ਮੀਂਹ

Meeh (ਮੀਂਹ), said like the English word mean with a h breathed at the end, is the Punjabi word for rain. It is a masculine noun that names water falling from clouds, from a light drizzle to a monsoon downpour. Punjabis say it is raining as meeh pai reha hai, and in the villages the monsoon meeh decides the crop.

Meaning

In its plain sense, meeh is rain, full stop. Punjabi dictionaries give ਮੀਂਹ as the direct equivalent of the English word rain. The word is masculine in Punjabi grammar, so it takes masculine verb forms: meeh penda hai for it rains, and meeh pai reha hai for it is raining right now. From the first monsoon shower to a winter drizzle, any rain falling from the sky is meeh.

How is meeh used in everyday speech?

Meeh vassna is the verb phrase for raining, used whenever rain is falling from the clouds. Meeh diyan boondan are raindrops, with boond meaning a drop. In the farming villages the meeh is the main event of the year: a timely monsoon meeh fills the fields, and its delay becomes the first topic of talk everywhere. Children love the meeh; mothers call them inside before they get soaked.

Is meeh the same as barsaat?

Both mean rain, and Punjabis use both words without a second thought. Meeh is the everyday Punjabi word heard in homes and fields. Barsaat is the form shared with Hindi and Urdu, heard more in songs, films and weather reports. Neither is wrong; they are two doors into the same weather. The Kosh carries a full entry for barsaat as well.