100 Essential Punjabi Words
These are 100 essential Punjabi words, curated for learners: the pronouns, verbs, and everyday nouns that unlock simple sentences. Core-first learning works: a small set of essential words does most of the work in daily speech, so mastering this list with spaced repetition gives you the fastest possible start.
| # | Word | Pronunciation | English meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | เจฎเฉเจ | mayn | I |
| 2 | เจคเฉเฉฐ | toon | you |
| 3 | เจเจน | oh | he |
| 4 | เจ เจธเฉเจ | ah-SEEN | we |
| 5 | เจคเฉเจธเฉเจ | too-SEEN | you |
| 6 | เจเจน | eh | this |
| 7 | เจเฉ | kee | what |
| 8 | เจเฉเจฃ | kown | who |
| 9 | เจจเจนเฉเจ | nah-HEEN | no |
| 10 | เจ เจคเฉ | ah-TEH | and |
| 11 | เจเจพเจ | jahn | or |
| 12 | เจชเจฐ | par | but |
| 13 | เจตเจฟเฉฑเจ | vich | in |
| 14 | เจจเจพเจฒ | nahl | with |
| 15 | เจเฉฑเจ | ik | one |
| 16 | เจฆเฉ | doh | two |
| 17 | เจตเฉฑเจกเจพ | VAD-dah | big |
| 18 | เจเฉเจเจพ | CHHOH-tah | small |
| 19 | เจเฉฐเจเจพ | CHUHNG-gah | good |
| 20 | เจจเจตเจพเจ | nah-VAHN | new |
| 21 | เจเจฆเจฎเฉ | AHD-mee | man |
| 22 | เจชเจพเจฃเฉ | PAH-nee | water |
| 23 | เจฆเจฟเจจ | din | day |
| 24 | เจธเจพเจฒ | sahl | year |
| 25 | เจธเจฎเจพเจ | sah-MAHN | time |
| 26 | เจเจฐ | ghar | house |
| 27 | เจเฉฐเจฎ | kahm | work |
| 28 | เจเฉเจตเจจ | JEE-vahn | life |
| 29 | เจธเจผเจฌเจฆ | SHAH-bahd | word |
| 30 | เจนเฉเจฃเจพ | HOH-nah | be |
| 31 | เจเจฐเจจเจพ | kar-NAH | do |
| 32 | เจเจนเจฟเจฃเจพ | KEH-nah | say |
| 33 | เจเจพเจฃเจจเจพ | JAHN-nah | know |
| 34 | เจตเฉเจเจฃเจพ | VEKH-nah | see |
| 35 | เจเจพเจฃเจพ | JAH-nah | go |
| 36 | เจเจเจฃเจพ | AH-oo-nah | come |
| 37 | เจฆเฉเจฃเจพ | DEH-nah | give |
| 38 | เจฒเฉเจฃเจพ | LAY-nah | take |
| 39 | เจเจพเจนเฉเจฃเจพ | CHAH-oo-nah | want |
| 40 | เจเจพเจฃเจพ | KHAH-nah | eat |
| 41 | เจชเฉเจฃเจพ | PEE-nah | to drink |
| 42 | เจนเฉเจฃ | hun | now |
| 43 | เจเฉฑเจฅเฉ | IT-theh | here |
| 44 | เจเฉฑเจฅเฉ | UT-theh | there |
| 45 | เจเจฟเฉฑเจฅเฉ | KIT-theh | where |
| 46 | เจเจฟเจเจ | kyoon | why |
| 47 | เจธเจญ | sahbh | all |
| 48 | เจฌเจนเฉเจค | bah-HOOT | very |
| 49 | เจ เฉฑเจ | ahj | today |
| 50 | เจฒเฉเจ | lohk | people |
| 51 | เจฒเฉฐเจฎเจพ | LAM-mah | long (great length) |
| 52 | เจฌเจฃเจพเจเจฃเจพ | bah-NAH-oo-nah | to make, create |
| 53 | เจเฉเจเจผ | cheez | thing, object |
| 54 | เจธเฉเจฃเจจเจพ | SOON-nah | to hear, listen |
| 55 | เจฌเฉฑเจเจพ | BACH-chah | child |
| 56 | เจคเจฟเฉฐเจจ | tin | the number 3 |
| 57 | เจจเจพเจ | nahn | name |
| 58 | เจฆเฉเจธเจค | dohst | friend |
| 59 | เจตเฉฑเจง | vadh | more, a greater amount |
| 60 | เจฐเจพเจค | raht | night |
| 61 | เจธเจเจฃเจพ | SAK-nah | can, be able to |
| 62 | เจคเฉเจฐเจจเจพ | TOOR-nah | to walk |
| 63 | เจฆเฉเฉเจจเจพ | DOWR-nah | to run |
| 64 | เจชเฉเฉเจนเจจเจพ | PARH-nah | to read |
| 65 | เจฎเฉเจฐเจพ | MEH-rah | my (possessive of I) |
| 66 | เจเจตเจพเจเจผ | ah-VAHZ | sound, noise; voice |
| 67 | เจนเจพเจ | hahn | yes |
| 68 | เจเจผเจฟเจเจฆเจพเจคเจฐ | zee-ah-dah-TAR | most, the majority of |
| 69 | เจเจฟเจฃเจคเฉ | GIN-tee | number (numeric quantity) |
