MG Wordbook

English spellings of Indian and Hinglish words — with native script, pronunciation and meaning. Curated alongside the daily crossword.

50 of 1,000 words 5%

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Babu

Indian English term for a clerk or low-level bureaucrat — sometimes mildly pejorative.

Decorative mark or jewel worn on the forehead, traditionally by Hindu women.

Adjective: in the style of a Bollywood film — melodramatic, song-and-dance, larger than life.

Respectful Indian English term of address for a European or upper-class lady — historically colonial.

Genuine, solid, properly made — an Indian English adjective meaning "the real deal".

Suffix or noun meaning "the one who does X" — the chai-wallah, rickshaw-wallah, etc.