ਗੋਡਾ

Godda (ਗੋਡਾ) is the Punjabi word for the knee: the strong joint in the middle of the leg that joins the thigh to the shin and lets the leg bend. A farmer squatting in the field, a child kneeling to tie a shoe and a kabaddi player lunging in the dust all lean on the godda, and when it aches, the whole day slows down.

What does godda mean in Punjabi?

Godda means knee. Wiktionary, citing the Punjabi University Punjabi-English Dictionary, gives ਗੋਡਾ (goḍā) as a masculine noun meaning knee, pronounced roughly GOH-daa, with the Shahmukhi spelling گوڈا. The same dictionary entry gives the forms a learner meets most: the plural godde (ਗੋਡੇ), knees, and the oblique form godiaan (ਗੋਡਿਆਂ), as in godiaan bhaar, on the knees.

What does godde tekna mean?

Godde tekna means to kneel: literally, to set the knees down on the ground. People kneel in prayer, and elders are greeted low with respect. In everyday speech the phrase carries a second, figurative weight: to kneel before someone can mean to give in or accept defeat, so saying the other side godde tek ditte, they went down on their knees, is a way of saying they surrendered. Context tells you whether the knees are bent in devotion or in defeat.

How do you say my knee is hurting in Punjabi?

Say mera godda bahut dukh riha hai (ਮੇਰਾ ਗੋਡਾ ਬਹੁਤ ਦੁਖ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ): my knee is really paining me. That is the very example sentence the Punjabi University dictionary gives for this word, and it is the sentence heard most in clinics and at home, because knee pain is the classic complaint of age, farm work and sport. For both knees, swap in the plural: mere godde dukh rahe han.

Around the house the word stays practical. Godde tak, up to the knees, measures flood water in the fields and the length of a kurta. A small child is godiaan bhaar, crawling on knees, before walking. Learn godda with its partner pair (ਪੈਰ), foot, and latt, leg, and the lower half of the Punjabi body is already named.