Indianisms

I'm always amazed at how people can speak the same language, but use words so differently. With some help, I've compiled a list of what I think are funny Indian words and phrases. Some of these are simply not proper words. Others are real words, but not ones I'm used to hearing or words that are used in a completely different context.

Can you make sense of these?

• upgradation/downgradation - Please confirm you would like an upgradation to business class.
• good name - What is your good name? My good name is Chanda.
• absconding - A case has been registered and the accused is now absconding.
• prepone - I will need to prepone of meeting by 30 minutes. Logical, but not a word!
• only - Where are you from? I'm from Delhi only. Only what?!? I've finally learned that it sort of means just, but this still doesn't make much sense to me.
• fortnight - We will have a meeting every fortnight. I know this is a word, but I swear I'd only seen it in literature before coming to India. Now I use it all the time. But every time I say it, I giggle.
• issueless/no issues - This is specific to matrimonials and indicates that a woman has no children. So I guess children = issues.
• deboarding - Watch your step as you deboard from the train. I heard this on the Delhi Metro a few days ago.
• next to next/last to last - We're going on vacation next to next week (in 2 weeks). Last to last year we traveled to the US (2 years ago).
• expired - He expired last night but the cause is unknown.
• cum - I bought a new sofa cum bed for my living room.
• the same, the needful, revert - I can even use the last three words in one sentence! Please do the needful and revert to me with the same.