# Urdu, Hindi: A suitable word for "bottom"!



## Qureshpor

Urdu and Hindi speakers will agree that a lot of human body parts are mentioned in everyday English conversation without too much embarrassment from any of the parties. The situation is not quite the same amongst us. I am going to ask all of our Urdu, Hindi friends to kindly participate in this thread and come up with a suitable translation in Urdu or Hindi which one could use for the underlined words.

The baby's nappy is dirty. Please change his/her nappy and clean his/her bottom.

In the recent snowy weather, he fell on his backside and bruised it.

If you don't shut up, I am going to kick your arse/ass!

Nurse to an elderly patient: Lift your bottom up so that I can place a cushion under it.

I am not looking for "high register" or "medical" terminology. Just plain everyday language, if possible.


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## tonyspeed

Platts suggested there are/were such words already; Hopefully others will say what is actually used.

H تيکٿ तीकट _tīkaṭ_,  = H تيکٿهہ तीकठ _tīkaṭh_, [S. स्शिक+स्शः], Buttocks, posteriors.
H چيتڙ चीतड़ _ćītaṛ_ (a dial. var. of _ćūtaṛ_, q.v.), s.m. *Buttocks*,
A دبر _dubur_ (v.n. fr. دبر 'to follow at the back'), s.f. The  back; the hinder part (of a thing); the backside, posteriors, *buttocks*, the podex;—the latter part (of), the end, conclusion (as of a month; of prayers, &c.).
P سرچنگ _sar-ćang_, s.f. A violent kick on the *buttocks;*  repulse, rout;—fatigue, labour, distress, trouble.
P سرين _surīn_ [Zend _śraonī_, rt. _śru_ = S. स्रु], s.f. The *buttocks*, hips, thighs.
S کٿی कटि _kaṭi_, or कटी _kaṭī_, s.f. The hip; the *buttocks;* the waist, loins;—the cheek of an elephant:
H کچهہ कछ _kaćh_ [Prk. कच्छो; S. कक्षः], s.m. Side,  flank (syn. _bag̠al_); side or corner (of a wall, &c.); one side or half (of a yoke, &c.); the *buttocks*, posteriors; the privities.
H کرهانا करहाना _karhānā_   = H کرهانو करिहांव _karihāṅw_, s.f.  [S. कटि+स्थानकं], s.m. (f.?), The loins, the waist; the *buttocks*.
H کرها करहा _karahā_, _karhā_   = H کرهانو करिहांव _karihāṅw_, s.f.  [S. कटि+स्थानकं], s.m. (f.?), The loins, the waist; the *buttocks*.
A کفل _kafal_, s.m. The *buttocks* (of a horse, &c.), haunches,  rump; crupper (of a horse);—a kind of cloth used instead of a saddle.
S نتمب नितम्ब _nitamb_, s.m. Rump; *buttocks*, posteriors (esp. of a woman);—


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## Qureshpor

^ What would be your choice, tonyspeed SaaHib, in the examples that I provided?


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## tonyspeed

QURESHPOR said:


> ^ What would be your choice, tonyspeed SaaHib, in the examples that I provided?



The Urban Dictionary suggests gaand as well, but gaand is considered a fairly impolite word. So it could only fit the sentence:

If you don't shut up, I am going to kick your arse/ass!


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## marrish

_chuutaR_ is not a too much impolite word and I´d use it in the example with the baby, although there´s another word I can´t remember now.

Otherwise the word _پشت_ _pusht _(Urdu)lends itself very good to be applied in all the examples, barring the second last one!

_piiTh_ _پیٹھ_ can work with the last one.


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## lcfatima

_ChuutaR_ I hear for what in English I call buns. From Urdu speakers in natural speech I have heard the word _bams (with s and not z)_ which sounds to me like a mix of English bum and buns. I have heard these words in a setting of mothers with small children.


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## marrish

tonyspeed said:


> ... Hopefully others will say what is actually used.
> P سرچنگ _sar-ćang_, s.f. *A violent kick on the buttocks;*  repulse, rout;—fatigue, labour, distress, trouble.
> A کفل _kafal_, s.m. *The buttocks (of a horse, &c.)*, haunches,  rump; crupper (of a horse);—a kind of cloth used instead of a saddle.



I think these are not applicable here in the human context.


