پانی
pānīnoun
In Pakistan "water" in Urdu is پانی (pānī). It is one of the first words a visitor hears when someone is offered a drink. It is also called آب (āb).
Meaning: drinking water (noun)
Ways to say it
| Pakistan | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| پانی | pānī | noun |
| آب | āb | poetic, Persian |
Hosts ask پانی لیں گے؟ (pānī leṉge?), "will you have water?", and guests answer جی، پانی دے دیں (jī, pānī de deṉ). The same word covers water in a glass, a river and rain.
Which one should you use?
آب (āb) is the Persian word and appears in poetry and in compounds such as آب و ہوا (āb o hawā), "climate". Daily speech uses پانی (pānī).
Did you know?
- پنجاب (Panjāb), the name of Pakistan's largest province, comes from Persian words for "five waters", پنج (panj), "five", and آب (āb), "water".
Examples in context
- مجھے ایک گلاس پانی دیجیے۔mujhe ek gilās pānī dījiye.Please give me a glass of water.
- پانی ٹھنڈا ہے۔pānī ṭhanḍā hai.The water is cold.
- اس علاقے میں پانی کی کمی ہے۔is ilāqe meṉ pānī kī kamī hai.This area has a shortage of water.
Example conversation
A guest, Mr. Tariq, is welcomed by the host Zubair in Lahore on a hot day.
- Zubairتشریف رکھیے، پانی لیں گے؟tashrīf rakhiye, pānī leṉge?Please sit, will you have water?
- Tariqجی، شکریہ۔jī, shukriya.Yes, thank you.
- Zubairیہ لیجیے، ٹھنڈا پانی ہے۔yeh lījiye, ṭhanḍā pānī hai.Here you are, it is cold water.
