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 | ਮੈਂ | mayn | I |
| 2 | ਤੂੰ | toon | you (informal) |
| 3 | ਉਹ | oh | he |
| 4 | ਅਸੀਂ | ah-SEEN | we |
| 5 | ਤੁਸੀਂ | too-SEEN | you (formal) |
| 6 | ਇਹ | eh | this |
| 7 | ਕੀ | kee | what |
| 8 | ਕੌਣ | kown | who |
| 9 | ਨਹੀਂ | nah-HEEN | no |
| 10 | ਅਤੇ | ah-TEH | and |
| 11 | ਜਾਂ | jahn | or |
| 12 | ਪਰ | par | but |
| 13 | ਵਿੱਚ | vich | in |
| 14 | ਨਾਲ | nahl | with |
| 15 | ਇੱਕ | ik | one |
| 16 | ਦੋ | doh | two |
| 17 | ਵੱਡਾ | VAD-dah | large |
| 18 | ਛੋਟਾ | CHHOH-tah | small |
| 19 | ਚੰਗਾ | CHUHNG-gah | good |
| 20 | ਨਵਾਂ | nah-VAHN | new |
| 21 | ਆਦਮੀ | AHD-mee | man |
| 22 | ਪਾਣੀ | PAH-nee | water |
| 23 | ਦਿਨ | din | day |
| 24 | ਸਾਲ | sahl | year |
| 25 | ਸਮਾਂ | sah-MAHN | time |
| 26 | ਘਰ | ghar | house |
| 27 | ਕੰਮ | kahm | work |
| 28 | ਜੀਵਨ | JEE-vahn | life |
| 29 | ਸ਼ਬਦ | SHAH-bahd | word |
| 30 | ਹੋਣਾ | HOH-nah | be |
| 31 | ਕਰਨਾ | kar-NAH | do |
| 32 | ਕਹਿਣਾ | KEH-nah | say |
| 33 | ਜਾਣਨਾ | JAHN-nah | know |
| 34 | ਵੇਖਣਾ | VEKH-nah | see |
| 35 | ਜਾਣਾ | JAH-nah | go |
| 36 | ਆਉਣਾ | AH-oo-nah | come |
| 37 | ਦੇਣਾ | DEH-nah | give |
| 38 | ਲੈਣਾ | LAY-nah | take |
| 39 | ਚਾਹੁਣਾ | CHAH-oo-nah | want |
| 40 | ਖਾਣਾ | KHAH-nah | eat |
| 41 | ਪੀਣਾ | PEE-nah | drink |
| 42 | ਹੁਣ | hun | now |
| 43 | ਇੱਥੇ | IT-theh | here |
| 44 | ਉੱਥੇ | UT-theh | there |
| 45 | ਕਿੱਥੇ | KIT-theh | where |
| 46 | ਕਿਉਂ | kyoon | why |
| 47 | ਸਭ | sahbh | all |
| 48 | ਬਹੁਤ | bah-HOOT | very |
| 49 | ਅੱਜ | ahj | today |
| 50 | ਲੋਕ | lohk | people |
| 51 | ਲੰਮਾ | LAM-mah | long (great length) |
| 52 | ਬਣਾਉਣਾ | bah-NAH-oo-nah | make, create |
| 53 | ਚੀਜ਼ | cheez | thing, object |
| 54 | ਸੁਣਨਾ | SOON-nah | hear, listen |
| 55 | ਬੱਚਾ | BACH-chah | child |
| 56 | ਤਿੰਨ | tin | the number 3 |
| 57 | ਨਾਂ | nahn | name |
| 58 | ਦੋਸਤ | dohst | friend |
| 59 | ਵੱਧ | vadh | more, a greater amount |
| 60 | ਰਾਤ | raht | night |
| 61 | ਸਕਣਾ | SAK-nah | can, be able to |
| 62 | ਤੁਰਨਾ | TOOR-nah | walk |
| 63 | ਦੌੜਨਾ | DOWR-nah | run |
| 64 | ਪੜ੍ਹਨਾ | PARH-nah | read |
| 65 | ਮੇਰਾ | MEH-rah | my (possessive of I) |
| 66 | ਆਵਾਜ਼ | ah-VAHZ | sound, noise; voice |
| 67 | ਹਾਂ | hahn | yes |
| 68 | ਜ਼ਿਆਦਾਤਰ | zee-ah-dah-TAR | most, the majority of |
| 69 | ਗਿਣਤੀ | GIN-tee | number (numeric quantity) |
| 70 | ਕਦੋਂ | kah-DOHN | when (question word) |
| 71 | ਉੱਪਰ | UP-par | over, above |
| 72 | ਸਮਝਣਾ | sah-MAJH-nah | understand |
| 73 | ਭੋਜਨ | BHOH-jan | food |
| 74 | ਤੋਂ | tohn | than (comparison; also: from) |
| 75 | ਬੁਲਾਉਣਾ | boo-LAH-oo-nah | call (summon) |
| 76 | ਪਹਿਲਾ | PEH-lah | first (ordinal 1st) |
| 77 | ਦੁਨੀਆ | doo-NEE-ah | world |
| 78 | ਸ਼ਾਇਦ | SHAH-id | perhaps, maybe |
| 79 | ਹੇਠਾਂ | HEH-thahn | down, below |
| 80 | ਪਾਸਾ | PAH-sah | side (left-right side) |
| 81 | ਸੌਣਾ | SOW-nah | sleep |
| 82 | ਦੁਬਾਰਾ | doo-BAH-rah | again |
| 83 | ਲੱਭਣਾ | LABH-nah | find, discover |
| 84 | ਕੋਈ | KOH-ee | any (no matter which) |
| 85 | ਪੁਰਾਣਾ | poo-RAH-nah | old (of things) |
| 86 | ਪੈਸਾ | PAY-sah | money |
| 87 | ਹਿੱਸਾ | HIS-sah | part, portion |
| 88 | ਖਰੀਦਣਾ | khah-REED-nah | buy |
| 89 | ਮਿਲਣਾ | MIL-nah | get, obtain; meet |
| 90 | ਜਗ੍ਹਾ | jag-GAH | place, location |
| 91 | ਮਾਂ | mahn | mother |
| 92 | ਰਹਿਣਾ | REH-nah | live (reside); stay |
| 93 | ਕਿੰਨਾ | KIN-nah | how much, how many |
| 94 | ਬਾਅਦ | BAH-ad | after, later |
| 95 | ਵਾਪਸ | VAH-pas | back, to a previous place |
| 96 | ਘੱਟ | ghat | few, less (small amount) |
| 97 | ਸਿਰਫ਼ | sirf | only, no more than |
| 98 | ਗੋਲ | gohl | round, circular |
| 99 | ਔਰਤ | OW-rat | woman |
| 100 | ਮਹੀਨਾ | 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.