ನಿಕ್ಕ್ ಪಿತ್ತಾ?
nikk pitta?
The English phrase "are you mad?" is translated into Tulu as ನಿಕ್ಕ್ ಪಿತ್ತಾ? (nikk pitta?)
This phrase is used to ask if someone is mentally ill or behaving irrationally.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of nikk (to you) and pitta (has/is there). In the context of madness, it literally means "Is it to you?" or "Has it come to you?"
How do you pronounce it?
nikk pitta?
Did you know?
- Using nikk pitta? toward an elder in the Tulu-speaking region is considered a massive social taboo, regardless of whether you are joking or not.
- Tulu is a member of the Dravidian language family, meaning it is more closely related to Tamil and Kannada than to the neighboring Indo-Aryan languages like Hindi.
- The script used for ನಿಕ್ಕ್ ಪಿತ್ತಾ? is the Kannada script, though Tulu historically had its own distinct writing systems like the Tigalari script.
Example conversation
Manish is suggesting a very dangerous idea to Ashwini.
- ಅಶ್ವಿನಿ Ashwiniನಿಕ್ಕ್ ಪಿತ್ತಾ?Nikku pitta?Are you mad?
- ಮನೀಶ್ Manishಇತ್ತ್ ಮಸ್ತ್ ಮಜಾ ಉಂಡು.Itt mast maja undu.This will be a lot of fun.
- ಅಶ್ವಿನಿ Ashwiniಇತ್ತ್ ಮಸ್ತ್ ಅಪಾಯದ ಕೆಲಸ.Itt mast apayada kelasa.This is very dangerous work.
- ಮನೀಶ್ Manishನನೊಟು ಪೋಲೆ.Nanotu pole.Come with me.
