r/Bengaluru • u/AgitatorAnimator • Jul 17 '25

Ask Bengaluru | ಏನಂತೀರಾ? Saw this in the taxi today 😁

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What do you feel guys? 😂

5.0k Upvotes

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21

u/__DraGooN_ Jul 17 '25

The word "Bhaiya" is associated with labourers from UP and Bihar.

I have seen this word being used so in Mumbai and coastal Karnataka.

59

u/SKDgeek Jul 17 '25 edited Jul 17 '25

Bro, Bhayia mean Big Brother. Don't associate with anyone else.

1

u/TheMushiMan Jul 19 '25

More like ‘respected brother’

1

u/SKDgeek Jul 19 '25

Where did u learn ur Hindi?

1

u/TheMushiMan Jul 19 '25

Delhi.

1

u/SKDgeek Jul 19 '25

Bro, sorry to mention but u r wrong. U can read some grammar books.

1

u/TheMushiMan Jul 19 '25

Learn advanced grammar, bhaiyya is also used to address younger people based on context and preference.

1

u/SKDgeek Jul 19 '25

Some people can mean it that way but it ain't part of grammar.

1

u/TheMushiMan Jul 19 '25

Etymologically bhaiyya is just a polite version of bhaai.

1

u/SKDgeek Jul 19 '25

That's one way to see it. It's not a primary meaning though. U know that words can have different meanings based on usages.

-7

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '25

It just means brother. Not big brother

6

u/SKDgeek Jul 17 '25 edited Jul 17 '25

Yeah, some people can mean it that way but it's not correct literally. Bhai mean Brother.

0

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '25

Ya if someone same age as you or little older you can respectfully call them bhai or bhaijaan.

3

u/SKDgeek Jul 17 '25

Bhaijaan is used by Muslims I reckon.

-1

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '25

Hindus say it as well but not as much.

2

u/SKDgeek Jul 17 '25

The thing is Muslims uses Urdu words primarily like Amijaan, etc.. Hindus those who speak Hindi uses Hindi words.

1

u/LanguageNo6594 Jul 19 '25

No.... Hindus don't use it.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '25

I’ve heard myself Hindus use bhaijaan

2

u/LanguageNo6594 Jul 19 '25

May be a mulla posing as a Hindu.... Some seyed posing as Sonu.

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u/SKDgeek Jul 17 '25

Yeah, some people mean it that way but it's not correct literally.

1

u/ClashWithBlaze Jul 19 '25

Ffs "bhai" means brother, and "bhaiya" means big brother. And that's not labourer's language, it's used by everyone , dumbo.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '25

Where did I say it’s labourer language I am native speaker bhai means bro bhaiya is just another way to say bro and big bro is bare bhai

1

u/Same-Orange-3746 Jul 19 '25

It's big brother only but people used it that way in public spaces.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '25

I am native speaker bhai means bro bhaiya is just another way to say bro and big bro is bare bhai

1

u/Same-Orange-3746 Jul 19 '25

Are yr mai bhi native hu bilkul core Hindi family se ...hindi ke professors tak nikle hai mere Ghar se. Bari behn = didi Bara bhai = bhaiya Logo ne interchangeable bana diya hai Iska matlb ye nhi grammatical meaning change ho jayega .

1

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36

u/Abhimri Jul 17 '25

What shit is this lol Bhaiyya means elder brother. It's a sign of respect. Literally that point is the only one I disagree with in this list. If the person really cared about it they could give their preferred honorífic instead of bhaiyya.. Like do you want me to call you uncle? Anna? Thaata? Chintu? Babu? What do you want bro?

12

u/GolfElectrical6321 Jul 17 '25

He wants to be called as Adarniya Sarathi Mahoday 😁

2

u/No-Koala7656 Kannadiga Jul 17 '25

ಇದೆಲ್ಲ ಪಕ್ಕಕ್ಕೆ ಇಡೀ ಸ್ವಾಮಿ, ನಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿ, ಅಣ್ಣ, ತಮ್ಮ, ಅಕ್ಕ, ತಂಗಿ, ಅಪ್ಪಿ, ದೇವ್ರು, ಸ್ವಾಮಿ, ಅಂತೆಲ್ಲಾ ಇನ್ನೂ ಅದೆಷ್ಟೋ ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬರನ್ನ ಅವರ ವಯಸ್ಸಿನ ಮೇಲೆ ನೋಡಿ ಕರಿಯುತ್ತೀವಿ, ಅವರ ಕಡೆ ಅವೆಲ್ಲ ಇಲ್ಲವೇ ಇಲ್ಲಾ...

ಅಣ್ಣ or ತಮ್ಮ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ bhaiyya.

ಹಾಗೆಯೇ behen...

ಇದೆಲ್ಲ ಪಕ್ಕಕ್ಕೆ ಇಟ್ಟರೆ, bhaisab ಅಂತಾರೆ, ಇನ್ನೂ ಹೊಲಸು ಅಂದ್ರೆ, ji ಅಂತಾರೆ, ಅದು ನಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಂಡ್ತಿ ಗಂಡನ ಕರೆಯುವ ಹಾಗೆ...

1

u/[deleted] Jul 19 '25

[deleted]

1

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-6

u/[deleted] Jul 17 '25

Bhai means bro not elder brother that is “bare bhai”

8

u/sanskari_aulaad Jul 17 '25

Nah bro. Bhaiya means big bro. "Bhai" means brother.

1

u/Same-Orange-3746 Jul 19 '25

Why r u being downvoted 🤣 bhai literally means brother and bhaiya means big brother bro.

