LexBrew
Vol. 11 · Indian English200 entries

Indian English, documented.

A variety, not a set of mistakes. Prepone, batchmate, and timepass are in the OED; lakh and crore are the working units of Indian business writing. Others — do the needful, out of station, kindly intimate — read as archaic abroad but are standard here. The list is grouped by register; the ones that travel internationally are marked.

32 travel cleanly into international English

Office & correspondence

Words that appear in Indian emails and memos every day — some (prepone, batchmate) have left the subcontinent; others (revert, do the needful) read as archaic abroad.

  • "Pass-out" (batch marker)

    Regional

    A noun form for a graduation cohort — "I am a 2018 pass-out."

    Elsewhere I'm a 2018 graduate, Class of 2018.
    Origin Derived from the "passing out" verb. Common in Indian CVs and LinkedIn bios; rarely seen elsewhere.
  • Batch

    Regional

    A cohort — a graduating class, a hiring class, a training group.

    Elsewhere Class, cohort, intake, year.
    Origin Standard English "batch" (a set produced together) extended in IE to people: "batch of 2015," "senior batch." Widely used in alumni networks and corporate onboarding.
  • Client-side

    Regional

    Working at the client's premises rather than the vendor's — often onsite abroad.

    Elsewhere "At the client" (general); "on the client's floor."
    Origin Services-industry shorthand. Note: in global software usage, "client-side" means the browser — context disambiguates.
  • CTC

    Regional

    Cost to company — total employer spend per employee, including benefits, bonus, PF, and gratuity.

    Elsewhere Total compensation; "total rem."
    Origin HR shorthand. Indian offer letters quote CTC; in the US, offers are typically base + bonus + equity.
  • Do the needful

    Regional

    Please take whatever action is required — the speaker trusts you to know what it is.

    Elsewhere Please take care of it, handle the necessary steps.
    Origin Victorian British bureaucratese that stayed in Indian clerical English after it faded in the UK. Common in Indian email; reads as archaic elsewhere.
  • EMI

    Regional

    Equated monthly instalment — the fixed loan-repayment figure.

    Elsewhere Monthly payment, loan instalment.
    Origin Accounting term from post-independence Indian banking. Credit card and loan advertising in India foregrounds "No Cost EMI"; Western financial English generally uses "monthly payment."
  • Fresher

    Regional

    A new graduate entering the job market; a first-year college student.

    Elsewhere Recent graduate, entry-level hire, freshman.
    Origin British university "fresher" retained and extended. IT companies run "fresher drives"; LinkedIn profiles read "fresher seeking opportunity." The US "freshman" never took root.
  • Full and final

    Regional

    The final settlement on leaving a job — last salary, leave encashment, gratuity, minus any dues.

    Elsewhere Final settlement, last pay.
    Origin HR-department jargon. "When will my full-and-final be credited?" is the classic ex-employee question.
  • Godown

    Regional

    A warehouse.

    Elsewhere Warehouse, storage facility.
    Origin From Malay *gudang* (warehouse) via Portuguese trade. Entered Indian English in the 17th century and became the standard warehousing term.
  • Hike

    Regional

    A pay raise — or, by extension, any increase in salary or fare.

    Elsewhere "Raise" (US); "increase" (neutral).
    Origin British-origin verb ("hike a price") reshaped as a noun in Indian English. "What hike did you get?" is a standard office question.
  • Increment

    Regional

    An annual raise — the standard yearly pay hike.

    Elsewhere "Raise" (US), "pay rise" (UK).
    Origin British-origin office English that has fallen out of use abroad but survives strongly in India. "Appraisal and increment" is a single calendar event.
  • MNC job

    Regional

    A job at a multinational corporation — used as a category in its own right.

    Elsewhere Corporate job, private-sector job.
    Origin Indian-English category dating from the 1990s liberalisation, when MNCs became employers of choice. Contrasts with sarkari naukri and startup.
  • Notice period

    Regional

    The weeks or months an employee must work after resigning — often 60 or 90 days in Indian contracts.

    Elsewhere Notice (UK, weeks); two-weeks' notice (US).
    Origin Contractual term. Indian notice periods are unusually long; "buying out notice" (paying to leave earlier) is standard.
  • Offshore

    Regional

    Working from the Indian delivery centre — the default home base for IT-services staff.

    Elsewhere "Offshore" abroad usually means finance/tax havens; in Indian IT, it means the home office.
    Origin Pair-word to onsite. "Onsite-offshore model" is the two-location IT delivery template.
  • Onsite

    Regional

    A deputation to the client's country — working abroad, usually USA, UK, or EU.

    Elsewhere "Going onsite" has no close Western equivalent; it's a category in IT services.
    Origin IT-services vocabulary. Indian outsourcing firms structured careers around "offshore" and "onsite" rotations.
  • Opening batsman (fig.)

    Regional

    A point person sent first to handle a difficult task — from cricket.

    Elsewhere Point person, first responder, fall guy.
    Origin Cricketing metaphor naturalised in Indian business English. Many cricket terms ("on the back foot," "bowled over") are idiom there before they're idiom anywhere else.
  • Out of station

    Regional

    Out of town, travelling, away from one's usual posting.

    Elsewhere Out of town, travelling, away.
    Origin From British colonial military/administrative usage — a "station" was an officer's posting. The phrase died in the UK but stayed alive in Indian office and personal correspondence.
  • Peon

    Regional

    An office runner — fetches files, serves tea, delivers documents between rooms.

    Elsewhere Office assistant, runner.
    Origin Portuguese *peão* (foot-soldier), through Anglo-Indian usage. Now a formal designation in government offices with a pay scale.
  • Prepone

    Travels

    To reschedule to an earlier time — the natural antonym of postpone.

    Elsewhere Move up, bring forward, reschedule earlier.
    Origin Coined in Indian English by back-formation from "postpone" — pre- + -pone. Entered the OED in 2001. Now travels into international business English.
  • Revert

    Regional

    To reply, respond, or get back to someone.

    Elsewhere Reply, get back to, follow up. In US/UK English "revert" means only "return to a previous state."
    Origin Calque on "revert back" as shorthand for "return with a response." Standard in Indian office correspondence since at least the 1970s.
  • Take-home

    Regional

    Net monthly salary after tax and deductions — what actually reaches the bank account.

    Elsewhere Net pay, take-home pay.
    Origin Indian-English noun use. Conversation pivots from CTC ("lakh per annum") to take-home ("per month") when reality check is needed.
  • Updation

    Regional

    The act of updating — a nominalisation used in Indian technology and office writing.

    Elsewhere Update (as a noun), updating.
    Origin Indian English readily derives abstract nouns with -tion even where other Englishes don't ("preponement," "upgradation"). Standard in Indian tech documentation.
  • Xerox (as a verb)

    Regional

    To photocopy.

    Elsewhere Photocopy, copy.
    Origin Genericisation of the Xerox brand. Common in Indian office speech; the US retreated from it after trademark-holders pushed back.

Formal & civil register

Preserved from Victorian English and Indic courtesy — still standard in Indian journalism, legal writing, and hospitality; usually worth translating for international readers.

  • "Intimate" as a verb

    Regional

    To notify or inform officially — "kindly intimate us of your decision."

