Practical sentences - what we may need while associating with Sadhus

While associating with Vaishnavas there comes "everyday" situations, where we need to say something in Bengali. I had many such situations last time at Radhakunda. Only towards the end of our trip I started studying Bengali and could somehow express myself sometimes.

I thought we could post here questions like: "How do I ask where is the kirtan tonight?" "How do I say that I already gave all my money away?" etc.

Someone comes to me asking me to sit down and take prasada in an ongoing feast, but I have already taken part of that. So, how do I say: "I have already taken prasada." Or "They served me already."

(This happened too many times. )

where is the kirtan tonight?

> In bengali it should be

Aaj raate kirtan kothay hobey?

Aaj -> today
raate -> (night) :: together : aaj raate -> tonight
kirtan Kothay hobey ? -> Where kirtan will take place.

Kothay -> where
Hobey ( future tense) -> will take place or will occur
together :: Kothay Hobey -> Where will happen or where will take place.

Remember these are in Chalt bengali ;

In Sadhu Bengali it will be :

Ajike ratri te kirtan kothay hoibey ?

Sadhu Chalit
Ajike Ajke
ratri te rate
kothay kothay ( same in sadhu and chalit)
hoibey hobey

I already gave all my money away.

Chalit:
Ami aagei amar sob taka diye diyechi

Ami -> I
aagei -> already or before
amar sob taka-> all my money ( amar -> mine , sob -> all , taka -> money)

"Amar" can be used to mean either 'my' or 'mine':
For example :
my money => amar taka
friend of mine => amar bandhu

"I have already taken prasada."

purA hoyeche (I am full) or: prasAd peye geche (Prasad has been taken)

How do I ask where is the kirtan tonight?"

Aj rAter kIrtan kothAy hobe?

"How do I say that I already gave all my money away?"

AmAr samasta tAkA poisA dewA holo or:

poisA bAki nAi (no paise left)

tumi AmA cheye ek minute Age chile!

You were just one minute after me

Dear Advaita,

What you wrote that is also correct. That will be good enough for the beginners or in Vraja, maybe that's the style. I just wanted to give the correct way of saying. Then it's up to the speaker whatever he/she can express to make people understand.



Ami prasAd peye gechi/AmAr prasAd pAoyA Agei hoye geche|



AmAr samasta TAkA-paysA deoyA hoye giyeche (geche); AmAr sab TAkA-paysA phuriye giyeche/AmAr kache Ar kono TAkA-paysA nei|

For "purA hoyeche (I am full) " Advaita das ji has given the version generally used in gaudiya Vaishnava matha and whch is advisable etiquette.
When we are in matha then certain expression should be changed like that.

Actually it will be "puran hoyeche" . As it is not advisable in Matha when we have already taken enough prasanda to say "I do not want more" instead we should tell "Puran hoyeche".

I have not learned Bangla from books or at college, I just heard it from the sadhus. I suppose you could call it 'colloquial sadhu bhasha' . When you are in Rome speak as the Romans .

Advitiya, it would be good to teach the proper pronunciation too, as there is a wide gap between spelling and pronunciation in Bangla. f.i. paysA is hindi pronunciation but Bengalis says poisA, and pAoyA is spelled correctly but pronounced as pAwA.
accha, ekhon Ami barang chup koriyA thAki. What is a better Bengali teacher than a jAta bAngAlI? Two jAta bAngAlIs!

With regards to phonetic spelling, the problem is that for someone without a broad vocabulary (and hence lots of options to guess the right one from) it is sometimes tremendously hard to figure out what a certain word might be, should you have to look it up in the dictionary for instance.

Is not the same learning curve there when you try to pronounce it correctly from Bengali script?

The fast track learning process is to join Bengalis, hear from them, speak with them (however scary and potentially embarrassing that may be in the beginning) and do lots of deduction while hearing. I even wonder if it is possible to learn Bengali in any other way. We are now just speaking of spelling and pronunciation, not even about style....
Dictionaries wont help you with style, though I dont claim that dictionaries are useless altogether.

