‘Time pass’, ‘dry fruits’: US woman shares phrases in ‘Indian English’ she never heard of | Video

An American woman who recently moved to Delhi was particularly intrigued by the unique words and phrases used in “Indian English” on a daily basis. In a video now going viral, Kristen Fischer shares her witty take on the local take on the language, leaving the internet in splits.

In an Instagram video, Fischer breaks down "unique" English phrases she encountered after moving to India. She begins the video by explaining that “English is one of the national languages of India and very widely spoken.” However, she then claims that she didn’t know there were “differences” between Indian and American English.

The woman emphasized several expressions that, while common in India, may be unfamiliar to Americans.

Here are some examples of the "differences" she found between the English language in India and America:

• Shifting: In India, Fischer said, the word is used to describe relocating homes, whereas Americans would say “moving.” With a chuckle, she explained, “In India, people say they’ve ‘shifted their home.’”
• Time pass: A common Indian phrase used to denote casual activities tickled Fischer, who said Americans might call it “killing time.”
• Use of ‘plus’: She noted that Indians use “plus” when referring to children's ages. For example, they say, “My daughter is three plus,” a concept unfamiliar in her home country.
• Which time & too much: Fischer said Indians use “which time” instead of “what time”, and “too much” in sentences like “it’s too much hard.”
• Dry fruits: She also highlighted the Indian-English term “dry fruits,” which Americans typically call “nuts”.
• Loose motion: The Indian euphemism for diarrhoea.

Fischer's Instagram caption read: “Did you know that Indian English has its own words and phrases? I had never heard any of these before coming here. What are some others that you know of?”

Watch:

The video, posted two days ago, has already garnered over 500,000 views.

Fischer's humorous commentary struck a chord with viewers, who eagerly filled the comments section with their favorite Indian-English expressions.

A user wrote, “Flat-apartment , lift-elevator and dickey – car boot and rubber vs eraser,” while sharing that they had “hilarious encounters with American friends on this.”

“Newton’s 4th law of motion loose motion cannot be done in slow motion,” someone joked.

Adding to the list, a user shared, “Some of my favorites are ‘once only’ and calling a napkin a ‘tissue’. Also, when watching or playing cricket, ‘beautiful booyyyy.’”