English is well known as the language that is just three languages wearing a trench coat pretending to be one language, or in more simple terms, the language that takes a bit of everything from every language.
This is true of English and Hindi as well as all the other languages English draws from, with some common words you hear in English being almost directly lifted from Hindi.
What Hindi words are used in English?
The majority of the words that English has adopted directly or indirectly from Hindi are nouns, with much of Hindi’s influence on the English language being through adoption of common nouns during the time of the British Empire.
Many of these words were first picked up by British colonisers in India, later entering common parlance in English in the time following this. Some of them might be obvious, but there are probably some of these that may surprise you!
List of Hindi Words In English
There are a lot of words with Hindi roots in the English language, so this list will by no means be exhaustive. However, it will cover some of the more common and more unexpected ones that you might not have known were originally Hindi words.
- Avatar: Namesake of the popular TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender, this word for the descent of a deity to the human world originates from the word “avatara”, which literally translates as “to cross down”. The meaning was not religiously driven in the original Hindi word, but after its adoption into English it has gained spiritual connotations.
- Bandana: Taken from the Hindi word “bandhna” meaning to tie. The usage of the word bandana for the triangular or square decorative headscarf has become so widespread that it has overtaken the original word used for such an accessory. In fact, it’s not uncommon for many people not to know bandanas were originally called kerchiefs!
- Bangle: Another fashion accessory adopted by the English following the time of the British Empire, this word is taken from the Hindi “bangri”, with the same meaning as the English. Bangles are distinctly rigid compared to other types of bracelet, and unlike bandanas have no other word used for them, as they were fully adopted from southeast Asian cultures by the west.
- Blighty: This slang word for Britain, originally an endearing term for their home country used by British troops stationed in India, comes from the Hindi word “vilayati”, which literally translates to “foreign”. In the time since the British Empire, referring to England as “blighty”, “good old blighty” remained popular, although in more recent times has fallen out of favour.
- Bungalow: Referring to a single-story house as a bungalow actually originated from Hindi, more specifically the word “bangla”, which literally just means “[house] in the Bengal style”. Since at the time the traditional bengali style of house was a single story detached house, the name stuck, and has become the accepted standard for any such single story house.
- Dinghy: Taken from the Hindi word “dinghi” of the same meaning, this has become the standard word for small boats anywhere in the world. It is so prevalent in fact that most small boats are categorised as types of dinghies!
- Guru: In the modern day, guru carries connotations of an expert in a certain field, which carries over from its original meaning in Hindi. The English word is just a direct lifting of the word “guru” from Hindi, which originally meant “teacher/priest”. However, even this word originally came from the Sanskrit word “guru” meaning “one to be honoured”.
- Juggernaut: The origin story behind this word is rather more grim than some others on this list. It originates from the name “Jagannath”, which was a form of Vishnu worshipped at the Jagannath temple in Odisha. During the Rath Yatra festival, thousands of followers of Jagannath would pull three huge carts almost 50 feet tall and weighing hundreds of tonnes through the streets, each cart a statue of the deities. The word as we use it in English today came about after early Europeans witnessed this festival and reported backstories of religious fanatics committing suicide by throwing themselves under the wheels of the carts. Ever since, the English word has been used to mean something immense and unstoppable, that is unavoidable due to either physical or institutional inertia.
- Jungle: Jungle is probably the most commonly used English word on this list, but many people may not know it actually has its roots in the Hindi word “jangal”. This word literally means “uncultivated land”, in reference to wilderness or forest areas. Ironically, some of this meaning has almost come back around with the phrase “urban jungle”, referring to dense cities.
- Karma: Unlike Jungle, this one is better known for having roots in Hindi. In fact, it is directly lifted with no changes to spelling or meaning, with the original word “karma” also being the concept of cyclical cause and effect of one’s actions. Karma is a very common idea, that one’s good deeds now will eventually be rewarded by some good fortune in the future, or vice versa for one’s less than good actions!
- Loot: On the subject of less than good actions, this word for taking stuff unlawfully comes from a Hindi word of the same spelling. The word “loot” in Hindi literally just means “steal”, so the meaning has remained unaltered in the English.
- Mogul: The word mogul is used to refer to an acknowledged leader or expert in a certain field, and has its origins in a title, rather than a word. The Mughal rulers of India are the title in question, who were the emperors of India from 1526 all the way through until 1857, holding power for 331 years until the Indian rebellion of 1857.
- Punch: Or rather, more specifically, the drink punch. If you’ve ever found it strange that fruit punch shares a name with the act of punching someone, then this is why! While the word punch in the context of punching someone comes from old French, punch the drink comes from the Hindi word “panch”, meaning five. This is because the original drink panch was made from five ingredients, those being alcohol, sugar, lemon, water, and either tea or spices.
- Pundit: Originally from the Hindi word “pandit”, the meaning has subtly changed between the Hindi and English words. While the original Hindi simply means “scholar or priest”, the English meaning of pundit brings implications of someone who is asked to offer their commentary to the public. A subtle difference, but an otherwise consistent meaning!
- Pyjamas: Another word that you might not have realised has origins in Hindi! This soft nightwear actually had a different meaning in the Hindi word it was derived from. The original Hindi word “Paijaamaa” literally just translates to “leg garment”, although Pyjamas obviously now include more than just this in the modern English usage of the word.
- Shampoo: Perhaps the most surprising word on the entire list, shampoo actually draws its origins from the Hindi word “champo”, which is an imperative verb meaning “rub!” This is certainly one of the more inventive verb to noun transitions on the list!
- Thug: Taken from the Hindi word “thagi” meaning “thief/conman” the meaning has kept a similar theme in English, but with different connotations. While a thief or conman might seem like a less violent type of criminal, the word thug in English decidedly carries more brutish and violent meaning.
There are more than just these listed words, but these are some of the more interesting and common ones. Hopefully some of them have also been new or surprising to you, especially some of the ones with less obvious meanings and origins in the Hindi!
Hindi’s Influence on the English language
Compared to some European languages, Hindi’s influence on English has been comparatively minor outside of vocabulary.
Much of the fundamentals of modern English were laid down well before the British colonised India, and as such the language was very set in stone by the time the languages started to affect one another.
However, as you can clearly see above, that doesn’t mean the influence wasn’t there, just that it impacted vocabulary much more than grammar!
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