During my last month at Radha-kunda, I went through some intense Bengali learning experiences with some kind mahatmas who had a lot to say but who woudn't speak a word of English. Admittedly I learned in that time more in terms of "getting it going" than I ever did with all those books. The pressure of a very concrete need for interaction, or some degree of comprehension at least, whacks you over the head and you just have to start understanding. You don't get that with all those books...

Dive into the pool without a swimming diploma. You'll either swim or drown. Similarly, just mixing with Bengalis and conversing with them, carefully listening to them, is the fast track process. Active use of a language - speaking and writing - is always tougher than passive use - hearing and reading. Especially speaking.

I agree fully with Advaita Das ji. It is better for any language try to converse with the natives. Spacially for Benagali it will be a steaper learnign curve. Parallely we should be familiar with basic script. Once you are comfortable in speaking bengali to some extent , then reading bengali script and writings would be lot easiler as in this process knowledge gatherd during the learning process of spoken english will help in constructing small bengali sentence and writing those using script.

In my personal case, I began by learning the script first and then proceeded with the 'practise' part of the course by entering the arena of conversation. Is there anyone out there who learned Bengali the other way around, the way Dasanudas described?

I had many interesting students through out my life here in Canada.

While teaching Bengali, the student said, "I'll choose a rainy day to start my script. Just let me hear how it sounds for now".

Another person came to learn Sanskrit but did not want to learn the grammar. "Just let me drink the nectar", he said. A devotee, of course!

In my case my learning started like this: I spent four months at Radhakunda. In the beginning I didn't even know how to say "yes" and "no" in Bengali. Then one kind Vaishnava started to talk to us in Bengali, although he knew that we didn't understand. I just felt how enthusiastically he was explaining something about bhajana and giving some advice to us also. At that point my enthusiasm to learn Bengali started.

Day after day we could listen to this Vaishnava's Krishna-katha, he was very slowly and patiently speaking to us, and repeating many times if necessary. Slowly I started to understand his speaking. And at the end of our four-month stay at Radhakunda, I could understand maybe 90% of his speaking. And could also express myself a little.

During our stay at Radhakunda, we also had the wonderful association of Jagadanandaji, and he taught me some "practical sentences" and answered my many questions. He also engouraged me to speak my first Bengali sentence to my Guruji. (I felt very shy there but forced myself to speak)

After I came back from Radhakunda, I studied from a book the letters, and can now read and write. (Only printed text so far, no handwriting)

And now our Advitiya has been very kindly helping me to learn Bengali properly. She is making me learn 100 times faster then I could learn from any book.

Many thanks to her!

-Malati

I've neither lived in matha nor did I live with sadhus!

Ami nA korechi sAdhu-saGga, nA thekechi maThe!
thAkibo ki sub-forum -e tAhA bhAbi mane ||

adhik sannyAsI -te gAjan naSTa!

I had already spent a couple of years doing Sanskrit when I started Bengali, so that was a great advantage. When I learned I was coming to India, I picked up a "How to learn Bengali" book of sorts and started learning the script. This was on the plane coming over. When I landed in Mayapur, I knew the most important Bengali sentence for anyone learning the language--eTA ki ? "What's this?"

The first thing I did was pick up an English/Bengali dictionary in Srivas Angan Road and started looking up words.

I think there are many devotees, who want to learn Bengali. Some of them are studying already and want to learn it properly. But not everybody has the time or energy to start learning a new language. Still they would like to know some useful sentences as a "first-aid", when needed.

So, here is a few more:

"How can I help you?"

"Please forgive my offences."

"It is possible by your mercy alone!"

How can I help you?

Ami ( I ) apnake ( you ) kibhabe ( How ) sahajya ( help) korte pari ( can ) ?

"Please forgive my offences"

Doya kore ( please ) amar ( Mine) ApaRaDh ( offence) Kshoma Korben ( forgive)?


It is possible by your mercy alone.

Apnar ( your) kripa ( mercy) dwara ( by) eta ( this ) samBhav ( is possible).

