Languagle #86: Gujarati
ઉતાવળે આંબા ન પાકે
Utavale amba na pake
"Mangoes don't ripen in a hurry."
What it means
Good things take time and can't be rushed. A mango ripens at its own pace, however impatient you are. Said to someone who wants results too quickly.
How to say it
U-taa-va-leh AAM-baa na PAA-keh
The l in utavale is said with the tongue curled back. Aam is nasal.
Word by word
- ઉતાવળે U-taa-va-leh: in a hurry (ઉતાવળ, haste)
- આંબા AAM-baa: mangoes, mango trees
- ન na: don't
- પાકે PAA-keh: ripen
Where it was found
Gujarati calls a proverb a kahevat (કહેવત). This one is from a list of Gujarati kahevato on Saral Gujarati.
Similar sayings
- English: Rome wasn't built in a day
How to recognise Gujarati
Gujarati looks like Devanagari with the line along the top taken away, so each letter floats on its own. That's the quickest way to spot it. It also uses ળ, an l said with the tongue curled back, which Hindi doesn't have.
About the Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by around 55 million people, mainly in the western Indian state of Gujarat, and by large communities in the UK, East Africa and North America. It was Mahatma Gandhi's mother tongue, and he wrote his autobiography in it. Its script is closely related to Devanagari but drops the line that runs along the top of each word, which gives written Gujarati its open, rounded look.
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