    Elsewhere Notify, inform, let us know.
    Origin Archaic 16th-century English sense preserved in Indian legal and office correspondence. Reads as formal-to-archaic elsewhere.
  • Aangan

    Regional

    An open central courtyard within a traditional home — the social hub of a haveli or family house.

    Elsewhere Courtyard; the cultural weight doesn't translate.
    Origin Hindi *āṅgan*. Classical north-Indian architecture organised houses around the aangan — rooms opened onto it.
  • Bandh

    Regional

    A general strike or enforced shutdown — shops close, transport stops.

    Elsewhere General strike, shutdown, hartal.
    Origin Hindi/Bengali *band* "closed." Politically distinct from a hartal (voluntary) — a bandh is often enforced by the calling party. Standard in IE news copy.
  • Bearer

    Regional

    A waiter or restaurant server.

    Elsewhere Waiter, server.
    Origin Colonial-era domestic-service English ("bearer" as a male attendant). IE kept the word for restaurant staff after "waiter" took over in the West. Now dated but still recognised.
  • Bride-seeing

    Regional

    A formal family visit in which a prospective groom and his relatives meet a prospective bride.

    Elsewhere No close equivalent — somewhere between "meet the family" and "arranged first meeting."
    Origin Literal translation of the corresponding term in several Indian languages. Matrimonial practice supplies the word; diaspora arranged-marriage practice keeps it in circulation.
  • Chakka jam

    Regional

    A traffic-blockade protest — vehicles parked across a road to prevent movement.

    Elsewhere "Roadblock protest."
    Origin Hindi *chakkā* (wheel) + *jām* (jam). A common farmers' or unions' tactic on national highways.
  • Convent-educated

    Regional

    Educated at a Christian missionary school — typically with English as the medium of instruction.

    Elsewhere Private school, English-medium school.
    Origin Another matrimonial-ad staple. Signals English fluency and middle-class background; used neutrally, not as a religious claim.
  • Dharna

    Regional

    A sit-in protest, especially one outside a public building.

    Elsewhere Sit-in protest, picket.
    Origin Hindi *dharnā* "to hold firmly." Historically included fasting-at-the-door of a wrongdoer. Modern IE uses it for any sustained seated protest.
  • Eve-teasing

    Regional

    Public sexual harassment of women by men.

    Elsewhere Street harassment, public sexual harassment.
    Origin Indian English euphemism — "Eve" for woman, "teasing" as a softening. Critics have argued it minimises the behaviour; it remains the standard Indian news term.
  • First-class (as a grade)

    Regional

    An undergraduate degree with honours of the highest band — used as a noun ("I got a first-class").

    Elsewhere First-class honours (UK), summa cum laude (US), honours.
    Origin British university classification that Indian universities retained almost verbatim. A "first-class with distinction" is a common résumé phrase.
  • Foreign-returned

    Regional

    Having returned from studying or working abroad — used adjectivally on résumés and matrimonial ads.

    Elsewhere Returned from abroad, recently repatriated.
    Origin Matrimonial-classified register. A compressed adjectival phrase that signals social status in Indian marriage markets.
  • Freeship

    Regional

    A full scholarship; an exemption from fees.

    Elsewhere Full scholarship, fee waiver.
    Origin Indian academic usage; the compound follows the pattern of "friendship," "scholarship." Confusing to outside readers but unambiguous in Indian higher education.
  • Gherao

    Regional

    A protest tactic: surrounding an official and refusing to let them leave until demands are met.

    Elsewhere No English equivalent — "sit-in" misses the coerced-confinement element.
    Origin Hindi *gherāo* (encirclement). Associated with Bengal trade-union politics from the 1960s onward.
  • Hall ticket

    Regional

    The admission card required to sit for a board or university exam.

    Elsewhere Exam admit card, exam ticket.
    Origin Examination-hall admission document. The hall ticket carries candidate number, photo, and centre; losing it is a minor campus horror story.
  • Hartal

    Travels

    A general strike — shops and offices shut down in protest.

    Elsewhere General strike, shutdown.
    Origin Gujarati *haṛtāl* (closure). Popularised by Gandhi as a non-violent protest form.
  • Hill station

    Regional

    A mountain resort town, often a cool-climate retreat from the plains.

    Elsewhere Mountain town, hill resort.
    Origin British colonial administrative term — a "station" at altitude where officials went to escape summer heat. The word stayed; Shimla and Ooty are archetypal hill stations.
  • Joint family

    Regional

    A household with multiple generations and brothers' families living together.

    Elsewhere Extended family, multigenerational household.
    Origin Direct English rendering of a South Asian arrangement; the compound marks it as a social category, not a casual description.
  • Kindly

    Regional

    Please — often used where British English would say "please" and American English would say nothing at all.

    Elsewhere Please, could you.
    Origin Borrowed from Victorian English politeness registers; preserved in Indian formal and civil-service writing long after its retreat in the UK.
  • Lakh / crore

    Travels

    Indian numbering units — 1 lakh = 100,000; 1 crore = 10,000,000 (= 100 lakh).

    Elsewhere 100,000 (hundred thousand); 10,000,000 (ten million).
    Origin Sanskrit *lakṣa* and *koṭi*. Used unambiguously in Indian English news, finance, and government; required reading for anyone reporting on Indian economy.
  • Lathi

    Regional

    A long bamboo or metal-bound stick, especially as carried by police.

    Elsewhere Baton, truncheon, nightstick.
    Origin Hindi *lāṭhī*. "Lathi-charge" — a baton charge by police — is a standard news-headline verb in IE English.
  • Lathi charge

    Regional

    Police use of bamboo staves to disperse a crowd.

    Elsewhere "Baton charge" (UK).
    Origin Hindi *lāṭhī* (stave) + charge. The tactic and the word are inherited from colonial-era riot policing.
  • Marriageable

    Regional

    Of an age considered appropriate for marriage.

    Elsewhere Of marriage age, ready to marry.
    Origin British English that fell out of fashion in the UK but is alive in Indian family and news writing.
  • Matriculation

    Regional

    The 10th-standard school-leaving examination.

    Elsewhere 10th grade / GCSE / Year 10 exams.
    Origin From the British university sense of "matriculation" (admission exam). Indian education kept the word and attached it to the 10th-grade board examination — "passed matric" is a full sentence in IE.
  • Morcha

    Regional

    A protest march, usually ending at a government office with a list of demands.

    Elsewhere "March," "protest march."
    Origin Hindi *morchā* (front, battlefield). Still a formal form of political protest, different from a rally or dharna.
  • Mother tongue

    Travels

    One's first language.

    Elsewhere First language, native language, L1.
    Origin Standard English phrase retained more actively in IE, where every census asks for it and most schools teach in a language other than it. The term has sociolinguistic weight here.
  • Native place

    Regional

    One's ancestral hometown or village — often different from where one lives.

    Elsewhere Hometown, where you're from, ancestral village.
    Origin Preserved from colonial-era administrative English ("native of Bombay, native place Surat"). IE retains it as the natural answer to "where are you from?" when the speaker lives elsewhere.
  • Panchayat

    Regional

    A village-level council of elected representatives — or, informally, a neighbourhood meeting to settle a dispute.

    Elsewhere Parish council (loosely); no exact equivalent.
    Origin Sanskrit *pañcāyat* (body of five). Constitutionally recognised as the lowest tier of rural self-government (73rd Amendment, 1992).
  • Passing out

    Regional

    Graduating from a college, academy, or training programme.

