Here’s a handy list of Indianisms for you. An Indianism is an English word or phrase used in India that is not common in other English-speaking countries. Many of these are adopted British terms, others are unique idioms.
- Adapter – power cord
- Allopathy – western medicine
- Alphabets – letters; Can you say your alphabets?
- Anticlockwise – counter-clockwise
- Any doubts? – “Any questions?”
- Arranged Marriage – A marriage where the parents/family members initially find suitable brides/grooms for their children
- At the rate – the @ sign; My mail ID is Ravi at the rate bigcompany dot com.
- Avail – get
- Bandh – a strike or protest by workers
- Batch – a group of participants that goes through a class/training at the same time
- Batchmates – those in your batch
- Bhava – slang term for someone from the Parsi community
- Bike – nearly always a motorcycle; a bicycle is a “cycle”
- Bills – “handbills”, or any small sign that can be posted; as in “stick no bills”
- Biodata – biographical information
- Biscuit – a hard wheat cracker usually had with tea; also the term used for a cookie
- Bong – slang term for a Bengali
- Burger – a general term for an edible patty served between two buns; it does not usually refer to any beef
- Canteen – cafeteria
- Cent percent – 100%
- Challan – an official receipt of payment given by the government
- Chappals – sandals
- Clubbing – to join two things together; They are clubbing their bids, let’s see how it looks
- Co-brother/Co-sister – For a man, his wife’s sister’s husband is his co-brother. For a woman, her husband’s brother’s wife is her co-sister (More South Indian)
- Come home – come over to my home
- Cot – bed frame
- Cousin-brother/Cousin-sister – a relative you consider your brother or sister because of growing up very close to them, but you don’t actually have the same mother and father (South Indian)
- Cover – (noun) envelope
- Cribbing – complaining
- Crore – 100 lakhs, or 10 million
- Cum – restaurant cum hotel means a restaurant and a hotel
- Curd – yogurt
- Cut the call – hang up abruptly
- Cut the queue – jump in front of you when in a line
- Dais – a raised platform, a place where distinguished guests will sit at an event
- Desi – “local” or “Indian”
- Designation – job title
- Do the needful – do whatever is necessary to complete this
- Doubt – a question to be clarified; I have a doubt
- Dress – any kind of clothing, for men, women, and children; if a man says “I got a new dress”, he likely bought a new shirt
- Duly – “completely” or “as according to my duties”; I have duly completed the work
- Dustbin – trashcan or waste basket
- Eating my brain – really bothering me
- Elocutions – speech class, public speaking
- Expired – died; My father expired
- Fair – more often than not, this refers to skin colour, specifically light skin
- Flick – to steal; Someone flicked my pen
- Fortnightly – once in two weeks
- Freshers – first timers, freshmen, rookies, etc.
- Geyser – hot water heater
- Good name – first name; What is your good name?
- Got fired – got yelled at; doesn’t necessarily mean someone lost his/her job
- Guju – slang term for someone from Gujarat
- Holiday – vacation
- Homely – of a person, someone who is a good homemaker/housewife, or wholesome; of a place, comfortable, cosy
- In the family way… – pregnant
- Intimate – (pronounced like “roommate”) inform; I will intimate back to you
- Junglee – slang for someone who behaves in an “uncivilized” manner
- Kindly – please
- Lakh – 100,000
- Level Best – my best. I’ll do my level best
- Love Marriage – a marriage where the boy and girl meet each other first and decide to get married
- Mail – email; I’ll send you a mail
- Mail ID – email address
- Mallu – slang term for someone from Kerala
- Make a move – “It’s time for me to go”; I’ll make a move then
- Make out – understand; I can’t make out what you are saying
- Maths – Mathematics, or Math
- Matriculation – The completion of high school or secondary school which happens at the 10th grade/standard. There is a huge board exam at the end of 10th.
- Mixie – blender, mixer
- Mugging up – cramming, or memorizing before an exam
- No more – died; My father is no more
- Non-veg – meat; Do you take non-veg?
- Nuclear Family – mother/father and children
- Out of station – out of town
- Paining – hurts; My leg is paining = My leg hurts
- Passed out – graduated
- Pax – an abbreviation for “number of people”
- Pen Drive – thumb drive, zip drive, jump drive, memory stick
- Petrol Bunk – gas station
- Pickles – a paste made with vegetables or fruits and cooked with oil which can be preserved and used for a long time; used to enhance the flavour of a dish
- PIN code – area code, or zip code
- Plus 2 – also called “junior college”; these are grades/standards 11 and 12 which focus on a specific stream of study
- Prepone – to advance or move up the time
- Puncture – flat tire (or tyre)
- Punju – slang term for someone from Punjab
- Purse – wallet
- Query – a question
- Queue – a line of people
- Revert – get back; Kindly revert
- Saloon – a place to get your hair cut; not a bar
- Schemes – This word has no negative connotation unlike in other places. It might also be called a ‘program’. What do you think about the new government scheme for helping poor children? OR I just saw a great new investment scheme.
- School – education only up to Plus 2; “School” does not refer to college/university. Do not ask someone who is in an MBA program, “How is school going?”
- Sitting on her head – forcing someone to do something
- SMS – text message; literally “short message service”
- Snap – picture; Let’s take some snaps before we leave
- Spinster – an older woman who has never been married
- Standard – grade, as in level of schooling; I am going into 8th standard
- Sweet – “a sweet” is any Indian dish usually made with sugar and ghee
- System – computer; I need a new system to complete the work
- Take a class – often means you are teaching a class or giving a lecture
- Take leave – to ask for time off, or to leave a place; I need to take leave on Friday OR Ok, I’ll take leave now (leaving a party)
- Tambram – slang term for a Brahmin from Tamil Nadu
- Tariff – Charges, or a rate card
- Tie-up – a partnership. We have a tie-up with several good distributors
- Tight slap – a really good slap; I wanted to give that boy a tight slap
- Time waste – waste of time
- Too good – extremely good, NOT excessively good
- Topper – the highest scoring student in a class
- Two-wheeler – a motorcycle or a scooter (occasionally a bicycle)
- Tuition – a private, one-on-one class
- Vessels – Indian cookware, usually steel pots and pans
- Visiting Card – business card
- Wheatish – another skin colour term; a lighter brown
- Write an exam – to take an exam (not produce one); I am writing my exam on Friday