A Guide to the Street Language of Karachi

I think street lingo does substitute the eloquence and compensate for the forcefulness. It is a short term quick fix. One has to be very creative in this area too, otherwise he becomes annoying and dull.

Sameerjb

I don`t think the base of word langot is what you have said. As a matter of fact there is a punjabi word ``lungh``, spoken in mid and upper eastern punjab (paki) which means crotch and it is also used as a substitute for word dhotti. An urdu variation is the word ``jaangh`` from which the word jangia is derived.

Mr. Ali,
How can you call ``saley`` to lack potency?
Sala is the brother of wife. Hwen you call someone ``sala`` it implies that -his sister is your wife!
And pray what do you do with your wife? You have sexual contact!
Therefore the word ``Sala`` automatically implies ``TERI BEHEN KO CHODOON``

AM I RIGHT?

A Generic Reply

Ras and a few others have refered to the slang of Punjab being richer and deeper than that of karachi, I Agree. However as the title suggests we all use and understand slang we can relate to, from the places we grew up in. My inability to understand punjabi/pashtoon/ sindhi reduces the potency and humour factor of any given statement in those languages. I am from Karachi and the ones that appear in the article and in some of the interactions are the ones I can truly relate to. But I will agree, there are some very funny ones in Punjabi. It would seem that Profanity like Humour is an acquired taste which has deep roots in the places where we spend our formative years or where we grew up.

Some of the interactors have raised concerns about Chowk rules over the use of language and this article. I can speak from my behalf and not from the Chowk editors. I have used none of the words mentioned in an abusive or threatening manner, they are described and then vaguely covered by my analysis on those words. If you cant see the lightheartedness that I was trying to aim at during the article, well than you have unfortunately missed the entire point. For those who treated this article as it was meant to be(harmless unacademic Jovial diatribe) thanks for your interacts and thanks specially to tahmed with his hilarious jokes ( Underwear Salamat one had me in stitches)

MPZI

Sir, With utmost respect (I guess you are much older than I am) i respect your noble viewpoints. My only problem (and this might be my inability entirely) is that 99% of the times I cannot really understand what you are saying. May I recommend that if you want to engage us less versed, maybe try to be a little more clear as to the exact point of your argument. You have touched some respect DNA in me by calling me ``wajahat mia``, last time I was called that was by my nana(maternal grandfather) and this was a long time back as he passed away some 12 years ago. But really, take my humble suggestion and just try to focus your thoughts and I assure you people will understand what you are saying.

Kind Regards

Syed Wajahat Ali

KLPD is what happened to Pakistani cricket team this weekend..



Please enlighten us on KLPD.....



..........sir say Guzar geya...............

Syed Ali:

One of the best things I`ve read on chowk for quite a while now. Good stuff.

Having lived all over Pakistan and attended a boarding college where people from literally all over Pakistan came to study, I got an intensive course in abusive language from the four corners of the country.

Some definitions, as I know them;
- Chutiya: First-born of a woman (naturally ofcourse)
- Bhonsri ka: The rest (naturally ofcourse)
- Tangain uthana: Refers to the missionary sexual position, can mean everything from giving up (as in ``yaar mein nay tangain uthaa deen``) to screwing someone over (``mein nay uss kee tangain uthaa deen``) or an attitude (``uss kee tangain to har waqt uthee hotee hain``).

True that Punjab in general and Lahore in particular is by far the leader in cussing. But there have been some gems that came out of other places. One which comes to mind was probably invented at our college, ``chhat (roof) se lag jana`` meaning to get really angry. A slight variation on this is ``chhat se laga dee``, meaning something (probably a tough exam) that worked one over. ``Topa``, meaning someone stupid. ``Jhaantoo``, way too disgusting to describe here, maybe some of the Karachiites can get it.

But THE best cussing it has ever been my pleasure to hear were discussions between a childhood friend and his coursemates from the Pakistan Airforce Academy in Risalpur. I always thought me and my friends from our college were good, but those guys would spout 30 second long sentences that ended with some hilarious profanity and sounded like a great joke too. Can`t remember any, and even if I could they can`t be published.

All in all a nice read this article.

Regards,
Irfan Hamid.

PS: tahmed32 #17, that joke had me in stitches.

PPS: MNZIsphahani, either you need a shrink, or you need to ease up on the extacy/coke/LSD cocktails you`re taking.

Hail profanity, thou sublime vice
who turns mice into men
and men into mice

Now pardon me as I go wash my mouth with soap and beg forgiveness of the Almighty.

Syed Ali,

being from Karachi and a Grammarian who knows his profanity

you are selling Karachi short here in this article.

But let me also add that Lahore and Punjab as a whole continue

to be unmatched in this art and nowhere does

Karachi come close using the medium of Urdu.

Profanity in Punjabi is the best that there ever was!

Ras

Actually many of the commonly used words started off as profanity or would be considered profanity if analyzed carefully.....one word which comes to my mind is ``langotia yaar`` and its root ``langot``.......langot is crude form of rural male underwear and word is used both in Hindi and Panjabi and possibly in other southasian languages......its origin is ``lan`` as male genitilia and ``ghot`` meaning holder, tying or fastening.....

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do they have the acronym KLPD in karachi street lingo?

P.S. KLPD is what happened to Pakistani cricket team this weekend.. :-P ;-)

there is this one i find really funny...``chal phoot yahan sey``...hahahaha...
it means go away...:)

#11 MPZI
Sir You have obviously got a major anger management issue combined with a strangely warped imagination about world events. 4 Decades , I have been in this world for just over 2. But anyways I liked your post for its comical values, you indeed have a very unique sense of humour if it is that. Reminds me of one more phrase ``Abay us ka Nut Ghoom Giya hai``

#13
abt the above article: set likha hai re mamoo!

Thank you and indeed the most eloquent praise :)

there Is One More In vouge these day......could be called Literary correct..


Gandu Hey Sala..... Chutiya hota to insan Hoota...



( Some thing is not right with this guy.....)

bhonsade (i) ki refers to a worn out c - - t (associated with prostitutes, i believe). a punjabi can further enlighten you on this one, perhaps, since I`ve heard it more out of the mouths of Punjabis.

And doesn`t this whole article, fun as it is, defy Chowk guidelines??? yeah, I had to throw in a stick in the moving wheel at some point.

nazar #12 the one I like is ``pooteeenk`` (pudding) which is what the bearah refers to when he asks ``Sahib, aaj pooteeenk bani hai`` at the army mess.