    Elsewhere Graduating. In US/UK English "passing out" means fainting.
    Origin From British military tradition — cadets "passed out" of academies. Preserved in Indian educational usage; feels archaic or confusing to outside readers.
  • Pradhan

    Regional

    A head or chief — variously, a village head (rural), temple priest (religious), or simply a respectful title.

    Elsewhere "Chief," "head" (context-dependent).
    Origin Sanskrit *pradhāna* (principal). The PM's Hindi title (Pradhan Mantri) uses the same word.
  • Sarpanch

    Regional

    The elected head of a panchayat — the top local-government official for a village or cluster of villages.

    Elsewhere "Village head," "council chair."
    Origin Sanskrit *sarva* (chief) + *pañca* (five). A constitutional office since the 73rd Amendment (1992).
  • Scheme

    Regional

    A government programme, welfare plan, or savings product — neutral, not sinister.

    Elsewhere Programme, plan, initiative; US English "scheme" implies plotting.
    Origin British administrative English preserved. "The Scheme" in a ministry context is a specific policy instrument; US readers hear "scam," but no such overtone exists in IE usage.
  • STD booth

    Regional

    A shopfront phone booth for making long-distance and international calls, paid by the minute.

    Elsewhere Payphone, call centre (in UK sense).
    Origin STD = Subscriber Trunk Dialling, the British term for long-distance direct dialling. STD booths were ubiquitous in 1990s India; the mobile phone has made them museum pieces.
  • Tehsil

    Regional

    An administrative sub-district — the layer between district and village.

    Elsewhere Subdistrict, county (loose); structures vary.
    Origin Arabic *taḥṣīl* (collection), via Mughal revenue administration. A tehsildar heads one.
  • Viva

    Regional

    An oral examination — usually the final 10–20% of a practical subject's marks.

    Elsewhere Viva voce (formal, rare); oral exam.
    Origin Latin *viva voce* (with the living voice), shortened. Routine in Indian engineering and medical courses; rare in Western undergraduate education.
  • What is your good name?

    Regional

    A polite way of asking someone's name — the "good" is an honorific, not a literal modifier.

    Elsewhere What's your name? May I have your name?
    Origin Calque on Hindi *āpkā śubh nām* (your auspicious name), a formal courtesy. Common in Indian hospitality, reception, and service contexts.
  • Zila

    Regional

    A district — the main unit of local administration, headed by a District Magistrate or Collector.

    Elsewhere District, county.
    Origin Arabic/Urdu *ẓil'a*. Used on government signage, rural-development programme names, and in news.

Everyday speech

Core vocabulary of Indian daily life. Some travel (lakh, crore in finance); some are specific enough to warrant a gloss outside India.

  • Arranged marriage

    Travels

    A marriage negotiated by families — still the statistical norm in India.

    Elsewhere "Matchmaking" covers the process; the institution is absent.
    Origin Indian-English noun phrase. Matrimonial columns and sites (shaadi.com, bharatmatrimony) are built around it.
  • Aunty

    Regional

    Any older woman, whether kin or not — the respectful default address.

    Elsewhere Ma'am, Mrs [name], (sometimes) auntie.
    Origin English "aunty" extended into a generic respectful address for any older woman. South Asian children address the neighbour, the shopkeeper's wife, and the teacher as "aunty."
  • Auto

    Regional

    An auto-rickshaw — a three-wheeled urban taxi.

    Elsewhere Tuk-tuk (SE Asia), three-wheeler, rickshaw.
    Origin Short for "auto-rickshaw." In Indian English, "an auto" is never a car — cars are "cars." The vehicle class is legally distinct.
  • Babu

    Regional

    A clerk or bureaucrat — sometimes respectful, often mocking the bureaucracy.

    Elsewhere Bureaucrat, pen-pusher (derogatory).
    Origin Hindi/Bengali *bābū*, originally a term of respect ("Mr"). Colonial usage narrowed it to the clerical class; "babu culture" now means red-tape bureaucracy.
  • Back side

    Regional

    The rear of a building or object.

    Elsewhere Back, rear, behind.
    Origin Compound that reads idiomatically in Indian English ("enter from back side"). In US English "backside" means buttocks.
  • Bai

    Regional

    The household help — cleans, cooks, or does both, usually a daily-wage employee.

    Elsewhere "Maid" (loss of respectful Marathi register); "housekeeper" (loose).
    Origin Marathi *bāī* (woman). Mumbai-centric usage for domestic worker; north India prefers "kaamwali" or "didi."
  • Batchmate

    Travels

    Someone from the same graduating class, academy cohort, or training batch.

    Elsewhere Classmate, cohort-mate, same-year colleague.
    Origin Common in Indian academic and civil-service usage, especially where "batches" of officers are trained together. The OED added it in 2019.
  • Bathroom

    Regional

    Room with toilet and often a shower — in India, even if there's no bath, it's still the "bathroom."

    Elsewhere "Bathroom" (US, identical); "toilet" / "loo" (UK, where bathroom means with a bath).
    Origin US English convention prevailed in India. The British "toilet" sounds crude to many Indian English speakers.
  • Bed tea

    Regional

    The small cup of tea served in bed first thing in the morning — often before brushing teeth.

    Elsewhere No equivalent; the practice itself is less common outside the subcontinent.
    Origin Colonial Anglo-Indian household routine that became a middle-class norm. Hill-station hotels still offer "bed tea" at a specified time as a standard room service.
  • Bhabhi

    Regional

    Elder brother's wife — also a respectful address to an older sister-in-law or a friend's wife.

    Elsewhere Sister-in-law (loses the age/respect gradient).
    Origin Hindi *bhābhī*. Commonly doubles as a friendly address term in neighbourhoods.
  • Bhaiya

    Regional

    Elder brother — or a polite address to any unrelated man of similar/older age.

    Elsewhere Big brother; "sir" or "mate" (in address).
    Origin Hindi *bhaiyā*. Auto drivers and shopkeepers are routinely addressed as "bhaiya."
  • Brinjal

    Regional

    Aubergine; eggplant.

    Elsewhere Aubergine (UK), eggplant (US).
    Origin Portuguese *berinjela* via Goan cuisine vocabulary. Standard in Indian cookery writing and supermarkets.
  • Bucket bath

    Regional

    Bathing with a bucket of water and a mug — the traditional Indian bath, still common.

    Elsewhere No English equivalent — the showers-everywhere world doesn't need the word.
    Origin Indian-English noun phrase. Water-scarcity arguments for bucket bathing (vs showers) are a perennial debate.
  • Byheart

    Regional

    To memorise (verb). "He byhearted the formula."

    Elsewhere Memorise, learn by heart.
    Origin Backformed verb from the English idiom "to learn by heart." Classrooms across India use it as a single-word verb, complete with tense inflection — a genuine IE innovation.
  • Capsicum

    Regional

    Bell pepper.

    Elsewhere Bell pepper (US), pepper (UK).
    Origin Latin genus name taken up as the everyday culinary word in Indian and Australian English.
  • Cent-percent

    Regional

    One hundred per cent; completely.

    Elsewhere 100 percent, totally, absolutely.
    Origin Calque on the Latin "per centum." IE preserves the older "cent." form where US/UK English has dropped it. Reported in school results and political speeches alike.
  • Century

    Travels

    A batsman's score of 100 or more runs — a career-defining achievement.

