Punjabi Pathways

Punglish is a great starting ,point when you are introducing Punjabi practice into your family. Try it with your kids and let us know how it goes!

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Dus Minute Punjabi Bolo!

Just ten minutes of Punjabi practice every day can give your child so much confidence in their Punjabi speaking skills by the end of the summer.

Think of your Punjabi practice as part of your summer homework! Challenge yourself to learn new words - how many fruits can you learn before going back to school?

If you feel self-concious speaking Punjabi, start with Punglish! Mix a few Punjabi words into an English sentence. Try, 'do you want to wear your neela (blue) shirt or lal (red) shirt?'

Break up your practice time, try 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes in the evening. And don't give up if you miss a day! Keep going, and hit follow so you don't miss our tips for keeping the momentum going all summer long.

Next, in our Question Word Series is KUDO(n) which means WHEN. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts (Gurmukhi): ਕੁਦੋਂ

The K represents the unaspirated K sound. Remember, unaspirated means there should not be a puff of air released as you say the sound. The D represents the dental unaspirated sound. The (n) represents a nasal n sound at the end of the word.

In Punjabi, we say, “Kudo(n) jaanaa aa?” or “Usee kudo(n) jaanaa aa?” to ask “When are we going?”

Use this question when you want to go to your favorite place. For example, to ask to go to the park, you could say, “Park kudo(n) jaanaa aa?”

The next word in our Question Word Series is KIVAI or KIDDAA(n) which means HOW. This is how to spell them in one of the Punjabi scripts (Gurmukhi): ਕਿਵੇਂ and ਕਿੱਦਾਂ

These words also begin with the unaspirated K sounds. Remember, unaspirated means there should not be a puff of air released as you say the sound. The “D” sound in KIDDA(n) is the dental unaspirated D sound. Remember, this means the D is pronounced by putting your tongue behind your two front teeth and it’s the softer D sound. The (n) means there is a slight nasal sound at the end of the word.

When you are asking how to do something, you can say, “KIDDAA(n)/KIVAI kurnaa?”

The next word in our Question Word Series is KAUN which means WHO. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts (Gurmukhi): ਕੌਣ

The K represents the unaspirated K sound. Remember, unaspirated means there should not be a puff of air released as you say the sound. The N sound is a retroflex sound. This means you need to roll your tongue back and touch the roof of your mouth.

In English we say, “Who is this?” In Punjabi, we can say, “Eh kaun aa?” Or “Kaun aa eh?”

Try asking these questions today. Your child can look through a photo album with you and ask these questions as they point at various family members. Great way to introduce some family vocabulary as well.

The next word in our Question Word Series is KITHAI which means WHERE. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts (Gurmukhi): ਕਿੱਥੇ

The K represents the unaspirated K sound. Remember, unaspirated means there should not be a puff of air released as you say the sound. The TH represents the dental aspirated sound. This means you should feel a puff of air when you make this sound.

In English we say, “Where is it?” In Punjabi, we can say, “Kithai aa?”

Use this question when you are looking for something. For example if you are looking for a book, ask, “Book kithai aa?” If you know the word for book you could say , “Kitaab kithai aa?”

Our next few Word of the Day posts will cover common question words in Punjabi. In English we have the 5 W words for Who What Where When and Why. In Punjabi, we like to call them the 6 “K” Question Words.

The first word is KEE which means WHY. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts (Gurmukhi): ਕੀ

The K represents the unaspirated K sound. Remember, unaspirated means there should not be a puff of air released as you say the sound.

In English we say, “What is this?” In Punjabi, we say, “Eh kee aa?” Or “Kee aa eh?”

Try asking these questions today.

🩷 We love receiving such heartfelt feedback from the families who enrol their children with us. It consistently motivates us to continue to deliver an engaging program that will motivate our students to speak Punjabi!

Wondering if our program is the right fit for you or your children? Here are some reasons you may want to choose us to help you on your language journey.

In Punjabi, we say PAA for the word for POUR. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts: ਪਾ

This word can also mean WEAR.

Use this word in a sentence today! You could say:

“Paanee PAA.” (Pour the water.)

In Punjabi, we say RULAA for the word for MIX. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts: ਰਲਾ

Use this word in a sentence today! You could say:

“Hot chocolate rulaa.” (Mix the hot chocolate.)

The word for STIR or MOVE AROUND in Punjabi is HILAA. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts: ਹਿਲਾ

You can use this word in the kitchen (RUSOEE) when cooking.

Use this word in a sentence today! You could say:

“Dahl hilaa” (Stir the dahl)

It really only takes 10 minutes a day to build fluency! Check out these tips.

What does your Punjabi practice look like?

Our Punjabi Word of the Day is POONJH which means WIPE. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts: ਪੂੰਝ

The JH represents the aspirated J sound. Remember, aspirated means there should be a puff of air released as you say the sound.

To use this word in a sentence you could say:

“Maiz poonjh” (Wipe the table.)

“Moonh poonjh” (Wipe your face.)

What other sentences can you think of?

