Hafta (ਹਫ਼ਤਾ) is the Punjabi word for 'week', a period of seven days. It comes from the Classical Persian word hafta (هفته), built on haft, seven, and it is written ہفتہ in Shahmukhi. In informal speech it can also mean Saturday, and its adjective form haftavar means weekly.
How it's used
- 1ਅਗਲੇ ਹਫ਼ਤੇ ਮੈਂ ਪਿੰਡ ਜਾਵਾਂਗਾ।Next week I will go to the village.
- 2ਪਿਛਲੇ ਹਫ਼ਤੇ ਬਹੁਤ ਮੀਂਹ ਪਿਆ।Last week it rained a lot.
- 3ਮੈਂ ਹਰ ਹਫ਼ਤੇ ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰੇ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹਾਂ।I go to the gurdwara every week.
Show 2 more examples
- 4ਇਹ ਕੰਮ ਇੱਕ ਹਫ਼ਤੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਹੋ ਜਾਵੇਗਾ।This work will be done within a week.
- 5ਹਫ਼ਤਾਵਾਰ ਬਾਜ਼ਾਰ ਐਤਵਾਰ ਨੂੰ ਲੱਗਦਾ ਹੈ।The weekly market is held on Sunday.
ਹਫ਼ਤਾ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਸੱਤ ਦਿਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਸਮੇਂ ਨੂੰ ਕਹਿੰਦੇ ਹਨ। ਇਹ ਫ਼ਾਰਸੀ ਸ਼ਬਦ ਹਫ਼ਤਾ ਤੋਂ ਆਇਆ ਹੈ, ਜਿਸ ਦਾ ਮੂਲ ਹਫ਼ਤ, ਭਾਵ ਸੱਤ, ਹੈ। ਹਫ਼ਤੇ ਦੇ ਸੱਤ ਦਿਨ ਹਨ: ਸੋਮਵਾਰ, ਮੰਗਲਵਾਰ, ਬੁੱਧਵਾਰ, ਵੀਰਵਾਰ, ਸ਼ੁੱਕਰਵਾਰ, ਸ਼ਨੀਵਾਰ ਅਤੇ ਐਤਵਾਰ। 'ਅਗਲੇ ਹਫ਼ਤੇ' ਦਾ ਮਤਲਬ ਹੈ ਆਉਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਹਫ਼ਤੇ ਵਿੱਚ, ਅਤੇ 'ਹਰ ਹਫ਼ਤੇ' ਦਾ ਮਤਲਬ ਹੈ ਹਰੇਕ ਹਫ਼ਤੇ। ਸ਼ਾਹਮੁਖੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਇਸ ਨੂੰ ہفتہ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ।
What does hafta mean in Punjabi?
Hafta (ਹਫ਼ਤਾ) is the Punjabi word for 'week', a period of seven days. It is the unit Punjabis use to plan ahead: 'agle hafte' means next week, 'pichhle hafte' means last week, and 'har hafte' means every week. From school timetables to market days, the hafta is how ordinary time is counted in Punjab.
The origin of hafta
Hafta comes from the Classical Persian word hafta (هفته), built on haft, seven, because a week holds seven days. The same Persian word gives Hindi hafta, and the Punjabi form keeps the Persian sound. It is related to the Sanskrit word saptaha, week, from sapta, seven, which shows how the idea of seven days runs through the languages of the region. In Shahmukhi, hafta is written ہفتہ.
What are the seven days of the week in Punjabi?
A hafta has seven days, each with its own name in Punjabi. They are Somvar (ਸੋਮਵਾਰ), Monday; Mangalvar (ਮੰਗਲਵਾਰ), Tuesday; Budhvar (ਬੁੱਧਵਾਰ), Wednesday; Veervar (ਵੀਰਵਾਰ), Thursday; Shukkarvar (ਸ਼ੁੱਕਰਵਾਰ), Friday; Shanivar (ਸ਼ਨੀਵਾਰ), Saturday; and Aitvar (ਐਤਵਾਰ), Sunday. The names follow the planets and the sun and moon, in the same pattern as the English days, and they are used in calendars, school timetables and newspapers across Punjab.
Hafta in everyday use
Hafta is a planning word. 'Agle hafte' puts something off to next week, 'pichhle hafte' looks back at last week, and 'har hafte' marks a habit, as in 'main har hafte gurdware janda haan', I go to the gurdwara every week. 'Ik hafte vich' means within a week, a promise of a deadline. The adjective haftavar (ਹਫ਼ਤਾਵਾਰ) means weekly, as in a haftavar bazaar, a weekly market.
Does hafta also mean Saturday?
In informal speech, yes. Wiktionary records hafta as an informal word for Saturday, the last day of the working week in much of Punjab. The Hindi dictionary records the same use, though it calls it rare. In everyday talk most people say Shanivar for Saturday, and use hafta for the week itself, so the Saturday sense is best known as a dictionary meaning rather than a daily one.
Related words
Sources (2)
- Wiktionary: hafta; borrowed from Classical Persian hafta; Shahmukhi hafta; meanings 'week' and (informal) 'Saturday'; related haftavar (weekly)
- Wiktionary: Hindi hafta; borrowed from Classical Persian hafta, from haft, seven; compare Punjabi hafta; related to Sanskrit saptaha; sense 2 (rare) Saturday
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