Khadi Boli Shabdkosh (खड़ी बोली शब्दकोश)

Khadi Boli, also known as Khāri Boli and Kauravi, is the dialect spoken in Harit Pradesh (aka Western Uttar Pradesh), Uttarakhand, Delhi, and some parts of Haryana.

Khadi Boli (Khadi Bhasha, Khadi Language, or Khadi Boli Language) uses strong sounds that may hammer some ears. The authentic pronunciation is Khadi Bolli (खड़ी बोल्ली), but to keep things simple, I shall address it as Khadi Boli. Now, since it is my native language, let me give you a taste of this vibrant language with some Khadi Boli words (Khadi Boli ke shabd).

Ready?

Here we go:

कट्टो (Katto): प्रेयसी | Beloved

किसी के पिच्छै कुत्ते छोड़ना (Kisi ke pichhe kuttey chhodna): किसी को बिना बात परेशान करना (ईर्ष्यावश (जलन अथवा किलस)) के कारण | To trouble someone without any valid reason (out of jealousy)

• यो शब्द नू बोल्ला जा

सेळक (Selak): शीतलता | Coolness

संक्कळ, सांक्कळ (Sankal, Saankal): द्वार को बंद रखने हेतु ज़ंजीर अथवा चिटकनी | Chain or bolt for keeping the door locked

• यो शब्द नू बोल्ला जा

धूळिया-धुम्माड (Dhooliya dhummād): धूल और धुँआ | Dust and smoke

Now that you have an idea about Khadi Boli words and how Khadi Boli sounds, let’s discuss the syntax of the language and how it differs from normal, day-to-day Hindi.

• We use “ण” and not न “in most words. For instance, when referring to water, I’ll say “पाणी” and not पानी.
• Let’s suppose I need to ask who’s there in a room. In that case, I’ll say, “अरै, कौण है इस कमरे मैं?” or “अरै, कूण है इस कमरे मैं?”, and not  “अरे, कौन है इस कमरे में?”
• We address uncles as “चाच्चा,” and not चाचा as we do in standard Hindi.

And now, an interesting thing about Khadi Boli (खड़ी बोली,खड़ी बोल्ली): The word Khadi means standing.

Therefore, Khadi Boli or Khadi Bhasha means a Standing Dialect or a Standing Language because one needs to put in extra effort to utter the words, which produces rustic, harsher sounds.

Khadi Boli aka Khāri Boli or Khāri Boli Dialect (खड़ी बोली/खारी बोली/खरी बोल्ली)

Khadi Boli is also known as Khāri Boli. Khāri has its roots in the word Khār which means salt, and so you can say that Khāri Boli makes one’s mouth taste salty (which is a unique characteristic of this language).

Now, this saltiness makes it stand out from other dialects such as Brij Bhasha and Awadhi—the languages of the holy cities of Mathura and Ayodhya (also known as “पड़ी बोली,” Lying Dialects or Lying Languages). These dialects sound “sweeter” compared to Khāri Boli.

Also, another term खरी बोल्ली (pure dialect) is used because Khadi Boli is the purest, unadulterated form of Hindi, which gave birth to standard Hindi and Urdu. You can get an idea about how Khadi Boli sounds by watching this video clip.

Kauravi (कौरवी)

It’s believed that the Kauravas, the sons of King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari, spoke this language in Mahabharata times, hence the name Kauravi (also known as Kauravi Dialect and Kauravi Boli).

Most places related to the Mahabharata—Hastinapur, ParikshitGarh, ShukraTal, Barnava, and  Indraprastha (Delhi)—are situated in or near Western Uttar Pradesh.

(By the way, did you know there was a native Khadi Boli speaker in B.R. Chopra’s epic, Mahabharata?—Gajendra Chauhan—the actor who played Yudhishthir.)

The Kauravas conspired to burn Pandavas alive in a structure made of Lākh (while they were in exile) known as Lākshagrih (the locals address it as Lākhagraha). This structure still stands tall in Barnava in Baraut, Baghpat. Lakshagrih now houses a Sanskrit Vidyapeeth/Mahavidyalaya.

Link〉 खड़ी बोली शब्दकोश

Are Khadi Boli and Haryanvi the Same Languages?

Many people assume that Khadi Boli and Haryanvi are two different names for the same language. And nothing can be farther from the truth.

