ਪੜ੍ਹੋ

What does parho mean in Punjabi?

Parho (ਪੜ੍ਹੋ) means 'read' in Punjabi. It is the polite way of telling someone to read, used with elders, teachers and strangers, or with a group, and it comes from the verb parhna, 'to read, to study'. You hear it in classrooms, in gurdwaras and at home, whenever someone is asked to read a book, a lesson or a prayer aloud.

Where does parho come from?

Parho comes from the verb parhna (ਪੜ੍ਹਣਾ), 'to read'. Wiktionary traces parhna to Sanskrit páṭhati, 'to read, recite', through Prakrit paḍhaï, and the stem is parh, with parho made by adding the polite ending o. The verb covers more than silent reading: it also means to study a subject and to recite a sacred text aloud, so the same word serves the classroom, the library and the gurdwara. The noun built from it is parhai (ਪੜ੍ਹਾਈ), study or schooling as a whole, and the causative parhauna means to cause someone to read, to teach.

How is parho used in everyday speech?

Parho is the word of the classroom and the morning prayer. A teacher says 'kitaab parho', read the book, and 'sawaal parho', read the question before you answer it. At home a parent says 'paath parho', read the prayer, and an elder may say 'akhbaar parho', read the newspaper and tell me the news. Because parhna also means to study, 'parh likh' is the everyday phrase for being educated, and parhai is the word for the schooling itself.

Parho, parh and parhiyo: 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: parh, read. With tusi, the polite 'you' for elders and strangers, and for any group, it is parho. A still softer form is the future imperative parhiyo, which sounds like a gentle request, 'please read', and the jussive parhiye softens it further. To ask someone not to read, put na after the verb: 'na parho', do not read.