Word · from the archive
dā
The best first grammar lesson in Punjabi, and a children’s rhyme teaches it in eight seconds: pagg mere vīr dī (turban is feminine → dī) but dupaṭṭā mere bhāī dā (scarf is masculine → dā). The possessive agrees with the thing possessed, not the owner. Understand why Kikli Kaleer Di says dī in one line and dā in the next, and you have understood something structural about every Punjabi sentence you will ever build.
postposition (possessive) · of, ’s — the possessive
Literal sense
Of; the equivalent of English ’s — but it changes shape to agree with the thing possessed.
Pronunciation
/d̪äː/ — “dah”; dental d. Feminine dī, masculine plural/oblique de
Etymology
From the Apabhramsha genitive; the d-form is one of the shibboleths separating Punjabi from Hindi-Urdu’s kā/kī/ke.
Etymological stream: Sanskritic
Cultural context
dā / dī / de is to Punjabi what kā / kī / ke is to Hindi-Urdu — and hearing which one a speaker reaches for will tell you which language they grew up inside.
In a sentence
ਪੱਗ ਮੇਰੇ ਵੀਰ ਦੀپگّ میرے ویر دیpagg mere vīr dī“the turban of my brother” (from Kikli Kaleer Di)
Related words
Where this word appears on Punjabia
See also
ਵਾਲਾ والا vālā — Punjabi’s other word-machine