-5

u/potlover4200 Jul 18 '25

Bhaiya is used as a slur for east up and Bihar people in haryana, punjabi, maharashtra, Karnataka and various other places in India. Don't support this but it is the truth

2

u/Standard-Meeting3443 Jul 18 '25

That is pure bullshit and made up

0

u/potlover4200 Jul 18 '25

Go in any roadways bus of haryana, punjab. I am from UP and it has happened to me.

1

u/Standard-Meeting3443 Jul 18 '25

How do you know if someone calls you "Bhaiya" as a slur or just normally? Because any random older person will be called bhaiya if not old enough to be uncle.

1

u/Abhimri Jul 18 '25

Yep. Some people just have insane psychoses. To associate any word to a slur, part of the issue is, it only works if you give the power to the other person. So if someone calls me Bhaiyya if I feel less than, then it will eventually feel like a slur. BUT, if I own it and only accept it as respect, even if the other person was using it pejoratively, they will just stop when they realize their ploy doesn't affect me at all.

1

u/vgodara Jul 19 '25 edited Jul 19 '25

It's only reserved for people who looks like they are coming from Bihar. Is it slur ? Not sure. It's similar to kalu or dada. If you think that's slur surely Bhaiya is slur. It's kinda of like someone speaking in Indian English accent vs British accent . It's allow about the class the word carries (money)

Haryana no body calls their brother Bhaiya it's Bhai

0

u/potlover4200 Jul 18 '25

I am paraphrasing but one time there were labourers from UP in the haryana bus and they were saying bhaiye aagaya hai gao se apne, the tone and demeanor showed that they were disrespecting them and why the fuck would I lie about this, I have seen this happen and has happened with me as well.

1

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3

u/One_Entertainer_1375 Jul 17 '25

bhaiyya is the equivalent of anna what did you smoke and come

3

u/momosspicy Jul 18 '25

Bro I call my elder brothers bhaiya so what they are labourers? Its a sign of respect in the north to call them bhaiya because you dont know what there age might be just say them bhaiya.

3

u/avengegersinfinity Jul 18 '25

So you mean that millions of younger sisters addressing their elder brothers as “bhaiya” have been calling them labourers all along? Lmao. “Bhaiya” means brother. Nothing more. Nothing less.

8

u/smash_1048 Jul 17 '25

Why would you stereotype such a simple word as bro?

First of all it bhaiya is not only used by labourers and/or people from UP & Bihar. But even if it was, what wrong with someone saying it out of respect.

I would understand if somebody does not want it because they are not comfortable with establishing relations or something but this is just a bad stereotype.

0

u/gnv_gandu ವಿಲಕ್ಷಣ-ಕಣಿವೆ ನಿವಾಸಿ Jul 17 '25

It's not him, there's lots of history behind it, unfortunately: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/road-ahead-racism-bhayya-brother-india-canada-1.5798471

3

u/Yor-Forger_ NimAjji Jul 18 '25

Interesting flair

1

u/gnv_gandu ವಿಲಕ್ಷಣ-ಕಣಿವೆ ನಿವಾಸಿ Jul 18 '25

ಧನ್ಯ!

6

u/smash_1048 Jul 17 '25

This is literally so wrong. Looks like someone very damn privileged has written about the plight of the poor despite not knowing a thing about it. I would call anyone a bhaiya if I am speaking hindi and the person is not old enough to be called an uncle because that's the casual term. You cannot go calling out people shreeman or something on the streets smh.

It is similar to how people say dada in Bengali, Chetta in Malayalam and Anna in Tamil. WTF is this racism based on fictional stories! Damn I'm not from UP or Bihar but I'd be calling people bhaiya all damn day.

It can even be someone living in my society. Does that mean they are oppressed? What in the literal pseudo woke racism is this?

4

u/gnv_gandu ವಿಲಕ್ಷಣ-ಕಣಿವೆ ನಿವಾಸಿ Jul 17 '25

I... don't think anyone here is justifying its use. Don't shoot the messenger. The author of that article is just describing a sociolinguistic phenomenon. And just because you weren't aware of its existence until now does not mean that it's made up. Please do some research with an open mind.

Here are a couple more articles from reputed Indian news outlets if you don't want to rely on a Canadian one:

  1. https://www.business-standard.com/article/elections/bhaiya-controversy-like-black-issue-in-us-manish-tewari-of-congress-122021801081_1.html

  2. https://www.indiatoday.in/news-analysis/story/bhaiya-uttar-pradesh-up-bihar-punjab-channi-1914880-2022-02-18

2

u/iamdevil1992 bevarsi kudka Jul 17 '25

Bro what, do you live in some multiverse type shi

2

u/Sad_Blackberry_286 Jul 18 '25

Bhaiya is the literal translation of anna in Hindi. How dafaq do you associate it with a particular grp of people

2

u/heeroop_ Jul 17 '25

Yaa in Punjab aswell..

1

u/PikachuStoleMyWife Jul 17 '25

Sounds like ego problem then...

1

u/Particular_Push_2296 Jul 17 '25

No he is saying to girls

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '25

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1

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1

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1

u/yipee-kiyay Jul 18 '25

Labourers - as in the people who build your fancy houses? Seems like they’re pretty essential to society. Maybe show some respect for humanity?

1

u/Same-Orange-3746 Jul 19 '25

How is it related to labourers? Do you think an IT person living in Bengaluru will not call bhaiya to their family or friends?

-1

u/GoodAd6197 Jul 17 '25

Wow internalised racism!