ਸੁਣਨਾ

What does sunna mean in Punjabi? Sunna (ਸੁਣਨਾ) means to hear and to listen: it is the everyday Punjabi verb for taking in sound with your ears, and also for paying attention to what someone says. Gall sun, listen here, is how countless Punjabi conversations begin.

What does sunna mean in Punjabi?

Wiktionary's Punjabi Swadesh list gives sunna as the Punjabi word for to hear, at number 102, right after vekhna, to see. The Wiktionary word data lists sunna as a verb meaning to hear and to listen, the pair that matches the Punjabi word exactly: sunna covers both the sound simply reaching your ears and the deliberate act of listening to a person, a song or the news.

Does sunna mean more than just hearing?

Yes. Rekhta Dictionary gives sunnaa, of Sanskrit origin, as a transitive verb meaning hear, listen, pay attention to, take notice of and heed. Its wider senses show how much work the word does: to hear a petition, for a teacher to hear a pupil repeat a lesson, and, of God, to hear and grant a prayer. At the sharp end, sunna can also mean facing the music, hearing hard words or being reproached, which is why being told you will have to sunna something can sound like a warning.

What is the difference between sunna and sunauna?

Sunna is hearing it yourself; sunauna (ਸੁਣਾਉਣਾ) is making someone else hear it, which in practice means to tell or narrate. The Wiktionary word data lists sunauna simply as to tell. So a child sunnda a story at night, hears it, while the grandmother sunaundi it, tells it. Mixing the two up reverses the whole scene, which is why learners meet this pair early.