Yes, people in some parts of Haryana also speak Khadi Boli, but that’s because those regions overlap or are just a stone’s throw away from Western Uttar Pradesh. Let me give you an example:

Bahalgarh, a locality in Sonipat, Haryana, shares its border with the Baghpat (Vyaghraprastha: व्याघ्रप्रस्थ) district of Western Uttar Pradesh. Here, you’ll find people speaking a “fusion” of both languages. (Like I speak a fusion of Baghpat and Muzaffarnagar’s Khadi Boli because my mother is from Bagphat and my father is from Muzaffarnagar).

Interestingly enough, certain words (and the tone they are spoken in) are common in Khadi Boli and Haryanvi.

Let’s take “You come home with me” as an example in both Khadi Boli and Haryanvi.

“तू मेरी गैल घर चल।” (Khadi Boli)

“तू मेरी गैल्याँ घराँ चाल।” (Haryanvi)

As you can see, the structure and certain words are similar in both languages but Khadi Boli and Haryanvi are different.

In other words, Khadi Boli is not Haryanvi. And Haryanvi is not Khadi Boli.

(But that doesn’t mean there’s some enmity between Khadi Boli and Haryanvi. In fact, if you ask me, I relate more to Haryana ❤️ than to the Eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh.)

Khadi Boli is Spoken Across These Areas

In Western Uttar Pradesh or Western UP or West UP—as we lovingly address our region—Khadi Boli is spoken mainly in:

• Meerut
• Muzaffarnagar
• Saharanpur
• Shamli
• Baraut
• Baghpat
• Ghaziabad
• Bijnore
• Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida)
• Hapur
• Some parts of Bulandshahar and surrounding areas.

Now here’s something notable:

The Khadi Boli spoken in all these areas does not sound the same. The way people speak in Shamli or Saharanpur is not the way people in Baghpat speak. And the tonality of the people in Muzaffarnagar is not the same as of the Bulandshahar folks. Every Khadi Boli region has its own tone and nuances (which makes this language even more interesting and rich 🙂 ).

And now, here’s a fact every Hindi-speaking person (and Urdu speakers) must know.

Khadi Boli is the mother of standard Hindi, and Urdu.

Yes, today’s modern or standard Hindi and Urdu are the offspring of Khadi Boli.

Why I Started This Online Khadi Boli Shabdkosh?

In 2010, I conducted personality development classes at Subharti University, Meerut. And I noticed many students were uncomfortable, almost ashamed, with their own language—Khadi Boli.

Reason?

Some so-called high-society folks consider Khadi Boli uncivilized, rude, and arrogant. And some foulmouth-Gutkha-spitting-purabiyas felt that Khadi Boli was inappropriate (I mean, look at the nerve). And so, to avoid being labeled as rude or uncivilized, the Khadi Boli-speaking students chose to hide their identity (bloody stupid move!).

Now, if you are also conditioned to be ashamed of your mother tongue, then here’s a little advice for you:

How you see and value yourself determines how well you progress in your personal and professional lives. And your self-image cannot be positive unless you are accepting of your mother tongue.

I mean, what does it matter if you sound arrogant to some over-sensitive ears? Why should you insult your own language to please others? What’s the use of learning English or any other language for that matter if you reject your mother tongue to get others’ approval?

Let me remind you how Shri Bhartendu Harishchandra stated this universal truth.

“निज भाषा उन्नति अहै, सब भाषा को मूल ।
बिन निज भाषा ज्ञान के मिटे न हिय को शूल ।।”

(The progress of one’s language is the key to all development. Without the proper knowledge of one’s mother tongue, one cannot feel expressed.)

Respect Your Language

If you can’t respect your own language—which you’ve inherited from your forefathers, what’s the point of your existence?

You see, it’s not about appearing civilized and Padha-Likha (educated). It is a question of honoring the very blood running through your veins.

Dumping your language does not make you “cultured” or “civilized” but it surely turns you into a cripple—a lopsided person who has lost contact with his or her roots.

If you haven’t been able to learn Khadi Boli yet, don’t lose heart. With consistent practice, you can.

But let me warn you.

Don’t even think of learning Khadi Boli by watching Bollywood movies, especially Omkara—the film by Vishal Bhardwaj—unless you want to end up learning some idiotic, imaginary, and fake dialect.