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## Qureshpor

lcfatima said:


> _ChuutaR_ I hear for what in English I call buns. From Urdu speakers in natural speech I have heard the word _bams (with s and not z)_ which sounds to me like a mix of English bum and buns. I have heard these words in a setting of mothers with small children.


Thank you Icfatima. Could you please suggest an Urdu based word for the various contexts.


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## Abjadiwala

I've heard of "kunna" but never read it.


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## Qureshpor

Abjadiwala said:


> I've heard of "kunna" but never read it.


In which of the sample sentences would you fit "kunna" into? Is this word "kunnaa" or "kunnah" and what is its gender?


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## UrduMedium

May sound funny but I have heard the word 'peNde' (as in maTke ka peNda, but used in plural) for buns, in colloquial speech.


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## greatbear

Except in the nurse example, "pichhvaaRaa" would be a perfectly fine word, and not just making it up: it's a very common word for "bottom/ass". I can't see what can one use in the nurse example: she would just say "apne aap ko zaraa uThaaiye" according to me rather than "lift your bottom up ...".


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## greatbear

@ posts 4 and 5: Both "gaanD" and "chuutaR" are extremely vulgar words and used as swear words: one can't imagine using them in a normal conversation.


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## tonyspeed

greatbear said:


> @ posts 4 and 5: Both "gaanD" and "chuutaR" are extremely vulgar words and used as swear words: one can't imagine using them in a normal conversation.




It would seem that in Hindi words that were once normal words have a tendency to become curse words over time. (not talking about gaand, gaand was always a slang curseword) It would seem that people in the subcontinent have gotten MORE prudish, not less. For instance, if you look up the word chudai in the Oxford dictionary there is no mention of vulgarity. Of course, this could just have been an oversight. But we have another case in point here with chuutaR. Hindi can't keep losing appropriate words for private regions or people are just going to resort to English.


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## greatbear

^ I think this happens with every language; English and French are clear examples where almost every specific word for "bottom" is a vulgar word. "Bottom" in itself is a sort of euphemism: it's not a specific word for the human anatomy. One could think of a "bottom" of a chair, too.
Considering human penchant for sex and anything related, it's no surprise that whatever language you pick, certain words pick up a vulgar overtone. After all, even though "gaanD" is a word vulgar to the extreme, yet "gaanDo" is a perfectly acceptable mild rebuke or playful term for an idiot in Gujarati: even teachers use "gaanDo/gaanDii" - they wouldn't use the root word "gaanD" though. Languages are built around such irrationalities and evolutions.

Hindi isn't _losing _words: registers keep changing in any language as time evolves. The once "gay" to mean happy isn't used now in English, but in French "gai" is used very much to mean happy. English hasn't lost a word; as the world has changed, newer words will come to take place the former's place - it's something inevitable, and that is how languages live and get shaped. Some of the people have very rigid ideas derived from grammar-books and rule-books of languages here: that's unfortunate; they are not able to celebrate languages.

It is by the way very amusing that Hindi speakers themselves don't feel any threat to their language from English or any other language: it is only speakers of other languages that get worried for us!


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## Qureshpor

I am also of the opinion that words suggested by tonyspeed and marrish SaaHibaan sound vulgar and that is the reason why I won't repeat them!

Also I agree that words such as "bottom", "butt" and "backside" are indeed euphemisms. For this reason, we need a word or words that are respectable in any company.

piiTh and pusht both mean "back". I have certainly heard Punjabi ladies speaking Urdu using "piiTh" for a baby's bottom. I am not too sure if these two words are accurate enough. pichhvaaRaa seems very reasonable although I've always associated the word with a "backyard".


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## Faylasoof

QURESHPOR said:


> Urdu and Hindi speakers will agree that a lot of human body parts are mentioned in everyday English conversation without too much embarrassment from any of the parties. The situation is not quite the same amongst us. I am going to ask all of our Urdu, Hindi friends to kindly participate in this thread and come up with a suitable translation in Urdu or Hindi which one could use for the underlined words.
> 
> The baby's nappy is dirty. Please change his/her nappy and clean his/her bottom.
> 
> In the recent snowy weather, he fell on his backside and bruised it.
> 
> If you don't shut up, I am going to kick your arse/ass!
> 
> Nurse to an elderly patient: Lift your bottom up so that I can place a cushion under it.
> 
> I am not looking for "high register" or "medical" terminology. Just plain everyday language, if possible.


