Indian English - Vocabulary and Colloquialisms

Vocabulary and Colloquialisms

Indians continue to use phrases from British English that other English speakers now consider antiquated. Official letters include phrases such as "please do the needful", "... will revert back ..." and "you will be intimated shortly". In conversational speech it is common to ask, "What is your good name?" to a person of higher authority or social standing where a modern Western Anglophone would omit the word "good". Recent influences from American English have created inconsistencies. For instance, both "program" and "programme" can be found in Indian newspapers.

• abuse - To swear or insult (usually refers to swear).
• acting pricey - Playing "hard to get", being snobbish.
• break-up - breakdown (e.g. of salary)
• bunk a class - To skip class without permission (this is still extremely common in British English also)
• bus stand - A bus station or bus stop.
• cantonment - Permanent military installation.
• carrying - To be pregnant, as in "She is carrying".
• cent per cent - "100 per cent" as in "He got cent per cent in maths".
• chargesheet - Formal charges filed in a court (also in BrE, with a space); v. to file charges against someone in court
• club - To merge or put two things together. "'Just club it together'"
• coaching classes and tutorials - Cram school.
• cooling glasses - Sunglasses
• cover - Plastic bag
• crib - To complain
• dearness allowance - Payment given to employees to compensate for the effects of inflation.
• doubt - Question or query (e.g. one would say, 'I have a doubt' when one wishes to ask a question.)
• Eve teasing - 'Verbal sexual harassment of women'
• expire - To die, especially in reference to one's family member.
• hall - Living Room
• hill station - Mountain resort
• I'll go wash my hands - To wash one's hands
• loose motion - diarrhoea
• marketing - Shopping (e.g. "... has gone marketing" to mean "... has gone to the market to buy groceries.")
• mess - A dining hall, especially used by students at a dormitory. 'Mess' is also used in reference to eateries catering primarily to a working class population. Originated from the military term of similar meaning.
• mostly - "Most probably" or "possibly".
• on the anvil - Often used in the Indian press to mean something is about to appear or happen. For example, a headline might read "New roads on the anvil".
• out of - 100 percent (e.g. "He got out of on his maths exam").
• out of station - "Out of town". This phrase has its origins in the posting of army officers to particular 'stations' during the days of the East India Company.
• pant - 'Trousers'
• pass out - Graduating, as in "I passed out of the university in 1995". In American/British English, this usage is limited to graduating out of military academies.
• pindrop silence - Extreme silence (quiet enough to hear a pin drop).
• prepone - To bring something forward in time. As opposed to postpone.
• railway station - Invariably used, whereas "train station" or just "station" is more popular in some BrE.
• redressal - Reparation, redress, remedy
• shift - To relocate (e.g. "He shifted from Jaipur to Gurgaon".)
• stepney - Spare tyre. The word is a genericized trademark originating from the Stepney Spare Motor Wheel, itself named after Stepney Street, in Llanelli, Wales.
• Tell me - A phrase to start the main conversation after initial pleasantries or greetings have been exchanged.
• tight slap - "Hard slap".
• time-pass - 'Doing something for leisure but with no intention or target/satisfaction', procrastination, pastime.
• time-waste - Something that is a waste of time; procrastination. Presumably not even useful for leisure.
• under scanner Often used in the Indian press to mean something is being investigated by authorities. For example, a headline might read "Power station under scanner for radiation".
• wheatish (complexion) - Light, creamy brown, or having a light brown complexion.
• Where are you put up? - 'Where are you currently staying?' In BrE, "to put someone up" means to let someone stay in one's house for a few days.
• Where do you stay? - 'Where do you live?' or 'Where's your house?'. This is also used in Scottish and South African English, and in the African American dialect of English in the United States.