خارِ پُشْت
xār-i puśtmasculine
The Urdu word for hedgehog is خارِ پُشْت (xār-i puśt). Wiktionary also lists خارْپُشْت (xārpuśt) and ساہی (sāhī).
Meaning: animal (noun)
Ways to say it
| Urdu | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| خارِ پُشْت | xār-i puśt | masculine |
| خارْپُشْت | xārpuśt | masculine |
| ساہی | sāhī | feminine |
The term refers to the animal known as a hedgehog.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase خارِ پُشْت is a compound meaning 'thorn-back', consisting of khār (thorn) and pusht (back).
Which one should you use?
خارِ پُشْت uses the Persian izāfat construction and is more formal or literary than the compound form خارْپُشْت.
How does it change in a sentence?
The forms خارِ پُشْت and خارْپُشْت are masculine, while ساہی is feminine.
How do you pronounce it?
xār-i puśt
Did you know?
- The term ساہی is often used as a general label for various spiky mammals, including the Indian crested porcupine.
- The word خار used in خارِ پُشْت also appears in Urdu poetry to symbolize pain, grief and the 'thorns' of love.
- In Urdu, the choice between خارِ پُشْت and ساہی can signal the difference between a scientific or literary context and a common, everyday context. Using the formal version in a casual setting might sound overly dramatic.
Example sentences for Urdu are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Ahmed and Fatima are looking at a garden animal.
- احمد Ahmedفاطمہ، دیکھو وہاں ایک خارِ پُشْت ہے!Fatima, dekho wahan ek khar-pusht hai!Fatima, look, there is a hedgehog over there!
- فاطمہ Fatimaاوہ، یہ کتنا پیارا لگ رہا ہے۔Oh, yeh kitna pyara lag raha hai.Oh, it looks so cute.
- احمد Ahmedہاں، لیکن اس کے قریب مت جانا۔Haan, lekin is ke kareeb mat jaana.Yes, but do not go near it.
- فاطمہ Fatimaٹھیک ہے، میں دور سے ہی دیکھوں گی۔Theek hai, mein door se hi dekhungi.Okay, I will just watch it from afar.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hedgehog” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