QP SaaHib, in our speech the most common word is _*kuulaa *_(nominative sing.) / _* kuule*_ (nominative plural) in daily speech. This would apply to all the above sentences. We certainly wouldn't use the word _*chuutaR*_ as it is considered by us less elegant - in fact we'd use it only if we wish to be rude to someone. Or perhaps not even then. Just a matter of habit I guess.


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## greatbear

^ Yes, "kuule"/"kuulhe" is also used; also "paTThe"/"puTThe".


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## Qureshpor

Faylasoof said:


> QP SaaHib, in our speech the most common word is _*kuulaa *_(nominative sing.) / _*kuule*_ (nominative plural) in daily speech. This would apply to all the above sentences. We certainly wouldn't use the word _*chuutaR*_ as it is considered by us less elegant - in fact we'd use it only if we wish to be rude to someone. Or perhaps not even then. Just a matter of habit I guess.


Faylasoof SaaHib, I have always thought of "kuulhe" as hips. Somehow, I associate the word with an adult, especially a female one. If "kuule/kuulhe" is used for "bottom", what word would you use for "hips"? Also, do you always pronounce the word without an aspirated l?


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## Faylasoof

QURESHPOR said:


> Originally Posted by *Faylasoof*
> QP SaaHib, in our speech the most common word is *kuulaa *(nominative sing.) / *kuule* (nominative plural) in daily speech. This would apply to all the above sentences. We certainly wouldn't use the word *chuutaR* as it is considered by us less elegant - in fact we'd use it only if we wish to be rude to someone. Or perhaps not even then. Just a matter of habit I guess.
> 
> 
> 
> Faylasoof SaaHib, I have always thought of "kuulhe" as hips. Somehow, I associate the word with an adult, especially a female one. If "kuule/kuulhe" is used for "bottom", what word would you use for "hips"? Also, do you always pronounce the word without an aspirated l?
Click to expand...

Firstly, QP SaaHib, you understand correctly that we don’t aspirate it, i.e. _kuulaa_ (rather than _kuulhaa_), but I’ve seen the aspirated form too. Secondly, for hips we use the same word since often we refer to anybody with wide hips also having a large pair of buttocks ! So much so for our well-known _tahziib_!!

“Hips” in particular are usually referred to as: کمر  کا  نچلا  حصہ _kamar kaa nichlaa HiSSah_. Not very satisfactory, I agree. So we also use the Persian word سرين _suriin_ instead. However, this is not very common.


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## marrish

_pichhlaa Hissah_ can be also euphemistically used, F. SaaHib's post made me think.


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## marrish

[Hindi]

In an instruction for mothers I saw a Hindi word मलद्वार _maldvaar_ used but it is probably too specific for the use in the sample sentences.

Is the word _nitamb_ used at all and whether it has rude connotations?


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## Faylasoof

marrish said:


> _pichhlaa Hissah_ can be also euphemistically used, F. SaaHib's post made me think.


 Yes indeed marrish SaaHib! _pichhlaa Hissah = _The posterior! But here our _tahziib_ would come into play and in many instances prevent us from using it.


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## marrish

Faylasoof said:


> Yes indeed marrish SaaHib! _pichhlaa Hissah = _The posterior! *But here our tahziib would come into play and in many instances prevent us from using it.*


This is exactly the problem and I believe there is no *suitable* manner of referring to this part of the body as it forms no part of the conversations... Possibly we might have to refer to the medical terms?


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## Faylasoof

marrish said:


> This is exactly the problem and I believe there is no *suitable* manner of referring to this part of the body as it forms no part of the conversations... Possibly we might have to refer to the medical terms?


 I quite agree! The "tush" is taboo! However, in many instances - I'd say most - _kuulaa_ would suffice with no offence!


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## tonyspeed

marrish said:


> [Hindi]
> 
> Is the word _nitamb_ used at all and whether it has rude connotations?



From a quick web-search, it would seem nitamb is indeed used at least in printed material as a word for "bottom" or "buttocks".


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## greatbear

"nitamb" is hardly used in speech; it is certainly used in more "technical" usages, but otherwise its use in contemporary literature, too, would leave me feeling very odd.


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## marrish

QP SaaHib, are you satisfied with the suggestions and how would you phrase your sample sentences?


