# Urdu: hamzulf



## akak

Faylasoof said:


> The husband of wife's sister is a 'hamzulf'. I guess that would be baraader-e-nisbati.


 
From what I remember, _humzulf _is used specifically to describe the relation between the husbands of two or more sisters... Is that right?


----------



## Cilquiestsuens

akak said:


> From what I remember, _humzulf _is used specifically to describe the relation between the husbands of two or more sisters... Is that right?


 
Yes, if you like your hamzulf are the husbands of your saalii / saaliyaa.n. I personaly have four of them, hence my proficiency with the concept


----------



## akak

Cilquiestsuens said:


> Yes, if you like your hamzulf are the husbands of your saalii / saaliyaa.n. I personaly have *four* of them, hence my proficiency with the concept


 
That must be a lot of fun.


----------



## panjabigator

Do people use <hamzulf> as much as <birādar e niSbatī>?  Do you hear (or personally use) <sālā> ever?

We discussed this here earlier.


----------



## akak

I had never heard _birādar e niSbatī_ before, that's why I was a bit confused. _Sala _is very common.


----------



## panjabigator

akak said:


> I had never heard _birādar e niSbatī_ before, that's why I was a bit confused. _Sala _is very common.



Would you use <sālā> more than the other two?


----------



## akak

panjabigator said:


> Would you use <sālā> more than the other two?


 
_Sala_ would be used only for wife's brothers and _humzulf_ for wife's sisters' husbands. Some people may say _saali ka shauhar_ instead of _humzulf_. I can't remember ever hearing _birādar e niSbatī._


----------



## Faylasoof

akak said:


> Originally Posted by *Faylasoof*
> The husband of wife's sister is a 'hamzulf'. I guess that   would be baraader-e-nisbati.
> 
> 
> 
> From what I remember, _humzulf _is used specifically to describe the relation between the husbands of two or more sisters... Is that right?
Click to expand...


As others have confirmed, yes!   .... and I hear only _hamzulf _all the time! 

_baraadar-e-nisbatii_ = wife's brother *or* sister's husband!


----------



## Cilquiestsuens

Faylasoof said:


> As others have confirmed, yes! .... and I hear only _hamzulf _all the time!
> 
> _baraadar-e-nisbatii_ = wife's brother *or* sister's husband!


 
So that is either *hamzulf* or *behnoii *(don't you say jiijaa in Hindi ?)

This sounds to me like a translation of brother-in-law... Do they use the term in Persian ????

What is striking with Urdu / Hindi kinship terms is that they are very precise and describe normally only one specific relation... (contrary to the English terms especially the very vague ones using -in-law)


----------



## Faylasoof

Cilquiestsuens said:


> So that is either *hamzulf* or *behnoii *(don't you say jiijaa in Hindi ?
> 
> This sounds to me like a translation of brother-in-law... Do they use the term in Persian ????



Quite! It could be either ھمزلف _hamzulf_ / بہنوئی  _banho2ii_ !! 

Although _hamzulf_ consists of two Persian words (ham +  zulf ), it is not used in Farsi. _ Brother-in-law_ in Persian can be either of these:   برادر زن \ برادر شوهر\ شوهر خواهر\  باجناق  \ هم داماد


Cilquiestsuens said:


> What is striking with Urdu / Hindi kinship terms is that they are very precise and describe normally only one specific relation... (contrary to the English terms especially the very vague ones using -in-law)


Oh yes! I had a discussion about this with an Englishman and he was surprised as to how precise we are!


----------



## akak

> _baraadar-e-nisbatii_ = wife's  brother *or* sister's husband!





Cilquiestsuens said:


> So that is either *hamzulf* or  *behnoii *(don't you say jiijaa in Hindi ?)



So are we saying that _baraader e nisbatii_ covers all a man's brothers-in-law, of which saala, behnoi and humzulf are specific subsets?


----------



## panjabigator

> So that is either hamzulf or behnoii (don't you say jiijaa in Hindi ?)



Yep, <jījā> is what we say.  People also say <jījū> too; I think this is the more affectionate term.


----------



## linguist786

panjabigator said:


> Yep, <jījā> is what we say. People also say <jījū> too; I think this is the more affectionate term.


 LOL that's a vulgar word for breasts in Gujarati 

This is the first time I've heard this term "hamzulf". In Gujarati we say "banevi" for sister's husband, "haaro" for wife's brother and "haaru bhai" for wife's sister's husband.

In Urdu, "behno2ii" is exclusively for sister's husband, right?


----------



## Faylasoof

linguist786 said:


> Originally Posted by *panjabigator*
> Yep, <jījā> is what we say. People also say   <jījū> too; I think this is the more affectionate term.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> LOL that's a vulgar word for breasts in Gujarati
Click to expand...