I have watched Omkara, and boy oh boy! That movie is a fucking insult to the people and culture of Western Uttar Pradesh.

“But it’s just a movie; what harm could it possibly bring upon the language?” You say.

A lot.

Because mass media shapes narratives, people who watch such movies believe that the language used in the film is authentic.

And that stupid movie is not just a one-off incident. There’s so much misinformation regarding Khadi Boli that it’s heartwrenching. Like many others, I also tried really hard to search for Khadi Boli online but there was nothing. No authentic Khadi Boli documentation. No article. Not even a blog post. Absofuckinglutely nothing!

Now, tell me.

When nobody dares write a story you want to read, you write it yourself, right?

That’s exactly what I did.

Khadi Boli Shabdkosh (खड़ी बोली शब्दकोश): The First-Ever Online Khadi Boli Resource

On 15th September 2011, I started an article on Khadi Boli on my personal development blog—AvdheshTondak.com. That article was a collection of day-to-day Khadi Boli words. Here’s how it looked:

Years went by, and I kept adding more words to that article. And what started as a collection of a few words grew so large it needed its own separate space. And so…

On 5th November 2019, I founded “KhadiBoliShabdkosh.com.”

Khadi Boli Shabdkosh is the first and only collection of original Khadi Boli words online. And I’ve kept this reference source free of charge and in the public domain to benefit the masses.

Want to know something sweet?

All the hard work I put into this website has started bearing fruits.

Khadi Boli Shabdkosh Is Making An Impact

Just the other day, a user posted a comment:

“Thank you so much. Aap bhot accha kaam kar rahe ho hamari sanskriti ko badhane k liye. Though I belong to Hapur. But I was raised in different parts of mp and chattisgarh because of my father’s job and my parents did not teach me khadi boli because they thought it’s uncivilised (I am very proud of my culture and mother tongue and would like to teach my kids). And I did not speak my mother tongue (and it hurt me alot that I don’t speak my mother tongue) until I start to learn online. Your blog and channel helped me a lot. Thanks alot please upload some other videos too, and keep the good work on.”

And I also received some emails:

I am a resident of somewhere between Meerut and East Delhi. Somehow, my roots are linked in somewhere middle of Meerut and Delhi and I have always lived in that stereotype urban atmosphere with English as my first language although I have developed that modern version of Hindi nicely recently but never focused too much on khadi boli. Sometimes just for fun, I will speak in that accent although I don’t have khadi vocabulary yet but I have the accent. I realized its somehow naturally implanted in me and I actually feel expressed better when spoken words like fuhad challe dharti hile, manne na pata, lool, lullu and such words really do make me feel good but I just thought its not that formal and suitable for me to speak khadi boli with everyone because I’ve been dealing with people from different accents and some East UP People like Banaras aur Kanpur side consider this type of accent quite disrespectful. For them tum is respectful they never address as tu and main so you know influence of surroundings but I have that accent and that line that our language is salty as it is supposed to be . Man it blew my mind off. Thank you so much for this. I was never ashamed but I just thought it to be less formal but I don’t need to speak it entirely in its pure form with everyone but can definitely adapt the accent permanently and guess what all thanks to you. Thank you so much and I have a request this is my personal ID so please don’t share this with anyone or on some public platform you can blur m ID and then show the message content anywhere you wish.

Hi, I came across your website on Khadi Boli. It’s the language on my mother’s side.

I don’t speak it though and neither does my Mom cause she grew up in Lucknow.

I find it beautiful though and I’m extremely interested in learning the language. I’m able to grasp it really quickly.

My father’s side speaks Braj. But he doesn’t have native proficiency in that either. I’m going to learn that too.

Your website is a boon for someone like me.

Apart from your site are there other resources like videos etc. which you would suggest so I could reach a reasonable degree of expression in the language?

Thank you!!

Well, thank you for your kind words, dear.

How to Use this Shabdkosh

Click on the links to go directly to the corresponding pages. I’ve included the meaning of Khadi Boli words in Hindi and English wherever possible.

I’ve also uploaded some audio examples to help you understand what Khadi Boli sounds like.

Khadi Boli is a fun language. So enjoy the journey, and come back whenever you need a reference.

You’re always welcome here. 🙂

Related:

Khadi Boli is “Indecent?” (Seriously? Are You Kidding Me?)