    Elsewhere Century (cricket-playing countries).
    Origin Standard cricket term, but India's obsession with personal centuries — driven by Sachin Tendulkar's 100 international centuries — gives it outsized weight.
  • Chaat

    Travels

    A category of tangy, spicy street-food snacks — often topped with chutneys, yogurt, and crispy bits.

    Elsewhere No direct equivalent — "street snack" is approximate.
    Origin Hindi *chāṭnā* (to lick). Pani puri, bhelpuri, sev puri, dahi puri — all chaat.
  • Chacha

    Regional

    Father's younger brother — a kinship term that English "uncle" blurs out.

    Elsewhere Uncle (loses specificity).
    Origin Hindi *chachā*. Indian kinship distinguishes paternal vs maternal, elder vs younger — English uses one word for all four.
  • Chai

    Travels

    Tea — specifically Indian-style milk tea with spices.

    Elsewhere Tea, chai latte (an American coffee-shop term).
    Origin Hindi *chāy* via Mandarin *chá*. "Chai" in Indian English is tea, full stop; US cafés retrained the word to mean a specific spiced variety.
  • Chapati

    Travels

    An unleavened griddle-cooked flatbread — thinner than naan, softer than a paratha.

    Elsewhere Roti, flatbread.
    Origin Hindi *chapātī*, from *chapat* (slap) — the slap of dough between hands. Travels with Indian diaspora cuisine.
  • Chappal

    Regional

    A flat leather or rubber sandal — open-toed, often with a toe-loop.

    Elsewhere Sandals, flip-flops, thongs (Australia).
    Origin Hindi *chappal*. "Remove your chappals" is the standard instruction at temple and home doorways. Kolhapuri and Rajasthani chappals are distinct craft categories.
  • Chowkidar

    Regional

    A night watchman — typically guards a home, office, or society gate after dark.

    Elsewhere Night guard, security guard (limited).
    Origin Hindi *chaukīdār*, from *chaukī* (post). Became a political self-label in 2019 ("Main bhi chowkidar").
  • Class monitor

    Regional

    A student appointed to maintain discipline when the teacher is absent.

    Elsewhere "Class prefect" (UK); "student leader" (loose).
    Origin British-school hierarchy survived in Indian schools — monitor, prefect, head boy/girl.
  • Co-brother

    Regional

    The husband of one's wife's sister — a man whose wife is one's sister-in-law.

    Elsewhere No neat English word; "my wife's sister's husband" or (Yiddish) "machatunim."
    Origin Fills a gap in English kin terms. Drawn from Dravidian kinship vocabulary where such relations are separately named. Standard at South Indian weddings.
  • Coaching

    Regional

    Exam-prep institute-style teaching — IIT-JEE coaching, NEET coaching, UPSC coaching.

    Elsewhere "Test prep" (US); coaching in general usage abroad means sports mentoring.
    Origin An entire industry. Cities like Kota (Rajasthan) are coaching-capitals, with hostels and centres built around exam prep.
  • Colony

    Regional

    A residential neighbourhood or housing complex ("Defence Colony," "Vasant Kunj Colony").

    Elsewhere Neighbourhood, subdivision, housing estate.
    Origin Post-independence Indian urban planning term — "colony" here has no imperial sense, just "planned residential area."
  • Cooker

    Regional

    A pressure cooker — the default kitchen appliance for cooking rice and dal.

    Elsewhere Pressure cooker; "cooker" in the UK means the whole stove.
    Origin Shortened from "pressure cooker." The Indian home kitchen runs on a cooker on the hob; "how many whistles?" is a Hinglish cooking-time question.
  • Cousin-brother / cousin-sister

    Regional

    A male or female cousin — the compound specifies gender and signals the warmth of a sibling-like bond.

    Elsewhere Cousin (and context if gender matters).
    Origin Calque from Indian languages where sibling and cousin terms overlap (e.g. Hindi *bhai*). Fills a specificity gap English otherwise leaves open.
  • Cousin-sister

    Regional

    A female first cousin — parallel to "cousin-brother."

    Elsewhere Cousin (English does not distinguish by sex).
    Origin IE importers of English-language kin terms found them under-specified. "Cousin-sister" and "cousin-brother" name the relation and the sex in one compound.
  • Cover

    Regional

    An envelope, especially for letters or office memos.

    Elsewhere Envelope.
    Origin Postal English sense of "cover" (the envelope around a letter, preserved in philately as "first-day cover") broadened in IE to mean the envelope itself. "Give me a cover" in a stationery shop gets you an envelope.
  • Curd

    Regional

    Plain set yogurt — the everyday side dish in Indian meals.

    Elsewhere Yogurt, plain yogurt.
    Origin British English "curds" (clotted milk) narrowed in IE to the household dish, typically set overnight from warm milk with a starter. Menus list "curd rice," "rice with curd."
  • Cycle rickshaw

    Regional

    A pedalled three-wheeler — one driver in front, two passengers behind.

    Elsewhere "Pedicab," "bike taxi" (urban tourist).
    Origin Compound coined in India as the motorised "auto rickshaw" became default. Still the main transport in many small towns.
  • Dabba

    Regional

    A stacked metal tiffin carrier — three or four tins that clip together for a hot lunch.

    Elsewhere Lunchbox, tiffin carrier.
    Origin Hindi *ḍabbā* (box). In Mumbai, the famous dabbawala system delivers ~200,000 dabbas daily.
  • Dabbawala

    Travels

    A lunchbox courier — collects home-cooked food from suburbs and delivers to offices.

    Elsewhere Meal-delivery worker.
    Origin Hindi *ḍabbā* (box) + *wālā* (one who). The Mumbai dabbawala network dates to 1890 and is studied at Harvard Business School for its low error rate.
  • Dal

    Travels

    Split pulses cooked into a lentil stew — a staple across Indian cuisines.

    Elsewhere Lentils, lentil soup; Western menus often just write "dal."
    Origin Sanskrit *dāl*, "to split." "Dal-chawal" (dal with rice) is shorthand for comfort food. Travels into international menus unchanged.
  • Dhobi

    Regional

    A washerman — picks up laundry weekly, returns it pressed and folded.

    Elsewhere "Laundry service"; the trade is organised differently abroad.
    Origin Hindi *dhobī*. Dhobi ghats (washing enclosures) are still operational in Mumbai and other cities.
  • Dickey

    Regional

    The boot of a car — the rear cargo compartment.

    Elsewhere Boot (UK), trunk (US).
    Origin British dialectal "dickey" for a rear folding seat on a carriage, later applied to the rumble seat on early cars. IE kept the word after the rumble seat disappeared.
  • Didi

    Regional

    Elder sister — or a respectful term for any older young woman.

    Elsewhere Big sister; "miss" (in address).
    Origin Bengali/Hindi *dīdī*. "Didi" is also used for household help, female shopkeepers, and strangers on the street.
  • Doosra

    Travels

    A spinner's variation that turns the other way from the standard off-break.

    Elsewhere Doosra (now universal in cricket).
    Origin Hindi *dūsrā* (the other). Invented and named by Saqlain Mushtaq in the late 1990s.
  • Duck

    Travels

    Being dismissed in cricket for zero runs — "he was out for a duck."

