiosity of someone else.
I originally come from the Karnataka state (south west) of India. In most areas of Karnataka, the farmers have been planting (traditionally) three crops of grain like rice during the year.

The three crop seasons are: 
- Kharif (April to September) 
- Rabi (October to December) 
- Summer (January to March) 

I agree with DrLindenbrock's explanation on the origin of these words. I have not heard of the usage of these words in some other parts of India.


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## Lotfi MA

Dear vicmath,
Wa-3alaikom assalam wa-rahmato-allah wa-barakatoho,

It is very nice and friendly of you to post me your kind thread, never minding the long time.

Yes, I know that both terms are Arabic (my native language) and indicating the seasons of Spring and autumn/fall, respectively, as DrLindenbrock said.   I posted my question when I discovered their use in some part of India while I was doing a research that is connecting to antiquity marine trade used to have carried by the Arabs with Indian subcontinent and beyond (up to Philippines).

The information you provided are really valuable and do help me and satisfy my curiosity.   The terms have transferred from the Arab merchants on one circumstance or another, but some how their use have deviated on the path of time, especially the four seasons might not be clear in the tropical-climate areas of India.   The western states of India such as: Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Malayalam have a variety of words of Arabic origin since they are the closer to the Arabic Peninsula, though the Arab merchant have used to turn all round the coast of Indian subcontinent.

Thank you very much, and your thread is very welcome.


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## vicmath

Dear Lotfi,

Shukran ya akhi.

I did not expect you would notice my response, particularly with a six year delay!

The West Coast of India has been trading with the Arabs perhaps over the last 3,000 years (may be longer). As most of the actual regular travelling was done by the cargo boats (e.g. dhows) rather than the educated intellectuals, the records left behind are not many. And that is unfortunate for those like me who like to know more about the interaction, and how the cultural/linguistic elements got exchanged.

I was particularly interested in the sparse information left behind by Abraham Ben Yiju, a Jewish merchant of Cairo of the 12th century. As per the Ganiza manuscripts, he spent some years in the port towns of the West Coast of India like Mangalore, my hometown.

Mangalore was also known as Mangarun and Manjarun several centuries ago. The first form (Mangarun) was most likely Egyptian version due to its hard g. 
There are many terms of Arabic origin in my language Konkani. I have reasons to believe that they entered the language in multiple waves (and not just because of the dhow-men). For example, خالية, دخله, etc.

The medium of instruction during my school-days was Kannada language (not at all related to Konkani, my language). I was very curious about two Kannada words I came across in the land records (written during the British rule and later): laghayatu (= until) and hadd (= limit/border/boundary). They did not sound Kannada to me.
I then came across لغاية and "had" in Arabic when I started learning then Egyptian Arabic some time ago. Both of the Arabic words fitted well to the context.
It should be also noted that Persian (which had borrowed much from Arabic) was used as an administrative language in some areas of India before the arrival of the British. The British most likely continued with the already established norms in the administration.

مع السلامة

Vicmath


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## mediterraneo24

DrLindenbrock said:


> Hi,
> these two words are of arabic origin.
> In Arabic,
> ربيع rabī3 = spring (n.b. 3 is the letter 3ayn in Arabic)
> خريف kharīf = fall, autumn



Interesting - khoref means winter in hebrew..


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## Lotfi MA

Dear mediterraneo24,
As a matter of fact Arabic and mainly old Hebrew have much numerous words in common since roots of both nations are not apart, and both nations are sons of desert originally, so no wonder they both (and only both) write right-to-left.

Dear vicmath,
I honestly feel proud to be your brother (أخوك), and happy to know you have some Arabic, and even would like to keep in touch..

That is true, Arab-Indo trading connection dates back that long at least, and yes – regretfully – records on such history are few mainly, to me, Arabs used not to write or inscript even their own heritage of literature, settling for memorization until the rise of Islam!

Regarding the hard g of Mangarun I do not think it is Egyptian for two reasons:  Egyptians have started using that hard g only a couple of centuries or so ago.  A lot of Yemenese people also use the hard g in their speach.

Of course, trading must have led to sorts of immigration and settlements, and these have happened in many areas of the subcontinent (e.g.: Tamil, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Bengal).

It is very much interesting to me to know more originally-Arabic words in the Indian different languages such as: خالية (= empty?), and دخلة (= entrance?) in Konkani; and لغاية (= until), حدّ (= limit/forder/boundary) in Kannada!

أنا سعيد جدّاً برسالتك يا أخي
وأسمي: لطفي محمود
وبريدي هو: amlotfi@gmail.com


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## aruniyan

In TamilNaadu, we have two periods of rice cultivation, named after the paddy type grown during the season,

*Kuruvai* - a Type of paddy that grows with a short period of three months, Kuru=short, I dont know if this word has any connection with* Khariff.*

*Semba/Samba* - A type of rice thats red in color, I think the name comes because of the red(sem) color, this is a 5 months crop.


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## Lotfi MA

Dear aruniyan,
would you supply me with any Tamil-used words of Arabic origin, if any.  Also, is the word: Khariff used in Tamil, and what meaning does it indicate if yes?
Thanks in advance.


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## scotwilson

Sareya nu mere wallo "sat shri akal" dosto...,


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