Thank you!

And then similar sentences in a little different way:

"Can you help me?"

"Have I commited some offence?"

"I am in great need of your mercy!"

Can you help me? AmAke sAhAjya korte pAren ?

Can you do me a favor ? AmAr ekTA kAj korte pAren ?

Have I committed some offence ? AmAr kono aparAdh Ache ki ?

I haven't committed an offence, have I? AmAr kono aparAdh nei to?

Please don't take offense (but...). Kono aparAdh neben nA, (kintu...)

I am in great need of your mercy: ApnAr kripA AmAr boro prayojan. ApnAr kripA AmAr khub dorkar. ApnAr kripA chArA Ami bAnchi nA.

bhavat-kRpA-vihInas tu na pArayAmi jIvitum |
tava kRpAM vinA so'haM na dhArayAmi jIvitaM ||

premadaM ca me kAmadaM ca me
vedanaM ca me vaibhavaM ca me |
jIvanaM ca me jIvitam ca me
daivataM ca me deva nA param ||

Jagatji, I like the way you gave different options to the sentences.

I am thinking that later when we have lots of sentences here, we can organize them somehow and make a small booklet, which can be downloaded and printed. Then devotees, who don't know Bengali yet and are travelling to Vraja or Bengal, can take that with them.

Some more on "prasada topic":

"I am allergic to that."

"This gives trouble to my stomach."

"This was very delicious!"

"I usually eat very little, therefore I cannot take that much!"

"Please give me more sweet rice!" (when asked what you want more)

Some polite expressions:

"You are very kind!"

"Nobody has ever been so kind to me."

"It was very kind that you did it/this for me."

"You shouldn't have done it for my sake."

Some more on "prasada topic":

"I am allergic to that."

ote AmAr “allergy” Ache| oTA AmAr sahYa (sajjha) hay nA|

"This gives trouble to my stomach."

ete AmAr peTer asubidhA/asubidhe hay / eTA AmAr hajam korte asubidhA/asubidhe hay|

"This was very delicious!"

eTA khub svAder chilo/hoyechilo/ eTA atyanta susvAdu hoyechilo/

"I usually eat very little, therefore I cannot take that much!"

Ami alpAhArI/Ami sAdhAraNataH alpa khAi| atoTA AmAr lAgbe nA/ AmAke atoTA deben nA/Ami atoTA nebo nA/Ami atoTA khAbo nA/Ami atoTA khete pArbo nA|

"Please give me more sweet rice!" (when asked what you want more) –

(dayA kore) AmAy Ar ekTu miSTAnna/pAyes din/AmAke Ar ekTu miSTAnna dite pAren/Ami Ar ekTu miSTAnna nite pAri|

Some polite expressions:

"You are very kind!"

Apni baDo (baro) dayAlu/ApnAr baro dayA|

"Nobody has ever been so kind to me."

AmAr prati eto dayAlu keu hayni/ AmAr prati eto dayA keu dekhAyni|

"It was very kind that you did it/this for me."

ApnAr baDo (baro) dayA je AmAr janya (jonno) Apni eTA (ei kAjTA) korlen/ Apni dayA-parabaz (-parabash) hoye AmAr janya eTA korlen|

"You shouldn't have done it for my sake."

AmAr janya ApnAr etA karA ucit hayni/AmAr janya ApnAke eTA korte hoto nA |

Isn't that usually called khIr (kSIra?)? Thanks for taking the trouble to answer!

Speaking of which, what are the customary "Thanks" and "You're welcome" that blend well into Gaudiya culture?

Sweet Rice 's actual translation is miSTAnna (mista + anna) . But some times mistanna may mean any Sweet also (like Rosogolla, Sandesh etc. )

Also sweet rice may be of different preparation. Some times it may be polao or fired rice mixed with sweet. So according to the menu it should be called. In general in the context of prasadam it will be better to refer as "Pushpanna" which may fit well in Matha/Asrama context.

Khir is not Sweet Rice. Khir is made of of pure Milk without any rice.