    Elsewhere Duck (cricket worldwide).
    Origin "Duck's egg" (zero shaped like an egg). First used in cricket scorecards in the 1860s.
  • Eggitarian

    Regional

    A vegetarian who eats eggs — between pure-veg and omnivore.

    Elsewhere Ovo-vegetarian (technical).
    Origin Indian-English coinage (egg + vegetarian). Restaurants list "veg / eggitarian / non-veg" as three options.
  • Flyover

    Regional

    An elevated road bridge over another road.

    Elsewhere Overpass (US), flyover (UK).
    Origin British English that Indian English preserved while US English took "overpass." A 1950s civil-engineering term still universal in Indian transport news.
  • Footpath

    Regional

    A pavement; a walking surface alongside a road.

    Elsewhere Sidewalk (US), pavement (UK).
    Origin British English that Indian English preserved. Universal in Indian traffic and urban planning contexts.
  • Four-wheeler

    Regional

    A car, contrasted with the more common two-wheelers.

    Elsewhere Car; in US English, "four-wheeler" usually means a quad bike.
    Origin Part of the same wheel-count scheme as two- and three-wheeler. Real-estate listings still specify "four-wheeler parking" to distinguish from scooter spots.
  • General compartment

    Regional

    An unreserved coach on a long-distance train — first-come, crowded, cheaper.

    Elsewhere "Unreserved carriage"; concept rare abroad.
    Origin Indian Railways category. Distinguished from sleeper, AC 3-tier, AC 2-tier, and AC first class.
  • Geyser

    Regional

    A small electric or gas water heater mounted on a bathroom wall.

    Elsewhere Water heater, boiler (UK).
    Origin British brand-name generalised: the "Geyser" patent water heater (1868) gave the whole category the Icelandic spout's name. Pronounced "gee-zer" or "gay-zer" in IE.
  • Googly

    Travels

    A spinner's deceptive delivery that breaks the opposite way to the batsman's expectation.

    Elsewhere Googly (cricket); "wrong'un" (Australia).
    Origin Bernard Bosanquet invented the delivery c. 1900; the etymology is unknown. In India also means a tricky question: "don't throw me a googly."
  • Guide

    Regional

    A study supplement with answers, summaries, and exam-question patterns — often semi-official.

    Elsewhere "Study guide" (explicit); revision book.
    Origin Publishers like Arihant and MTG made "guide" shorthand for exam prep. Schools officially discouraged them; students relied on them.
  • Gully

    Regional

    A narrow residential lane — too small for a car, just wide enough for a cycle.

    Elsewhere Alley, lane.
    Origin Hindi *galī*. "Gully cricket" is street cricket in these lanes. The English word "gully" (drain) is unrelated.
  • Half-century

    Travels

    A batsman's score of 50 or more — a lesser but still-celebrated milestone.

    Elsewhere Half-century, fifty (cricket).
    Origin Derived from "century" — cricket's arithmetic tiering of achievement.
  • Hoarding

    Regional

    A large outdoor advertising board.

    Elsewhere Billboard.
    Origin British English "hoarding" (temporary fence around building works, often plastered with posters) kept in IE for free-standing roadside advertising. "Billboard" sounds American and foreign.
  • Horn please

    Regional

    A painted request on the back of trucks — inviting overtakers to signal before passing.

    Elsewhere No equivalent; Western road etiquette discourages honking.
    Origin Highway-truck signage tradition. Often paired with "OK TATA" and elaborate paintings of gods and slogans.
  • Horoscope matching

    Regional

    Checking birth charts for compatibility before marriage — a formal step in many families.

    Elsewhere No equivalent — astrology is recreational, not pre-marital, in most Western contexts.
    Origin Sanskrit *kuṇḍalī milan*, rendered in English on matrimonial profiles. Guna points (out of 36) are tallied; 18+ is considered compatible.
  • Hostel

    Regional

    A residential dormitory for students or young workers.

    Elsewhere Dorm, dormitory, residence hall.
    Origin British English "hostel" (now mainly "youth hostel") retained in IE as the standard word for any long-term student residence. Campus layouts are still described as "hostels and academic blocks."
  • Hotel

    Regional

    A restaurant or eatery — not necessarily a place to stay.

    Elsewhere Restaurant, café, diner.
    Origin IE keeps the 19th-century British sense of "hotel" for establishments that serve meals. A "lodge" is what a traveller books a room at; a "hotel" is for food.
  • Immersion rod

    Regional

    A portable electric element dropped into a bucket to heat water for bathing.

    Elsewhere Immersion heater (UK, for tanks); no close US equivalent.
    Origin Industrial English for a heating element kept by IE as the common winter-bathroom tool, before geysers became ubiquitous in middle-class homes.
  • Interval

    Travels

    The intermission in a film or play.

    Elsewhere Intermission (US), interval (UK).
    Origin British English retained. IE cinema halls print "INTERVAL" on the screen; Bollywood scripts still have "Pre-interval" and "Post-interval" structural beats.
  • Inverter

    Regional

    A household battery-plus-converter unit that keeps lights and fans running during a power cut.

    Elsewhere UPS, battery backup, home power supply.
    Origin Technical English narrowed to a specific product category that barely exists in Western markets. Sales of home inverters scale with grid unreliability.
  • Jugaad

    Travels

    An improvised fix; a low-cost workaround; creative problem-solving under constraint.

    Elsewhere Hack, workaround, kludge, MacGyver (verb).
    Origin Hindi/Punjabi — originally a crude Mofussil vehicle built from a diesel pump, a cart and found parts. Entered the OED in 2017 as a business-school virtue.
  • Kaamwali

    Regional

    A female domestic worker — the broader north-Indian term paralleling Mumbai's "bai."

    Elsewhere Housemaid, domestic helper.
    Origin Hindi *kām* (work) + *wālī* (one who). "Kaamwali bai" collapses both terms.
  • Ladies' finger

    Regional

    Okra.

    Elsewhere Okra (US), okra (UK formal).
    Origin Indian English calque — the vegetable's shape. Standard in Indian cookery; confusing elsewhere, where "ladyfinger" refers to a biscuit.
  • Local

    Regional

    The suburban commuter train — especially in Mumbai, Chennai, or Kolkata.

    Elsewhere "Commuter train," "suburban rail."
    Origin Short form of "local train." In Mumbai, "catching the local" structures daily commute language.
  • Loose motion(s)

    Regional

    Diarrhoea.

    Elsewhere Diarrhoea, the runs, upset stomach.
    Origin Medical English phrase preserved in IE as the polite everyday term. Pharmacies and doctors use it without awkwardness where US/UK speakers would euphemise differently.
  • Love marriage

    Regional

    A marriage where partners chose each other — as opposed to an arranged marriage.

    Elsewhere Just "marriage" (the distinction isn't foregrounded in the West).
    Origin Indian-English compound that only makes sense against the default of arranged marriage. Still a live social category.
  • Maiden over

    Travels

    A cricket over in which no runs are scored against the bowler.

    Elsewhere Maiden over (accurate worldwide where cricket is played).
    Origin British cricket-terminology origin, deeply integrated into Indian cricket commentary. "Maiden" as in unblemished.
  • Mama (uncle)

    Regional

    Mother's brother — not "mama" in the American sense (which confuses tourists).

