Bengali Transliteration Guide: Descriptive Adjectives
The Bengali transliterations include standalone descriptive items meaning good, bad, new, beautiful and very beautiful. They also include complete meanings for “Yes, this is good,” “Oh, this is bad,” and “Okay, this is new.” Treat the short items as vocabulary labels, while the longer examples express a full reaction about “this.”
Start with these expressions
| English | Transliteration | Native script |
|---|---|---|
| Good | bhalo | ভালো |
| Bad | kharap | খারাপ |
| New | notun | নতুন |
| Beautiful | shundor | সুন্দর |
| Very beautiful | khub shundor | খুব সুন্দর |
| Yes, this is good | haan eta bhalo | হ্যাঁ এটা ভালো |
| Oh, this is bad | arre eta kharap | আরে এটা খারাপ |
| Okay, this is new | achha eta notun | আচ্ছা এটা নতুন |
Separate the adjective from the full reaction
Use the short entries when you are learning or recalling a descriptive quality: good, bad, new, beautiful, or very beautiful. The English gloss tells you what quality the expression names. The dictionary evidence supports the core meanings of good, bad and new: good can mean beneficial, suitable or healthy [1], bad can describe something inferior, harmful or unwell [2], and new can mean fresh or novel [3].
The longer examples have a different job. Their English meanings include a reaction and a comment about “this”: approval, criticism, or a comment that something is new. So choose a short adjective when your task is to remember a quality, but choose a longer example when you need the complete meaning. Do not make the distinction too rigid for good: the dictionary also records good as a context-dependent response meaning “all right” or “well” [1]. The useful distinction here is between the gloss “Good” and the full sentence “Yes, this is good,” not between a word that can never be a reply and one that can.
[1] Source: dsal.uchicago.edu.
[2] Source: dsal.uchicago.edu.
[3] Source: dsal.uchicago.edu.
Try it
Someone shows you an item and you want to approve it by saying, “Yes, this is good.” Which expression should you choose?
Choose your answer before reading on.
Check your answer:
Use expression 6 in the table above.
Choose the example whose meaning contains both agreement and the positive description of “this.” The standalone good item names the quality, but it does not contain the complete approval meaning requested in this situation.
Cover the English meanings and decide first whether you are naming a quality or giving a full reaction. Then recall the matching transliteration without changing the wording.
Practise speaking with Bhol. Learn words and sentences written in English letters.