Preparation of Milk with Rice is called Payesham or simply payesh as Advitiya ji mentioned.

Yes indeed, pushpanna is a whole other preparation. I think Malati was referring to sweet rice as in the preparation with rice in thick, sweet milk. At least, that's the thing she usually wants more.

That isn't khir? I have very vivid memories from Radha-kunda of devotees running up and down the rows with big buckets of this preparation, calling out "khIr, khIr".

I donot know what was that Item? Is it prepared only from milk and sweet? Actually khir is prepared by thickening milk with sugar. No rice is mixed with that. If rice is mixed then that is called Payesham.

paramanna

yadi sambhab hoy AmAke rAsi rAsi paramanna den

If possible, please give me heaps and heaps of sweet rice.

and they might say;

Ara ki lAgbe?

what else would you like?

you can say;

Ara kichu cAi nA. or Ara kichu lagbe na

I don't want anything else .

Nothing else is required.

ekone ashchi -just now coming

ashun - kindly enter
boshun - kindly be seated

ei - this (close)
yei - that (distant)

(good for asking questions-)

ei gari? yei gari? - this car? that car?

jani - know
jani na - don't know

ek du tin char pach choy shat aaht noy dosh egaro baro tero... (?)

note the Bangla counting suffix: -ta

eg: ekta shomoy, tinta beguni, pachta ghanta, ekta thakka,

I learnt by hearing, not reading, in a very patchy way 20 yrs ago.
Bangla mahashayajis please parikya debo.

Doya koro.

Interesting construction:

kichu - 'little' (amount of thing, but note 'alpa bangla jani' not 'kichu bangla...')

kichu kichu - very small amount (eg. of prasad)

kichu na - 'not (even?) little' ie - nothing at all!

also:

ami alpa bangla jani - I know a little Bengali.

ami alpalpa bangla jani - I know almost no Bengali at all!

Very good braja mohanji.

ar beguni-prasad lagve, kripa koro.

ami kub-bhalo lagi!

also, ami potal kub-bhalo lagi. (potal sabji) jingha sabji bhalo lage(i?) na.




translation:

(ami) bhalo lagi - I like it/this.

kub bhalo lagi - I like it very much.

bhalo lage na - I do not like it.

kub bhalo lage na - I very much dislike it.

potal and jinga - 2 types of gourd sabji, very common in Bangla-khanna.

Of course, Madanmohanji! How can I forget? That's the right word. miSTAnna is more jAgatik( for daily use) transforms into "paramAnna" (pAramArthik) while it's prepared as an offering. Now I remember what my mother used to say.

The same thing is with hAlwA or sooji. We call it as "mohan-bhog" when prepared for offering.



You are right too, Madhava! In Vrindavan they might say it as "khIr". In Hindi, they say "khIr" the one which is prepared with rice in thick, sweet milk while "khoyA" is the dry form of milk used for preparing other sweets like, rasagullas, sandesh etc.

There are words like "dhanyavAd" and "svAgatam, svAgatam". But nothing beats the word "Gaur haribol" to blend well into Gaudiya culture.

Brings up another question, Advitiyaji.
There is a mix of Hindi in some Bangla even in Bengal I think.

For example, uppar/niche, are these Bangla or a Hindi borrowing?

Bengali and Hindi are both derived from Sankskrit. So there are many similarities in word. Pure hindi ( without urdu infulence) almost same as pure Bengali ( in terms of word, obviously verbs are different). Also there is difference in pronounciation of same word in bengali and hindi. Even within bengal pronounciation of different word are different and depends on the region.

Typical example :

In Nadiya district :

verbs are pronounced as Jaba , Khaba etc ( baba aaj tumi jaba ? Father will you go today?)

Similarly in typical north Calcutta the same word will : Jabo , Khabo etc. ( Aaj aami jaabo. Baab tumi jaabey?)

This will vary even within calcutta also.

Like North Calcuttan will tell: Ami Khelum . Ami gelum . Ami dekhlum ( I eat, I went , I saw etc.)