    Elsewhere Maternal uncle (loses the specific register).
    Origin Hindi *māmā*. The appended "uncle" in Indian English softens the word for cross-cultural conversations.
  • Marriage hall

    Regional

    A rented venue for weddings — a large hall with staging, seating, and catering kitchen.

    Elsewhere Wedding venue, banquet hall, reception hall.
    Origin Purpose-built wedding-venue category developed with the late-20th-century middle-class wedding economy. The word appears on signage all over Indian cities.
  • Masala

    Travels

    A blend of ground spices — either a recipe mix or, metaphorically, drama and flavour.

    Elsewhere Spice mix; in idiom, "spice" (as in "spicy news").
    Origin Urdu/Hindi *masālā*, originally from Arabic *maṣālih* (ingredients). "Masala film" means a crowd-pleasing mix of genres.
  • Masala dabba

    Regional

    A round stainless steel spice box with seven small containers — the centre of every Indian kitchen.

    Elsewhere Spice rack, spice box (less specific).
    Origin Compound: masala + dabba. Standard contents: mustard, cumin, turmeric, chilli, coriander, garam masala, salt.
  • Mess

    Regional

    A college or hostel dining hall.

    Elsewhere Cafeteria, dining hall, canteen.
    Origin British military "mess" kept in IE for shared institutional eating — engineering colleges, medical hostels, service academies. "Mess fees" are a line item on every hostel bill.
  • Mixie

    Regional

    A kitchen blender — the standard Indian household term.

    Elsewhere Blender, food processor.
    Origin Indian English shortening of "mixer." Built into advertising and appliance-retail vocabulary; every Indian home has a "mixie."
  • Namkeen

    Regional

    Savoury snack — packaged or loose fried mixes of nuts, sev, lentils, and spices.

    Elsewhere Savoury snacks, bar mix, trail mix (loose).
    Origin Urdu/Hindi *namkīn* (salted), from *namak* (salt). Sold everywhere from tea-stalls to airports.
  • No-ball

    Travels

    An illegal delivery by the bowler — the batsman cannot be out (mostly) and the team gets a free run.

    Elsewhere No-ball (cricket worldwide).
    Origin Cricket-laws term. In India, "no-ball" also slangs a rule-breaking manoeuvre in conversation.
  • Out of order

    Travels

    Broken, not working (of machines); also, rude or inappropriate (of people — UK usage).

    Elsewhere Broken, not working; inappropriate, out of line.
    Origin British English, retained in both senses in Indian English. On signage: "Lift out of order." In speech: "His comment was totally out of order."
  • Pani puri

    Regional

    A crisp hollow shell filled with spiced water, chickpeas, and tamarind — eaten in one bite.

    Elsewhere Called "gol gappa" in the north, "phuchka" in Bengal — regional names for the same snack.
    Origin Hindi *pānī* (water) + *pūrī* (puffed bread). Street-food ubiquitous.
  • Paratha

    Travels

    A pan-fried layered flatbread — often stuffed with potato, cauliflower, or paneer.

    Elsewhere Flaky flatbread; the stuffed kind has no direct equivalent abroad.
    Origin Hindi/Punjabi *paraṭhā*, from *parat* (layer) + *atta* (dough). "Aloo paratha with curd" is a canonical Indian breakfast.
  • Petrol pump

    Regional

    A petrol station.

    Elsewhere Gas station (US), petrol station (UK), service station (UK formal).
    Origin Named for the pump, not the station — a metonymy. Standard in Indian English road signage and speech.
  • Pukka

    Travels

    Genuine, proper, solid — "a pukka job," "pukka construction."

    Elsewhere "Proper," "genuine" (UK slang uses "pukka" too, borrowed from India).
    Origin Hindi *pakkā* (ripe, cooked, firm). The opposite is *kachchā* (raw, incomplete). Entered British English in the colonial era.
  • Pure veg

    Regional

    Strictly vegetarian — no egg, and often no onion or garlic in stricter readings.

    Elsewhere "Vegetarian" (implies no egg by default in India).
    Origin Signage and menu shorthand. "Pure veg restaurant" signals the full absence of non-vegetarian items, usually with a green dot logo.
  • Queue up / stand in queue

    Regional

    Line up; wait in line.

    Elsewhere Line up (US), stand in line (US), queue (UK).
    Origin Follows British English. Indian English added the collocation "stand in queue" (not "stand in line") as a near-fixed phrase.
  • Ranker

    Regional

    A student who scores among the top in competitive exams — "he is a JEE ranker."

    Elsewhere No equivalent — exam rank itself is uncommon abroad.
    Origin Compound from "rank." Coaching-centre marketing uses "our rankers" as proof of results.
  • Revision

    Regional

    Going over material to refresh memory before an exam.

    Elsewhere "Review" (US); revision abroad usually means editing, not studying.
    Origin British-English usage. Indian students "do revision" of the syllabus before exams.
  • Rickshaw

    Travels

    A small hired passenger vehicle — in India, typically the three-wheeled auto-rickshaw.

    Elsewhere The word "rickshaw" abroad evokes the human-pulled Japanese original.
    Origin Japanese *jinrikisha* (man-powered vehicle). Reached India in the 19th century, motorised in the 20th.
  • Rubber

    Regional

    A pencil eraser.

    Elsewhere Eraser (US — "rubber" means a condom there), rubber (UK).
    Origin British English retained. Classic Indian-vs-American miscommunication in international schools.
  • Sabzi

    Regional

    Vegetables — either raw produce or a cooked vegetable curry.

    Elsewhere Vegetables; vegetable curry.
    Origin Urdu/Persian *sabzī* (greenery). "Going to buy sabzi" means a market trip; "aloo ki sabzi" is a potato dish.
  • Sarkari

    Regional

    Government-related — used as an adjective: sarkari job, sarkari office, sarkari school.

    Elsewhere Government (as modifier); "state-run."
    Origin Urdu/Hindi *sarkārī* (of the government), from *sarkār* (government). Carries connotations of bureaucracy, job security, and delay.
  • Sarkari naukri

    Regional

    A government job — historically aspirational for stability, pension, and status.

    Elsewhere Civil service post, public-sector job.
    Origin Hindi *sarkārī naukarī*. An entire exam-prep industry (UPSC, SSC, RRB) orients around it.
  • Society

    Regional

    A housing complex run by a residents' association — "we stay in Shanti Park Society."

    Elsewhere Condo association, HOA (US); estate (UK).
    Origin Shortened from "co-operative housing society," a legal entity under the Co-operative Societies Act. Now a generic name for any apartment complex.
  • Speed breaker

    Regional

    A raised bump across a road that forces vehicles to slow down.

    Elsewhere "Speed bump" (US), "speed hump" (UK).
    Origin Indian-English compound. Usually appears in clusters on residential streets — three bumps in a row is typical.
  • Standard

    Regional

    A school year — "fifth standard," "eighth standard."

    Elsewhere Grade (US), Year (UK), Form (older UK).
    Origin British school usage preserved. "Standard" was the year label in Victorian elementary schools; India kept it, the UK switched to "Year" in the 1980s reforms.
  • Stepney

    Regional

    A spare tyre.

    Elsewhere Spare tyre (UK), spare tire (US).
    Origin From the Stepney Spare Motor Wheel Co. (Llanelli, Wales, 1904) — the brand that invented detachable spares. The brand is long defunct; the name survived in Indian English.
  • Sum

    Regional

    A mathematics problem of any kind — not just addition.