Did you know the Punjabi word for CUT is simply K*T? This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts:ਕੱਟ

The K represents the unaspirated K sound. Remember, unaspirated means there should not be a puff of air released as you say the sound. The T sound is the retroflex unaspirated T sound. This sound was explained in our last Teacher video.

Use this word in a sentence today! You could say:

“Cake kut” (Cut the cake)

“Hudvaanaa kut” (Cut the watermelon)

What other sentences can you think of?

The word for MAKE in Punjabi is BUNAA. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts: ਬਣਾ

The N is pronounced by rolling your tongue back and touching the roof of your mouth.

Use this word in a sentence today! You could say:

“Khaanaa bunaa” (Make food)

Today we will learn how to say CLEAN UP. In Punjabi we say SAAF KUR. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts: ਸਾਫ਼ ਕਰ

The K represents the unaspirated K sound. Remember, unaspirated means there should not be a puff of air released as you say the sound.

Use this word in a sentence today! You could say:

“Kumraa saaf kur” (Clean your room)

Our Punjabi Word of the Day is CHUK which means PICK UP. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts: ਚੱਕ

The CH in CHUK represents the aspirated CH sound while the K represents the unaspirated K sound. Remember, aspirated means there should be a puff of air released as you say the sound.

Use this word in a sentence today! You could say:

“Kaprey chuk” (Pick up the clothes away)
“Plate chuk” (Pick up the plate).

In Punjabi, objects are considered masculine or feminine. Check out this post to help you understand how to determine an object’s gender in Punjabi.

Our Punjabi Word of the Day is RUKH which means PUT. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts: ਰਖ

The KH in RUKH represents the aspirated K sound. Remember, this means there should be a puff of air released as you say the sound. We say this is the “harder” K sound which is why we represent it with a KH.

Use this word in a sentence today! You could say:

“Kaprey rukh” (Put the clothes away)
“Plate rukh” (Put the plate away).

Today we start a series that was requested by one of our followers. They wanted words related to chores around the GHAR (HOUSE).

Our Punjabi Word of the Day is DHO which means WASH. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts: ਧੋ

The DH in DHO represents the dental aspirated sound. Remember, this means there should be a puff of air released as you say the sound. We say this is the “harder” D sound which is why we represent it with a DH.

Use this word in a sentence today! You could say:

“Dishes dho” (Wash the dishes) or “Burtun/panday dho”
“Clothes dho” (Wash the clothes) or “Kuppray dho”.

The word for SCARED in Punjabi is DARDAA or DARDEE.

👉🏽Remember, Punjabi is a gendered language. This means that the ending of some words will change depending on the gender of a person. Men would say, “Mae DARDAA aa.” Women would say, “Mae DARDEE aa.”

🗣️ The first D in the word is a retroflex unaspirated D sound. It is pronounced by rolling the tongue back and touching the tip to the roof of your mouth. The second D sound is a dental unaspirated sound. It is pronounced by placing your tongue behind your teeth.

We continue our Word of the Day series about emotions. Uj (Today), we focus on the word for SURPRISED. In Punjabi, we say HARAAN. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts: ਹੈਰਾਨ

This word does not change depending upon the gender of a person. To say “I am surprised” you would say “Mae HARAAN aa.”

To ask someone if they are surprised, you say“Tu HARAAN aa?” or “Tusee HARAAN ho?” Or you can use Punglish, “Are you HARAAN?”

😡 Today we focus on the word for ANGRY. In Punjabi, we say GUSSAY. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts: ਗੁੱਸੇ

You can use this word when asking if someone is angry. Ie “Tu gussay aa?” Or you can us Punglish, “Are you gussay?”

☹️ We continue our focus on emotions. Today we introduce UDAAS which is the Punjabi word for SAD. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts: ਉਦਾਸ

🗣️This word uses a dental unaspirated D sound. Remember, this means you pronounce this D sound by placing your tongue behind your two front teeth. The word “unaspirated” means you should not feel a big puff of air when you make this sound. Use this word in a sentence today! Remember, it’s okay to use Punglish (a mixture of English and Punjabi).

You could say, “ Mae udaas aa.” ( I am sad).

This week our Punjabi Word of the Days will focus on emotions. Today we start with KHUSH which is the Punjabi word for HAPPY. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts: ਖੁਸ਼

😀 To say this word you have to use the aspirated or hard K sound. Remember, you should feel a puff of air when saying the K sound. Use this word in a sentence today! Remember, it’s okay to use Punglish (a mixture of English and Punjabi).

You could say, “ Mae khush aa.” ( I am happy).

Our Punjabi Word of the Day is KUL NOO, the word for TOMORROW. This is how to spell it in one of the Punjabi scripts: ਕੱਲ੍ਹ ਨੂੰ

You will notice that KUL NOO is very similar to the word KUL which means yesterday. Try this word in a sentence today! To help your children use this word, you could ask them the following questions:

Kul noo kee karna aa? (What do you want to do tomorrow?)

Kul noo kee khaanaa aa? (What do you want to eat tomorrow?)

“Kul noo mae khelnaa aa” (I want to play tomorrow.)
“Kul noo pizza khaanaa aa.” (I want to eat pizza tomorrow.)