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## Qureshpor

^ Well, marrish SaaHib, the suggestions that have been offered are the following.

chuutaR, pusht, piiTh, pichhvaaRaa, kunna ( I did n't get a clarification from the poster but my assumption is that it may have links with the Persian kuun = anus), peNde and kuulaa/kuulhaa. Now, out of all of these I personally do not find any of them "satisfactory" even though Faylasoof SaaHib says that kuulaa is the word used in their everyday speech. 

chuutaR for me sounds vulgar even though it is the exact word for "buttock". I would reject "kunna" for the same reason. pusht and piiTh both mean "back" and pichhvaaRaa is associated (at least in my understanding) more with a back yard than with backside. peNde, though connected with pot bottoms, does sound quite neutral, sexually speaking. Still, I can't see myself saying "bachche kaa peNdaa saaf karo". kuulhaa for me has too much an adult and feminine attachment to it. What does this leave? Nothing!


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## marrish

Thanks for the rejoinder for this time. 

I'm still trying to remember the word mothers use and you can surely imagine it is difficult to call an old lady and abruptly to ask about this topic!

How do you perceive the Punjabi word t_huu'ii (dhuu'ii)? Does it have non neutral connotations?


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## Alfaaz

QURESHPOR said:
			
		

> What does this leave? Nothing!


Was there a reason for leaving out سرین ، دبر ، نشیمن ، مقعد / _sureen, dubur, nisheman, maqi'd_...or do these not fit? (Dictionary definitions seem to include this meaning...corrections would be appreciated)


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## Qureshpor

Alfaaz said:


> Was there a reason for leaving out سرین ، دبر ، نشیمن ، مقعد / _sureen, dubur, nisheman, maqi'd_...or do these not fit? (Dictionary definitions seem to include this meaning...corrections would be appreciated)


Alfaaz SaaHib, if you remember I had asked for everyday (ya3nii roz-marrah) words. Apart from "nasheman" which I associate with something totally different, I am familiar with the rest. suriin is Persian for buttock whilst dubr/dubur is Arabic for the same. miq3ad is anus. I have read these words in medical/religious literature but I have n't heard them used in ordinary speech. I believe Faylasoof SaaHib has said that in his neck of the woods, suriin is used but to me, it is too literary.


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## Qureshpor

A question for all those friends who have suggested "chuutaR" for "bottom". Would you use the word as a singular or a plural?


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## UrduMedium

^ Normally plural, but singular also used. 

Also I recall this word to be an acceptable everyday (though not literary) word, quite unlike some other words that border indecent language.


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## greatbear

^ It is considered indecent in the parts I hail from.


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## Sheikh_14

Faylasoof said:


> Firstly, QP SaaHib, you understand correctly that we don’t aspirate it, i.e. _kuulaa_ (rather than _kuulhaa_), but I’ve seen the aspirated form too. Secondly, for hips we use the same word since often we refer to anybody with wide hips also having a large pair of buttocks ! So much so for our well-known _tahziib_!!
> 
> “Hips” in particular are usually referred to as: کمر  کا  نچلا  حصہ _kamar kaa nichlaa HiSSah_. Not very satisfactory, I agree. So we also use the Persian word سرين _suriin_ instead. However, this is not very common.



Is the begining of suriin remniscent to sur for tune?


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## Qureshpor

Sheikh_14 said:


> Is the begining of suriin remniscent to sur for tune?


No, no connection whatsoever.


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## Chhaatr

"bachche ke puTThe saaf karo" is perfectly OK and acceptable, at least for me.  Nothing objectionable.


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## Sheikh_14

Qureshpor said:


> No, no connection whatsoever.



I understand the misinterpretation, I was looking at it from a pronunciation perspective. In that regards is it Sur-in or is the latter part extended to give an "e" sound as in sur-iin


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## Qureshpor

Sheikh_14 said:


> I understand the misinterpretation, I was looking at it from a pronunciation perspective. In that regards is it Sur-in or is the latter part extended to give an "e" sound as in sur-iin


Apologies, I misunderstood you. Yes, in suriin, the "sur" is as in "sur" meaning tune.


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## Sheikh_14

How aboutکولہوں, a casual search refers to it as hips and the bum. Since it also classifies kolohoon par marna as to spank it seems rather accurate. Whilst the word is commonly used in BBC URDU known at least for its linguistic propriety hence I doubt it can be taken as vulgar. Any other ideas for spanking, after all the region isnt free from it so surely there must be a torrent.


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## Qureshpor

^ I believe kuul(h)aa/kuul(h)e has already been brought into discussions in the thread.


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