| 70 | เจเจฆเฉเจ | kah-DOHN | when (question word) |
| 71 | เจเฉฑเจชเจฐ | UP-par | over, above |
| 72 | เจธเจฎเจเจฃเจพ | sah-MAJH-nah | to understand |
| 73 | เจญเฉเจเจจ | BHOH-jan | food |
| 74 | เจคเฉเจ | tohn | than (comparison; also: from) |
| 75 | เจฌเฉเจฒเจพเจเจฃเจพ | boo-LAH-oo-nah | to call (summon) |
| 76 | เจชเจนเจฟเจฒเจพ | PEH-lah | first (ordinal 1st) |
| 77 | เจฆเฉเจจเฉเจ | doo-NEE-ah | world |
| 78 | เจธเจผเจพเจเจฆ | SHAH-id | perhaps, maybe |
| 79 | เจนเฉเจ เจพเจ | HEH-thahn | down, below |
| 80 | เจชเจพเจธเจพ | PAH-sah | side (left-right side) |
| 81 | เจธเฉเจฃเจพ | SOW-nah | to sleep |
| 82 | เจฆเฉเจฌเจพเจฐเจพ | doo-BAH-rah | again |
| 83 | เจฒเฉฑเจญเจฃเจพ | LABH-nah | to find, discover |
| 84 | เจเฉเจ | KOH-ee | any (no matter which) |
| 85 | เจชเฉเจฐเจพเจฃเจพ | poo-RAH-nah | old (of things) |
| 86 | เจชเฉเจธเจพ | PAY-sah | money |
| 87 | เจนเจฟเฉฑเจธเจพ | HIS-sah | part, portion |
| 88 | เจเจฐเฉเจฆเจฃเจพ | khah-REED-nah | to buy |
| 89 | เจฎเจฟเจฒเจฃเจพ | MIL-nah | to get, obtain; to meet |
| 90 | เจเจเฉเจนเจพ | jag-GAH | place, location |
| 91 | เจฎเจพเจ | mahn | mother |
| 92 | เจฐเจนเจฟเจฃเจพ | REH-nah | to live (reside); to stay |
| 93 | เจเจฟเฉฐเจจเจพ | KIN-nah | how much, how many |
| 94 | เจฌเจพเจ เจฆ | BAH-ad | after, later |
| 95 | เจตเจพเจชเจธ | VAH-pas | back, to a previous place |
| 96 | เจเฉฑเจ | ghat | few, less (small amount) |
| 97 | เจธเจฟเจฐเจซเจผ | sirf | only, no more than |
| 98 | เจเฉเจฒ | gohl | round, circular |
| 99 | เจเจฐเจค | OW-rat | woman |
| 100 | เจฎเจนเฉเจจเจพ | mah-HEE-nah | month |
Curated for learners: Punjabi has no reliable public frequency corpus, so this list is ordered by usefulness, not by measured frequency. Pronunciation is a respelling guide, not phonetic notation.
Frequently asked questions about Punjabi words
How many Punjabi words do you need for a basic conversation?
Across languages, a small core of words does most of the work in everyday speech: the first few hundred words carry the bulk of simple conversation. You can manage basic exchanges with a few hundred words; this list is the foundation to build on.
What is the fastest way to memorize these 100 words?
Spaced repetition: review each word just before you would forget it, at growing intervals. It moves vocabulary into long-term memory far faster than rereading a list. Turn the 100 words into flashcards and review a small batch daily; the whole list fits into two to three weeks.
Are 100 words enough to speak Punjabi?
No. One hundred words let you recognize the skeleton of most sentences, but not hold a real conversation. They are the right starting point: after this list, keep growing your core vocabulary and start speaking practice early, even with simple phrases.
Where does this Punjabi word list come from?
It is curated for learners rather than corpus-ranked: Punjabi has no reliable public frequency corpus, so we selected the words that unlock everyday sentences and ordered them by usefulness. These are essential words, not a measured frequency ranking.