ਆਖੋ

What does aakho mean in Punjabi?

Aakho (ਆਖੋ) means 'say' in Punjabi. It is the polite way of telling someone to say something, used with elders, strangers, or a group, and it comes from the verb aakhna, 'to say'. You will hear it in everyday requests such as 'aakho, ki gall hai', tell me what the matter is, and 'sach aakho', tell the truth.

Where does aakho come from?

Aakho comes from the verb aakhna (ਆਖਣਾ), 'to say' or 'to speak'. Wiktionary traces aakhna to Old Punjabi aakhi, Prakrit akkhaï and Sanskrit ākhyāti, 'he tells', from ākhyā, 'telling' or 'narrating'. The stem is aakh, and aakho is the stem with the polite ending o added. Aakhna is one of Punjabi's common verbs of speech, close in meaning to bolna, 'to speak', and kehna, 'to say'.

How is aakho used in everyday speech?

Aakho appears whenever someone is asked to speak up. 'Aakho, ki hoya?' means tell me, what happened? 'Sachi aakho' means tell the truth, and 'apna naam aakho' means say your name. Parents and teachers use it with children, and children use it with elders, because the o ending keeps the request respectful. It also turns up in storytelling and in song lyrics, where a singer asks the beloved to speak: 'aakho, dil di gall'.

Aakho, aakh and aakhio: which form should you use?

Punjabi changes the ending to show respect. With tu, the familiar 'you' for a close friend or a child, the command is the bare stem: aakh, say. With tusi, the polite 'you' for elders and strangers, and for any group, it is aakho. A still softer form is the jussive aakhio, which sounds like a gentle request, 'please do say'. To ask someone not to say something, put na after the verb: 'na aakho', do not say it.