 
  Funnily enough something similar is true in Urdu. Although some do use _jiijaa_ ( جیجا  = sister’s husband) but avoid  _jiijii_ (جیجی), as it can mean teat / nipple! However,  others do use _jiijii_ to mean  _sister_ = _diidii_ !!


----------



## panjabigator

Can someone spell the word سانڈھو correctly for me here?  I think this is yet another synonym for ھمزلف.

So just to confirm, my sister's husband (_jeeja_ in my household) is also my _hamzulf, sandhu, _and _bahnoi?_


----------



## Faylasoof

Sorry! But I never heard of _saanDhu_ for _hamzulf_! 

Actually it sounds rather rude because we call a stud (stallion / bull etc. for breeding) سانڈ _saanD_!


----------



## Cilquiestsuens

It actually is a Punjabi word... and as Fayla sb nicely pointed out, not an Urdu one....


----------



## BP.

Faylasoof said:


> Sorry! But I never heard of _saanDhu_ for _hamzulf_! ...



This appears to be an indigenous word. Pashto uses _saanD.huu_ as well as Punjabi, and Sindhi slightly morphs it to (if my memory's to be relied) _saaRuu_. My motley Pakistani acquaintances actually jeered at Urduwaale using a word as posh as _hamzulf_ for something as simple as _saanDhuu_.


----------



## panjabigator

BelligerentPacifist said:


> This appears to be an indigenous word. Pashto uses _saanD.huu_ as well as Punjabi, and Sindhi slightly morphs it to (if my memory's to be relied) _saaRuu_. My motley Pakistani acquaintances actually jeered at Urduwaale using a word as posh as _hamzulf_ for something as simple as _saanDhuu_.



Language valuations are so perplexing!  So, the word _hamzulf _theoretically exists for some Urduphones, but it's too good for a mere brother-in law.  I'd say, by the way, that _hamzulf _is also an indigenous word.



Cilquiestsuens said:


> It actually is a Punjabi word... and as Fayla sb nicely pointed out, not an Urdu one....



Ahhh!  Good to know.  The Punjabi I know is <bahnoiya>.  I think you told me that word a while back too - it's funny how I conveniently imbibed it as knowledge time immemorial.


----------



## Cilquiestsuens

panjabigator said:


> Language valuations are so perplexing!  So, the word _hamzulf _theoretically exists for some Urduphones, but it's too good for a mere brother-in law.  I'd say, by the way, that _hamzulf _is also an indigenous word.
> 
> 
> 
> Ahhh!  Good to know.  The Punjabi I know is <bahnoiya>.  I think you told me that word a while back too - it's funny how I conveniently imbibed it as knowledge time immemorial.



I hope there is no confusion here, I may not have been clear enough...

I meant to say _*saa.nDhuu*_ is a Punjabi word, _*hamzulf*_ is Urdu of course...


----------



## Qureshpor

Faylasoof said:


> Sorry! But I never heard of _saanDhu_ for _hamzulf_!
> 
> Actually it sounds rather rude because we call a stud (stallion / bull etc. for breeding) سانڈ _saanD_!


Here is a connected word.

H ساڙهو साढ़ू_sāṛhū [S. श्याली+वोढा], s.m. A wife's sister's husband._


----------



## greatbear

In Hindi, it is saa*N*D(h)uu, never saanDhuu, for a wife's sister's husband. It is also very commonly used in Gujarati.


----------



## UrduMedium

QURESHPOR said:


> Here is a connected word.
> 
> H ساڙهو साढ़ू_sāṛhū [S. श्याली+वोढा], s.m. A wife's sister's husband._


Yes saaRhuu is a standard and popular informal word for hamzulf in Urdu.


----------



## marrish

Also very popular, but not so popular as hamzulf, is _saaNDuu_. It would be the same as gb wrote.


----------



## Sheikh_14

Faylasoof said:


> Quite! It could be either ھمزلف _hamzulf_ / بہنوئی  _banho2ii_ !!
> 
> Although _hamzulf_ consists of two Persian words (ham +  zulf ), it is not used in Farsi. _ Brother-in-law_ in Persian can be either of these:   برادر زن \ برادر شوهر\ شوهر خواهر\  باجناق  \ هم داماد
> 
> Oh yes! I had a discussion about this with an Englishman and he was surprised as to how precise we are!



As you have stated the two words are both derived from farsi its difficult to deduce why hum zulf that seems to be suggesting a likeness in hair in literal terms, has anything to do with one being an in law?
In fact had it not been for its common usage the former would have made far more sense. Could someone kindly amplify the background as to why this happens to be the case.


----------

