साला

See also: साल, साली, सूल, and सेल

Hindi

Etymology

From Sanskrit स्याल (syāla). Cognate with Marathi साडू (sāḍū).

Pronunciation

• (Delhi Hindi) IPA^(key): /sɑː.lɑː/, [säː.läː]

Noun

साला • (sālā) m (feminine साली, Urdu spelling سالا)

1. brother-in-law, wife's brother

   मेरे साले ने अपनी बहन को लिखा।

   mere sāle ne apnī bahan ko likhā.

   My brother-in-law wrote to his sister.

2. (colloquially) a term of abuse, swear word

   अबे साले, तू इधर आ! ― abe sāle, tū idhar ā! ― Hey asshole, get over here!

Usage notes

Commonly, साला (sālā) is used as an insult, with the implication being that you are sleeping with the insulted person's sister. Can be substituted as a generally insulting term for any person.

Declension

Declension of साला (masc ā-stem)

	singular	plural
direct	साला sālā	साले sāle
oblique	साले sāle	सालों sālõ
vocative	साले sāle	सालो sālo

References

• Bahri, Hardev (1989) “साला”, in Siksarthi Hindi-Angrejhi Sabdakosa [Learners' Hindi-English Dictionary], Delhi: Rajpal & Sons.
• Platts, John T. (1884) “साला”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.

Nepali

Etymology

From Sanskrit स्याल (syāla). Cognate with Marathi साडू (sāḍū).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sälä]
• Phonetic Devanagari: साला

Noun

साला • (sālā) m

1. wife's younger brother; brother-in-law
2. (colloquial) a term of abuse, a swear word.; rascal

Declension

Declension of साला
	Singular	Plural
nominative	साला [sälä]	सालाहरू [sälä̤ːɾu]
accusative	सालालाई [säläläi]	सालाहरूलाई [sälä̤ːɾuläi]
instrumental/ergative	सालाले [säläle]	सालाहरूले [sälä̤ːɾule]
dative	सालालाई [säläläi]	सालाहरूलाई [sälä̤ːɾuläi]
ablative	सालाबाट [säläbäʈʌ]	सालाहरूबाट [sälä̤ːɾubäʈʌ]
genitive	सालाको [säläko]	सालाहरूको [sälä̤ːɾuko]
locative	सालामा [sälämä]	सालाहरूमा [sälä̤ːɾumä]
Notes: -को (-ko) becomes: -का (-kā) when followed by a plural noun. -की (-kī) when followed by a feminine noun.

Further reading

• “साला”, in नेपाली बृहत् शब्दकोश (nepālī br̥hat śabdakoś)‎^[1], Kathmandu: Nepal Academy, 2018
• Schmidt, Ruth L. (1993) “सालो”, in A Practical Dictionary of Modern Nepali, Ratna Sagar

Pali

Alternative forms

Alternative forms

• sālā (Latin script)
• 𑀲𑀸𑀮𑀸 (Brahmi script)
• সালা (Bengali script)
• සාලා (Sinhalese script)
• သာလာ or သႃလႃ (Burmese script)
• สาลา (Thai script)
• ᩈᩣᩃᩣ (Tai Tham script)
• ສາລາ (Lao script)
• សាលា (Khmer script)
• 𑄥𑄂𑄣𑄂 (Chakma script)

Noun

साला f

1. Devanagari script form of sālā (“hall”)

Declension

Declension table of "साला" (feminine)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	साला (sālā)	सालायो (sālāyo) or साला (sālā)
Accusative (second)	सालं (sālaṃ)	सालायो (sālāyo) or साला (sālā)
Instrumental (third)	सालाय (sālāya)	सालाहि (sālāhi) or सालाभि (sālābhi)
Dative (fourth)	सालाय (sālāya)	सालानं (sālānaṃ)
Ablative (fifth)	सालाय (sālāya)	सालाहि (sālāhi) or सालाभि (sālābhi)
Genitive (sixth)	सालाय (sālāya)	सालानं (sālānaṃ)
Locative (seventh)	सालाय (sālāya) or सालायं (sālāyaṃ)	सालासु (sālāsu)
Vocative (calling)	साले (sāle)	सालायो (sālāyo) or साला (sālā)