Where as appropriately it will be Ami khelam, Ami dekhlam etc.

Even the pronuciation in some area of Bangaladesh is beyond our understanding. That is why Mahaprabhu tried to imitate their pronounciation.

At Radhakunda:

Thank you = Radhe Radhe!
You're welcome = Radhe Radhe!
Hi/Hello = Radhe Radhe!
Bye bye = Radhe Radhe!
Good morning = Radhe Radhe!
Good night = Radhe Radhe!
Excuse me = Radhe Radhe!
Can you move a little bit = Radhe Radhe!
Here you go = Radhe Radhe!
Come here = Radhe Radhe!
Nice to see you = Radhe Radhe!
Can you stop for a second = Radhe Radhe!
etc. etc.

We don't actually need to know so many words at Radhakunda...

Unfortunately you can't use Radhe-Radhe to replace verbs or nouns, as you could in Smurf-language.

Radhe Radhe! That is true. And some gestures will do.

On night before Niyam-seva in Dasgosvami samadhi I attended adivas-kirtan. So everyone was sitting in neat rows but I could not see the musicians, including wonderful singer Sri Sakhicharandas Babaji who rarely goes out. So I stood at one side where I could see them. Also my legs are bad and I can't sit on hard floor for long.
But this was not good, apparently, for soon I heard a big voice booming behind me:

'bo-shun!' ('kindly, kindly, take your seat' [or else!])

Though only on my first days of visit after almost 20 yrs absence from India, I instantly knew what was required of me! (It was not forgotten)

achchaaaa!

One very useful sentence:

amar rhog ache.

- I am sick (with fever/cold/flu...).

(rhog/rog?)

The word is "rog".

When you say "AmAr rog Ache", that means you have some kind of disease. You rather say "Ami asustha" which means "I am sick" in general.

Sorry, AdiyenjI! - Ami duHkhita| ekTu bhul-zaMzodhan kore dilAm|

AmAr bhAlo lAge - I like it/this.
AmAr khub bhAlo lAge - I like it very much.

To remember this way of saying a British gentleman who came to learn Bengali said to me, "Oh! So you want to say, it strikes me good"!

Thanks that clarifies my confusion.

Yes, 'Strikes me good' or 'I well like it' perhaps.

When making a phone call, how does one say, "Hello, this is Madhavananda - may I speak with such and such?" And when the person you're after picks up the phone, what's a common opening line? (I mean, besides apni kemon achen and so forth - before that.)

"Jay Nitai / Jay Radhey, Ami Madhavananda bolchi. Ami ki MalatiLata er sathey kotha bolte pari?. ( I am madhavananda speaking , May I speak to Malatilata please?) "

The person who is picking up the phone he may or may not say "Jay Nitai or Jay Radhey" depending on his background. But he will say "Hello , Apni ke bolchen ( who are you u speaking)" this is the general starting of conversation over telephone in bengali.

Something about misunderstanding:


"I wasn't able to express myself correctly in Bengali and therefore I am afraid there has been a misunderstanding."

"Last time I didn't know Bengali yet so well, so I might have misunderstood some things."

"Can I ask you again some questions, because on our last meeting I couldn't understand so much Bengali."

"I wasn't able to express myself correctly in Bengali and therefore I am afraid there has been a misunderstanding."

Ami bAMlAy Thikmato nijeke prakAz karte pAri ni | sutarAM AmAr mane hay ekTu bhul bojhAbujhi hoye giyeche/ sutarAm AmAr mane hay AmAr ekTu bujhte bhul hoyeche|

"Last time I didn't know Bengali yet so well, so I might have misunderstood some things."

gatabAr Ami bAMlA bhAlo jAntAm nA | sutarAM AmAr bojhAr kichu bhul thAkte pAre / sutarAM AmAr bujhte kichu bhul hote pAre|

"Can I ask you again some questions, because on our last meeting I couldn't understand so much Bengali."

