barfi: sweetmeat made from milk, sugar, and other ingredients. barsaati: single-room top-floor flat of a post-Partition north Indian home.
bas: stop, enough.
basti: settlement; often used to describe marginalized urban areas.
beta: son; child.
bhabi: sister-in-law.
bhaisahab: respectful way to address a brother or older male.
bhaiyya, bhayya: brother.
bhanchod, bhenchod: sisterfucker.
bhang: leaf or flower of the cannabis plant consumed in the Indian subcontinent; often used in drinks or food items.
bhavra: bee.
Bhumihar: caste found in states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh that consider themselves Brahmans.
bibiji: mother; madam; term of respect for older women.
bidi: Indian cigarette rolled in tobacco leaves.
biji: mother; term of respect for older women.
bindi: decorative or religious dot women wear on their foreheads, in previous times to denote marital status.
brake lagao: put on the brakes.
bua: aunt; father’s sister.
chaalu: shrewd, cunning.
chaat: savory snack often made with tamarind yogurt.
chacha: father’s younger brother; colloquially, used to denote fondness or respect for nonfamilial relations.
chai: tea.
chai-pani: literally, the tea and water served to guests; figuratively, a small bribe paid to the lower echelons of the bureaucracy.
chaiwala: person who serves tea.
chal: come on; let’s go.
chamchagiri: sycophancy; ass-kissing.
chapatti: round whole-wheat flatbread cooked on a stovetop.
chappal: open sandals.
charas: hashish.
choder: fucker.
chodo: let go, drop it.
chokra: young boy.
chole batura: fried round bread made of wheat, flour, and potato accompanied with spicy chickpeas.
chotey: young one (affectionate).
choukhat: threshold.
chowkidar: watchman.
chunni: long scarf women wear with a salwar kameez.
churidar: long, tight pajamas worn with kurta or kameez.
chut: cunt.
chutiya: moron, loser, fucker.
da: suffix that shows respect for men.
daal: curried lentils.
dargah: mausoleum.
desi: countryman; colloquially, from India or the subcontinent.
dhaba: inexpensive roadside restaurant frequented by workers, truck drivers, and travelers.
dhanda: trade, work.
dharamshala: cheap hotel for pilgrims.
dharna: sit-in, protest.
dhobi: person who washes and irons clothes.
didi: sister.
Dilli: Delhi.
Dilli-wallah: someone from Delhi.
dupatta: long scarf that women wear with a salwar kameez.
falooda: noodle served over kulfi.
fauji: soldier.
firang, firangi: foreigner (somewhat derogatory); from Fering-hee, Persian for Frank.
gaali: abusive terms.
gaand: ass.
gali: lane, alley.
ganji: undershirt.
ghada: rounded earthen vessel for storing and cooling liquids. ghazal: poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain.
ghee: clarified butter.
gora: white person.
gulmohar: Delonix regia; royal poinciana trees; when in bloom, they have bright red or orange flowers.
gurdwara: Sikh house of worship.
gutka: intoxicant made from tobacco, betel nut, and other spices.
hafta: one week; refers to weekly protection money paid to police or gangsters.
hakim: traditional doctor.
harami: bastard.
haveli: old mansion or residence.
huzoor: sir.
Jai mata di: Hail to the mother goddess.
jalebi: fried sweet dipped in sugar syrup.
Jat: north Indian caste.
jawan: soldier.
jhuggi: thatched hut.
ji: suffix that indicates respect.
jooti: shoe.
kaabadi: physical-contact sport.
kaana: blind in one eye.
kadai: deep wok.
kaftan: one-piece dress.
kameez: shirt.
katta: single-shot country-made handgun that’s illegal, inexpensive, and crudely made.
kewra: Pandanus odoratissimus; a fragrant flower whose essence is used to flavor food.
khadi: homespun cotton popularized during the independence movement.
khamba: colloquially, a 750 ml/1 liter bottle, usually of Indian-made foreign liquour; literally, a column or pillar.
khus: type of grass used to cool buildings.
kikar: Acacia nilotica; a thorny small tree with yellow flowers.
kirpan: dagger carried by Sikhs.
kulfi: ice cream made from boiled milk.
kurta: loose shirt.
kurti: contemporary, casual, and shorter version of a kurta.
lakh: one hundred thousand.
lathi: wooden baton carried by a policeman.
loocha-lafanga: lecherous male.
Lucknow: capital of Uttar Pradesh, once a seat of Awadh (Muslim) power.
lungi: garment which consists of a single piece of cloth wrapped around the waist and legs.
madarchod: motherfucker.
mai: female domestic worker.
mai-baap: mother-father; colloquial, benefactor.
mandir: temple.
marg: street.
masala dosa: south Indian dish consisting of a thin rice-flour pancakes wrapped around potatoes.
Mataji: Mother (respectful).
matthi: salty fried snack made of flour.
mixie: blender.
muhalla: neighborhood.
mundu: cotton garment worn around the waist; akin to a lungi.
namaste: Hindu greeting of respect; literally, I bow to you.