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Indian English Dictionary and Indianisms

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

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© Neil A. Miller, LearningIndia.in, and Madras Media Marketing LLC 2013-2015. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given.