    Elsewhere Problem, math question.
    Origin British schoolroom "do a sum" generalised in IE to all arithmetic and early algebra. A textbook chapter's exercises are "sums"; weak students "can't do sums."
  • Tadka

    Regional

    A tempering — spices briefly fried in hot oil or ghee and poured over a dish at the end.

    Elsewhere Tempering (general cooking term); bagar, chhonk (regional Indian).
    Origin Hindi *taṛkā*, the sizzle technique. Also used metaphorically: "give some tadka to the story."
  • Tatkal

    Regional

    Same-day/next-day emergency train-ticket booking — a separate quota with premium fare.

    Elsewhere "Last-minute booking" (general).
    Origin Hindi *tatkāl* (immediate). Introduced by Indian Railways in 1997. Opens 10 AM for AC, 11 AM for sleeper.
  • Thali

    Travels

    A round platter meal — several small bowls of curries, dal, rice, breads, and pickle, all served at once.

    Elsewhere Sampler plate, set meal.
    Origin Sanskrit *sthālī* (vessel). The word names both the plate and the meal served on it.
  • Three-wheeler

    Regional

    An auto-rickshaw or tuk-tuk — the ubiquitous small yellow-and-black taxi.

    Elsewhere Auto-rickshaw, tuk-tuk.
    Origin Counts axles: two-wheeler (scooter/bike), three-wheeler (auto), four-wheeler (car). The vehicle-classification pattern is unique to IE.
  • Thrice

    Travels

    Three times.

    Elsewhere Three times; "thrice" is archaic in US English and rare in modern UK English.
    Origin Standard Middle English adverb, preserved in IE where it still travels naturally. "I told you thrice" is an unremarkable sentence in Indian conversation and prose.
  • Tiffin

    Regional

    A light packed meal — often a midday lunch carried in a stacked tin (the "tiffin box").

    Elsewhere Packed lunch, snack.
    Origin Early 19th-century Anglo-Indian term, probably from dialectal British "tiffing" (taking a small drink). In the UK the word died by 1900; in India it became central.
  • Tiffin service

    Regional

    A subscription for home-style lunch delivery — a daily dabba to office or home.

    Elsewhere Meal-delivery subscription, lunch service.
    Origin Tiffin (light meal, from British Raj era) + service. Distinct from "tiffin" for the meal itself; this names the business model.
  • Today evening / yesterday night

    Regional

    Compound time phrases built on "evening" and "night" where other Englishes prefer "this evening" / "last night."

    Elsewhere This evening, last night, tomorrow night.
    Origin Calque on Indic time-expression structure. Common in Indian journalism and everyday speech alike.
  • Topper

    Regional

    The student who ranks first in an exam or class.

    Elsewhere Valedictorian, top student.
    Origin Back-formed noun from "to top the class." Newspapers publish photos of state-board toppers; "class topper" is a common biographical detail in matrimonial ads.
  • Tuition

    Regional

    Private coaching outside school — supplementary evening or weekend classes.

    Elsewhere Tuition abroad means "fees" (US) or "teaching" (UK); never the private-coaching category.
    Origin British-English sense of "teaching" survived and narrowed in India to this private-market meaning.
  • Tuition class

    Regional

    A specific coaching batch — "my maths tuition class is at 5 PM."

    Elsewhere "Tutoring session" (US); "extra lesson" (UK).
    Origin Noun-compound extension of tuition. "Tuition teacher" is the instructor.
  • Two-wheeler

    Regional

    A motorbike or scooter — the legal/retail category.

    Elsewhere Motorbike, scooter, bike.
    Origin From the vehicle classification in Indian transport law. Universal in Indian newspaper and showroom contexts.
  • Verandah

    Travels

    A covered porch or balcony running along the outside of a house.

    Elsewhere "Veranda" (spelling varies); "porch" (US).
    Origin Portuguese/Hindi *varaṇḍā* — one of the earliest South Asian words to enter English (17th century).
  • Wait-list

    Regional

    A ticket status where your seat is not yet confirmed — numbered WL 1, WL 2, etc.

    Elsewhere "Standby" (US airlines).
    Origin Indian Railways PNR status. The anxiety of "will WL 3 confirm?" is a national commuter experience.
  • Washroom

    Regional

    A polite name for toilet — especially in restaurants, offices, and airports.

    Elsewhere "Restroom" (US); "toilet" (UK).
    Origin Mid-20th-century euphemism that became default on signage. "Ladies washroom" and "gents washroom" are standard labels.
  • Zebra crossing

    Regional

    A pedestrian crossing with white stripes on the road.

    Elsewhere "Zebra crossing" (UK, original); "crosswalk" (US).
    Origin British import that stayed standard in India. The stripes are often faded; pedestrians don't always receive the right of way.

Colloquial & spoken

Spoken features — clause-final particles, structural calques, phone greetings. Rarely written in edited prose; diagnostic of Indian English to the attentive ear.

  • "Is it?" (as tag)

    Regional

    A confirmation-checking tag roughly equivalent to "really?" or "is that so?"

    Elsewhere Really? Oh, is it? Yeah? Right?
    Origin Universal Indian English tag. Strips out the verb-subject inversion other Englishes use ("isn't he?", "can't they?").
  • "Itself" as an emphasizer

    Regional

    Attached to a noun or time-phrase for emphasis — "I'll come today itself" = "I'll come this very day."

    Elsewhere "Today itself" → "this very day," "right today."
    Origin Also a calque on Indic emphatic particles. Common in speech; starts to feel non-standard in edited prose aimed at international readers.
  • "Only" as an emphasizer

    Regional

    Placed at the end of a clause to intensify or confirm — "It is raining only" = "it really is raining" / "that's exactly what's happening."

    Elsewhere Structural: contrastive stress or "indeed/really" — "it really is raining."
    Origin Calque on a similar clause-final particle from Hindi and Dravidian languages (*hi*, *tān*). Standard in Indian English speech and informal writing.
  • "Reaching" for arriving

    Regional

    "I am reaching home by 8" = "I'll arrive home by 8."

    Elsewhere Arrive, get home, be there.
    Origin IE uses the progressive "reaching" without an object where other Englishes would require "reaching home" or prefer "arriving." Routine in speech and SMS-register writing.
  • "Tell me — yes?"

    Regional

    A conversational acknowledgement marker — "go on, I'm listening."

    Elsewhere Yes? Uh-huh. Mm-hm.
    Origin Phone-and-meeting yielding turn. Conversational, not grammatical — fills the same role as "uh-huh" but more explicit.
  • Accha

    Regional

    OK / I see / really? — an all-purpose Hindi acknowledgement that leaks into English.

    Elsewhere "OK," "I see," "right."
    Origin Hindi *achchhā* (good). Speakers of Indian English switch to "accha" mid-English sentence for natural back-channeling.
  • Arre

    Regional

    An interjection of surprise, protest, or familiarity — "hey!," "oh!," "come on!"

    Elsewhere "Hey," "oh," "come on" (context-dependent).
    Origin Hindi/Marathi *are*. Spelled variously in romanisation (arre, arey, are). Opens countless Indian-English sentences.
  • Autowala

    Regional

    The driver of an auto-rickshaw — addressed as "autowala bhai."

