Family and Friends: Describing Relationships
Build your Panjabi vocabulary for talking about family and friends. Learn the Gurmukhi words for describing what people look like, what they are like, and how you are connected, each shown with its English meaning.
Practise it before the paper, not after
Free, interactive practice on the words and structures the examiner keeps asking for.
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Describing the people you know
This module builds your Panjabi vocabulary for talking about the people in your life: what they look like, what they are like, and how you are connected to them. Gurmukhi is read from left to right. Meet each word paired with its English meaning, then practise until you know them.
People in your life
Start with four words for the people and bonds around you. Each Gurmukhi word is shown with its English meaning.
Match the look
- ਉਮਰ
- ਦਾਹੜੀ
- ਐਨਕ
- ਵਰਗਾ ਲਗਦਾ ਹੈ
- Age
- A beard
- Spectacles or glasses
- To look like
Find the word
Which Panjabi word means "friendship"?
- ਦੋਸਤੀ
- ਕਲਮੀ ਦੋਸਤ
- ਇਕਲੌਤਾ ਬੱਚਾ
- ਸ਼ਰਾਰਤੀ
Looks or character?
Some words describe how a person looks. Others describe what a person is like. Sort them in your mind.
Match the trait
- ਮਸ਼ਹੂਰ
- ਇਮਾਨਦਾਰ
- ਇਕਲੌਤਾ ਬੱਚਾ
- ਕਲਮੀ ਦੋਸਤ
- Famous
- Honest
- An only child
- A pen-friend
Reading Gurmukhi
Gurmukhi is the script used to write Panjabi. Unlike Hebrew or Urdu, it is read from left to right, like English. It is an abugida: each consonant carries a built-in vowel, and extra vowel signs called matra are added above, below or beside a letter to change the sound.
Choose the word
A child with no brothers or sisters is _____. A friend you write letters to is a _____. A close bond between friends is _____. Someone who always tells the truth is _____. Hair grown on the chin is a _____.
Describing character
Which of these Panjabi words describe a personality? Choose all that apply.
- ਮਸ਼ਹੂਰ
- ਇਮਾਨਦਾਰ
- ਸ਼ਰਾਰਤੀ
- ਉਮਰ
- ਐਨਕ
Spot the appearance
Tap the two words that describe how a person looks.
- ਦਾਹੜੀ
- ਐਨਕ
- ਇਮਾਨਦਾਰ
- ਦੋਸਤੀ
The Panjabi word for an only child
Which Panjabi word means "an only child"?
- ਇਕਲੌਤਾ ਬੱਚਾ
- ਕਲਮੀ ਦੋਸਤ
- ਦੋਸਤੀ
- ਇਮਾਨਦਾਰ
How to describe a person
Put the steps of describing a person into a natural order.
- Start with their age
- Describe their appearance, like a beard or spectacles
- Describe their personality, like honest or cheeky
- Say how you are related or connected
Which word fits?
Read each description and choose the Panjabi word that fits.
- Ravi has no brothers or sisters. Which word describes him?
- Priya writes letters to a friend who lives abroad. That friend is her ...
- Aman always tells the truth and never lies. He is ...
Your turn: write in Panjabi
Describe someone important to you IN PANJABI. Write in Gurmukhi - the transliteration in brackets is a reading aid only.
- Say what they are like: ਇਮਾਨਦਾਰ (imandar - honest), ਸ਼ਰਾਰਤੀ (shararti - cheeky) or ਮਸ਼ਹੂਰ (mashhoor - famous)
- Panjabi puts "is" at the END of the sentence: ਇਹ ਇਮਾਨਦਾਰ ਹੈ (ih imandar hai - this person is honest), using ਇਹ (ih - this) and ਹੈ (hai - is)
- Say what they look like: ਦਾਹੜੀ (dahri - a beard) or ਐਨਕ (ainak - spectacles), and you may use the phrase this module teaches, ਵਰਗਾ ਲਗਦਾ ਹੈ (varga lagda hai - looks like)
- Say how you are connected: ਦੋਸਤੀ (dosti - friendship), ਕਲਮੀ ਦੋਸਤ (kalmi dost - a pen-friend) or ਇਕਲੌਤਾ ਬੱਚਾ (iklauta bacha - an only child)