Ami ki ApnAke AbAr kichu prazna karte pAri? kAraN AmAder gata sAkSAtkArer samay Ami bAMlA eto bhAlo bujhtAm nA / gatabAr AmAder jakhan dekhA/sAkSAt hay takhan bAMlA AmAr bhAlo jAnA chilo nA|

Didi,
When to use 'prazna' and when to use 'parikza'?

You mean, "parIkSA"? "parIkSA" means "a test, an examination, an experiment, an ordeal" etc. while "prazna" means "a question".

jIbaner prati pade pade AmAder parIkSA | ei parIkSA-saGkul jIbane prati pade AmAder prazna |

Ar kono prazna nei?

Say, you have reached Radhakunda and you want to give that message to Jagatji by telephone instead of sending an e-mail.

As he picks up the phone and says,

Jay Radhe!

-then as you recognise his voice you say -

Jay Radhe! Jagatji! Ami Madhav bolchi|

Are! Madhav! ki khabar? tomrA RadhakuNDe paunche gecho?

hYA~| Aj sakAle -i AmrA Radhakunde ese paunchechi | ApnAke AmAder paunch-saMbAd deoyAr janya –i phone korchi|

khub bhAlo | pathe kono asubidhe hayni to?

nA | kono asubidhe hayni | kebal DillI –te bez kichu-kSaN apekSA korte hoyeche Yugal kizorer AsA parjanta | or Aste ekTu derI hoyeche |

bAbAke AmAr daNDavat jAnio|

hYA~, nizcay –i jAnAbo | AmAder “forum” –er sab sadasyader khabar bhAlo to?

khabarer modhye ei je AmAder AdvitIyA tA~r astropacArer par jeno punarjanma lAbh koreche|

tai nAki? Khub bhAlo khabar| Aj tAhole rAkhi? AbAr Ar ekdin kathA habe|

Thik Ache| Jay rAdhe!

jay rAdhe!

eTA khub sundar phonAlAp hoyeche. bAH.

Today we will put some of these practical sentences into practise!

We will make a phone call to Radhakunda, as one babaji has requested us to call him. Let's see how we make it.

The phone call went well, I think. I was able to use some of the sentences learnt in this thread.

Some sentences with the word most/best:

"I like this place the most."

"I think this is the best association."

"This is the most beautiful Deity I have seen."

"You are the most kind person."

"It couldn't be any better."

How do you politely end a phone call? I mean, not a situation where you want to end it when the other keeps talking on and on, but just closing a normal phone call in a nice manner.

Yes, and how do you say "otherwise"? "I really can't take this, otherwise my stomach will be upset."

"I like this place the most."

ei jAygA AmAr sabceye/atyanta priya |

"I think this is the best association."

AmAr mate ei holo uttam saGga/sabceye bhAlo saGga |

"This is the most beautiful Deity I have seen."

Ami jato bigraha dekhechi tAr madhye ei bigrahaTi holo sabceye sundar/Ami anek bigraha dekhechi| kintu ei bigrahaTi sabceye sundar/eman sundar bigraha Ami Ar kothAo dekhini|

"You are the most kind person."

Apni holen atyanta dayAlu/Apni atyanta dayAlu byakti|

"It couldn't be any better."

er cAite bhAlo Ar kichu hay nA|

Ah! Someone is far behind with his studies! I refer you to go to phonAlAp (post #57).

Last week Ananga phoned me and ended the phone call in a very nice way.
He said, "AmAr ekhan jAoyA darkAr"|

Never say "ekhan chADun nA" unless the other person keeps talking on and on...


“otherwise” means anyathA, natubA and so on. But in this case it can be expressed like this:

Ami satyi_i eTA nite/khete pAri nA | nilei/khelei Amar peTer gaNDagol hay |

"anyathA, natubA" are very good word mainly reserved for bengali sadhu Vasha or literature. But while speaking we can use "NaHoley" for Otherwise.
Write this letter for me, otherwise I will request someone else.
( Amar hoye chithi lekho, NaHoley ami onnya Kauke anurodh korbo).

tA to baTei, tA to baTei |



Let me rewrite the sentence for better understanding:

AmAr hoye ciThi lekho, nA'hole (nA'hale) Ami anya kAuke (anyajanake) anurodh korbo (karaba -for HK conversion).

