A Short List of Indian Words That Have Made It To The Oxford English Dictionary

 There is a list of Indian words that have now become a part of the Oxford English Dictionary.

I will tell you about twelve of the words, their meanings, and how they can be used in sentences. There are many more words like these.

At the end of this lesson you will be able to use these words confidently, knowing that they are a part of the English dictionary.

Let's do this in a fun way. You know that they are all Indian words. So I will give you the meaning of the word and you can guess what the word is….

Watch the video:

 The first word is very common in south India and means ‘Oh Gosh’ or ‘Oops’...

Any guesses?

Aiyoo

Sentence:

Aiyoo! I wasn't expecting to see him so soon!

 

The second word means ‘a dishonest man’ in Hindi.

Badmash

Sentence:

Mr. Roy was a badmash. He stole all the money from the locker and ran away.

 

The third word is the easiest of the lot.

It means ‘older sister’

DIDI

Sentence:

The girl in red is my didi.

 

The fourth word means

Clarified butter made from buffalo or cow milk.

Ghee

Put some more ghee on the pan before you start frying the masala.

 

The fifth word is a mixture of spices used in Indian cooking

Masala

Sentence:

Put some more ghee on the pan before you start frying the masala.

 

 

The sixth word

means ‘excellent’ or ‘first rate’

Pukka

The lesson was pukka.

 

The seventh word means ‘friend’

The word is YAAR.

Don’t stop at the cafe, yaar!

 

The eighth word is a roadside food stall or restaurant.

Dhaba

We should eat a good meal at the dhaba.

 

The ninth word is ‘a spicy dish made from fruits or vegetables and mixed with vinegar, spices and sugar’

Chutney

Grandma wondered who had finished all the chutney in her absence.

 

The tenth word means ‘theater’ or ‘drama’

Natak

The children spent their evening watching the natak.

 

The eleventh word means ‘silent’

Chup

Mother told her son to be chup until she left the store.

 

Lets end with a super interesting one…

That's the The twelfth word which means ‘bootlicking’....behaving in an excessively obedient  way to gain favors’

Chamcha

My blood boils when I see that chamcha smiling broadly at me.

 

I hope you enjoyed the lesson...How many of the Indian words did you guess correctly? Do you know of other words like these?