    Elsewhere "Auto driver"; concept rare abroad.
    Origin *Auto* + Hindi *-wālā* (one who). The autowala's refusal of a fare ("meter nahin chalega") is an urban folk narrative.
  • Backbencher

    Regional

    A student who sits in the back rows — stereotypically inattentive, often humorously self-identified.

    Elsewhere "Backbencher" in the UK means an ordinary MP, not a student. In India, it's a classroom identity.
    Origin British parliamentary usage, reshaped in Indian school slang. The term has become pop-culture shorthand for casual, off-beat students.
  • Bollywood dance

    Travels

    A film-choreographed dance style — synchronised group, expressive, melodramatic.

    Elsewhere No equivalent — Bollywood-dance classes abroad borrow the category wholesale.
    Origin Bombay + Hollywood = Bollywood. The dance style is a fusion of classical, folk, and Western forms.
  • Bunked

    Regional

    To skip a class or lecture.

    Elsewhere Skipped, cut class, played hooky (US), bunked off (UK).
    Origin British school slang "bunk off" truncated to "bunk" in IE. "Bunked maths" is a complete sentence in a school WhatsApp group.
  • Chalo

    Regional

    Let's go / OK then / fine (moving on) — a transition marker.

    Elsewhere "Let's go," "OK then," "anyway."
    Origin Hindi *chalo* (move). A sentence-launcher in Indian English: "Chalo, I'll see you tomorrow."
  • Cool drink

    Regional

    A carbonated soft drink — Coke, Pepsi, Limca, Thums Up.

    Elsewhere Soda, pop, soft drink.
    Origin Southern IE (especially Tamil and Kannada speakers) preserving an earlier English usage. A "cool drinks shop" is a corner stall selling bottled fizz and juice.
  • Crorepati

    Regional

    A person worth at least one crore (ten million) rupees.

    Elsewhere Multi-millionaire, high-net-worth individual.
    Origin Hindi *karoṛ* (ten million) + *pati* (lord). Popularised internationally by the TV quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati (2000–) — the local Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
  • Desi

    Travels

    Local, homegrown, of the subcontinent — used of food, people, and brands.

    Elsewhere Indigenous, local, South Asian (diasporic).
    Origin Sanskrit *deśī* "of the country." IE uses it as both adjective (desi ghee) and noun of solidarity (fellow desis abroad). Carried into diaspora English worldwide.
  • Filmy

    Regional

    Dramatic, over-the-top, melodramatic — as in a film scene.

    Elsewhere "Dramatic," "theatrical" (loose).
    Origin Hindi-English *film* + *-y*. "Don't be so filmy" chides excessive emotion.
  • First-day, first-show

    Regional

    The very first screening of a new film on its opening day.

    Elsewhere Opening day, premiere screening.
    Origin Bollywood and regional-cinema fan culture. Buying "FDFS" tickets is a fandom marker; the phrase is now tongue-in-cheek shorthand for early adoption generally.
  • Frontbencher

    Regional

    A student who sits in the front rows — a studious, teacher-facing type.

    Elsewhere No close equivalent.
    Origin Paired antonym of backbencher. School-classroom seating became a social identity.
  • Hello, tell me

    Regional

    A phone greeting — "hello, go ahead, I'm listening."

    Elsewhere "Hello, what's up?" "Yes, how can I help?"
    Origin Calque on Hindi *boliye* (speak) used as a conversational yielding turn. Routine in Indian phone conversation.
  • Item number

    Regional

    A standalone high-energy song-and-dance sequence in a film — usually unconnected to the plot.

    Elsewhere No Western equivalent — a category specific to Hindi/regional film structure.
    Origin Industry term. The "item girl" who performs it became a sub-genre of stardom.
  • Lakhpati

    Regional

    A person worth at least one lakh (100,000) rupees.

    Elsewhere Hundred-thousandaire (no natural English equivalent).
    Origin Hindi *lākh* + *pati*. In mid-20th-century India a lakhpati was rich; inflation has made the crorepati the aspirational figure, but the lakhpati word survives.
  • Mugging up

    Regional

    Rote learning, cramming for an exam.

    Elsewhere Cramming, memorising, swotting (UK).
    Origin Indian student slang — "to mug" meant to cram in 19th-century British university slang. Britain dropped it; India kept it.
  • Na-na

    Regional

    A doubled "no" — polite but firm refusal, or emphatic negation.

    Elsewhere "No, no" (the doubling is universal; the spelling and tone are Indian).
    Origin Hindi *na* (no), doubled for softening. "Na-na, please take it" is a standard polite refusal of a gift.
  • Netaji

    Regional

    A respectful/ironic address for a politician — "leader-ji."

    Elsewhere "The honourable member"; "politician" (neutral).
    Origin Hindi *netā* (leader) + honorific *-jī*. Originally a genuine honorific for Subhas Chandra Bose; now often sarcastic.
  • Off the fan / on the light

    Regional

    "Off" and "on" used as verbs — "off the fan" = switch the fan off.

    Elsewhere Turn off the fan, switch on the light.
    Origin Structural calque on direct verbal forms in Indic languages. Mostly oral; considered informal in edited Indian English.
  • Please adjust

    Regional

    A request to make room on a crowded train bench, shared rickshaw, or seating — "four-seater please adjust for one more."

    Elsewhere "Could you scoot over?" (US); "mind shifting a bit?" (UK).
    Origin The verb "adjust" in Indian English carries the sense of "compromise / accommodate." The phrase is part of commuter etiquette — a polite instruction with a hidden imperative.
  • Ragging

    Regional

    Initiation hazing of first-year students by seniors.

    Elsewhere Hazing, freshman initiation.
    Origin British university slang of the 1830s ("ragging" a fellow student) narrowed in IE to organised campus hazing. Anti-ragging laws (2009) took the term into legal text.
  • Same to same

    Regional

    Exactly the same — usually of copied goods or identical outcomes.

    Elsewhere "Exactly the same," "identical."
    Origin Indian-English intensifier, possibly from Hindi *bilkul same*. Ubiquitous in market patter for imitation goods.
  • Take rest

    Regional

    Rest, take a break.

    Elsewhere Rest up, take a break, lie down.
    Origin Calque of Hindi/Urdu *aaram karna* ("to do rest"). The construction — take + noun — pairs with "take food" and "take bath," also common in IE.
  • Theek hai

    Regional

    OK / fine / agreed — the all-purpose Hindi yes.

    Elsewhere "OK," "fine," "sounds good."
    Origin Hindi *ṭhīk hai* (it is correct). Survives intact inside English sentences: "Theek hai, we will meet at 5."
  • Timepass

    Travels

    Killing time; also, something pleasant but inconsequential ("the film was timepass").

    Elsewhere A way to kill time, a distraction, fluff.
    Origin Compound coined in Indian English; widely used in Indian film reviews, casual speech, and advertising. The OED added it in 2017.
  • Yaar

    Travels

    Friend, mate — used as a direct-address affectionate filler ("come on, yaar").

    Elsewhere Dude, mate, man.
    Origin Hindi/Urdu *yār* (friend). Extremely common in Indian urban English; added to the OED in 2015 as a recognised Indian English term.

More English, as it's actually used.

Misquoted lines, misheard lyrics, misspelled titles — and a paste-checker that flags the well-known slips.

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