See what happens if we convert the sentence what Dasanudasji wrote:



আমর্ হোয়ে ছিথি লেখো, ণঃওলেয়্ অমি ওন্ন্য় Kঔকে অনুরোধ্ কোর্বো |

The following sentence is somewhat moderated but not quite right for conversion:



আমার্ হোয়ে চিঠি লেখো, না'হোলে (না'হলে) আমি অন্য় কাউকে (অন্য়জনকে) অনুরোধ্ কোর্বো

For HK conversion the sentence has to be written with the inherent vowel "a and Y for ja-phalA.



আমার হয়ে চিঠি লেখো, না'হলে আমি অন্য কাউকে অনুরোধ করব।

Very good. How I can learn to write like this?

Topic = trouble

"I have a problem."

"I think I have caused some trouble."

"Is there some problem?"

"Is this a problem for you?"

"What is the problem?"

samasyA/asubidhA

"I have a problem."

AmAr ekTA samasyA/asubidhA Ache|

"I think I have caused some trouble."

AmAr mane hay Ami kichu samasyAr/asubidhAr sRSTi korechi [karechi] |

"Is there some problem?"

ote ki kichu samasyA/asubudhA Ache?

"Is this a problem for you?"

eTA ki ApnAr kAche ekTA samasyA/samasyA-janak/asubidhA/asubidhA-janak?

"What is the problem?"

samasyA/asubidhA -TA ki?

Thank you again, Advitiya, for these translations.

This time I would like to inquire about thinking/agreeing etc. as they appear in the midst of conversations.

"I think so."

"I also think like that."

"Yes, I agree."

"I will think about it."

"I will think about it and tell you later."

"I have been thinking.."

"I don't think so."

"I never thought about that."

As you can see, there are a number of ways to say "think" in Bengali--

mone korA, bhAvA, chintA korA. The differences are slight.

dayA kore aparAdh neben nA, Jagatji!

bhAvA = cintA karA

ekTu bheve bolbo/ekTu cintA kore bolbo|

Ami bhAvchilAm/Ami cintA korchilAm|

Some comments that may occur within conversations:


"I don't believe that/you!"

"Is this/that true?"

"I remember this/that."

"Do you remember this/that?"

"I want to know."

"I cannot explain this in Bengali."

How can I say: "Please excuse/forgive me for not writing to you before. I was rather shy"?

Heard this in a film;

kincit vizrAm etAn.

Rest here a while

What are the words "both" and "same" in Bengali?

For example:

Do you always go there at the same time?

Is this the same as that?

It is almost the same.

It is all the time same (temperature, weather, prasad etc.)


I want them both. (when asked do you want this or that)

I mean both of them. (persons)

I was there on both times.

On both sides.

both = dui jan – i / dui –i
same = ek rakam

For example:

Do you always go there at the same time?

Apni/tumi ki sekhAne sab samay ek -i samaye jAn/jAo ?

Is this the same as that?

eTA ki oTAr mato ?/ eTA Ar oTA ki ek -i ?

It is almost the same.

eTa prAy ek -i rakam|

It is all the time same (temperature, weather, prasad etc.)

e sab samay ek -i rakam |

I want them both. (when asked do you want this or that)

Ami oi duToi cAi |

I mean both of them. (persons)

AmAr mate unArA du’janei/unAder dui jan –i/du’jan i |

I was there on both times.

Ami okhAne dui bAr/du’bAr -i chilAm |

On both sides.

dui dike/pAze|

I don't really know how to pronounce this "satyi"?

A similar theme:

"Is this real? (Or a dream)"

"Is this real gold/silk etc.? (or fake)"

"Do you really mean that/are you serious?"

It"s always the same. = boring = ek gheye.

khub satyi kathA | khA~Ti kathA | satyi = khA~Ti |


satyi kathA bolte ki eTA uccAraN karA khub sahaj |

"satyi" Ar "satti" duTo ek -i |


"Both" are "same".

"Is this real? (Or a dream)"

eTA ki satyi nA ki svapna!

"Is this real gold/silk etc.? (or fake)"

eTA ki khA~Ti sonA (gold) nA ki nakal (mekI) sonA?
eTA ki "pure silk"? or eTA ki khA~Ti rezam/rezmI shArI (zAPI)?

"Do you really mean that/are you serious?"

Apni ki satyi tai balen/balte cAn? satyi? Apni ki satyi satyi e kathA balchen?

But now something more serious:

"I thought I was going to die."

"I am fainting."

(One may need these sentences if doing nirjala fast in extreme circumstances.)

Are you expecting me to answer this serious matter before going to Radhakund? I better wait until you reach there.

Ok, I will ask something more neutral.

About the words strong and weak.


"This medicine is very strong."

"He is very strong (physically)."

"He is very strong (spiritually)."

"Radha and Krisna's love (for each other) is very strong."


"His voice is very weak."

"He is very weak (physically)."

"He is very weak (spiritually)."

"I feel very weak."

strong = zakta, kaPA
weak = durbal, naram

"This medicine is very strong."

ei oSudh baPa kaPA |

"He is very strong (physically)."

uni khub zaktizAlI/zakta-samartha |
zarIrer dik theke uni khub zakta |

"He is very strong (spiritually)."

uni adyAtmik dik diye khub zakta |

"Radha and Krisna's love (for each other) is very strong."

rAdhA-kRSNer pArasparik prem atyanta dRPha |

"His voice is very weak."

unAr/ta~r galAr AoyAj /kaNTha-svar khub/atyanta Aste/naram/mRdu |

"He is very weak (physically)."

zArirIk dik diye/zarIrer dik theke uni atyanta/khub durbal |
unAr zarIr khub durbal |

"He is very weak (spiritually)."

uni adyAtmik dik diye khub durbal |

"I feel very weak."

AmAr khub durbal lAgche/Ami khub durbal bodh karchi |

Sorry, Gaurasundar! Ami khub duHkhita | I just noticed that this was not answered.

ApnAke Age nA lekhAr janya (jonna) dayA kore AmAke kSamA (khamA) karben| Ami ekTu lajjA bodh karchilAm (korchilAm)|

etAn?
"ekhon" or "ekhAne" perhaps.

"Rest here a while."

ekhAne ekTu (kincit) vizrAm (bizrAm) korun |


Aj ekhAnei virati (birati)/ samApti / iti ||

আজ এখানেই বিরতি/সমাপ্তি/ইতি |

I think the sentense is Sanskrt so etAn means over here huh?

Some questions about sentences of the structure "by doing something".


"By seeing a Vaishnava my eyes are purified."

"By hearing Krishna-katha my ears are purified."

"By being here my heart is satisfied."

Malatilata! We don't want you to leave being unanswered.

"By seeing a Vaishnava my eyes are purified."

ekjan vaiSNav -ke (baishnab –ke) dekhe AmAr cokh duTo pavitra holo/vaiSNav–darzane AmAr nayan holo pavitra|

"By hearing Krishna-katha my ears are purified."

krishna-kathA zune Amar kAn duTo pabitra holo/krishna-kathA zravaNe AmAr kAn holo pavitra |

"By being here my heart is satisfied."

ekhAne theke AmAr hRday holo paritRpta |

Thank you so much for answering all my endless questions. I hope others have benefitted too.

ekhan, ek ghaNTAr par Ami airport-e jAbo | Ar 24 ghaNTAr par Ami vaiSNaver ebaM rAdhAkuNDer darzan pAibo | takhan AmAr nayan pabitra hobo||

Radhe Radhe!

tomAr jAtrA zubha hok, tomAr darzan sArthak hok - ei kAmanA kari |

তোমার যাত্রা শুভ হোক্, তোমার দর্শন সার্থক হোক্ - এই কামনা করি।