What IS yesterday, really, but the day before yesterday's tomorrow?

[thesparque]

कल(kal) - yesterday; tomorrow

Comments

[mamculuna]

Well, in English at least, "then" refers to both past and future.

[di_glossia]

As well as "in summation" and "in that case". It really can be used with a time constraint and without one.

[tinchen]

It's one day from now - just in both directions :)

[sollersuk]

My reaction too. It's not that different from the situation I had to confront in Latin when I was 12: one word to mean both "high" and "deep" - simply a long way away vertically, either up or down.

[sollersuk]

(and that's why we have the posh technical term "altitude" for "height" but no equivalent for "depth"... because that, too, would have to be "altitude")

[fencer_x]

That seems really...odd. But I guess there's little room for ambiguity since the tense of the verb would tell you if it's past or future/non-past (sorry, I'm not familiar with Hindi verbs and how they conjugate :D), so I guess it works!

"The movie comes out [kal]/came out [kal]."

2. I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but the first time I was speaking to Japanese friends with my mouth full, so I could only make a non-enunciated sound to indicate my response (which was not a single-syllabic simple yes/no response btw), and they actually understood me fine kind of blew me away. Yay for tones/pitch/whatever you might use to describe that? XD

[dangerous_etc]

It make more sense to me to have hunger, thirst and years instead of being them. This come from learning Spanish.

[la_raisondetre]

Same with me and French. The idea of being them as we see it in English is kind of ... foreign? now. It's odd how that has changed. Also in French you "have" cold/hot, etc. It's a completely different way of seeing things, if you think about it :)

[muckefuck]

I like the Irish metaphor where these (and strong emotions) are things which are "on" you. Things you have, like pocket change, are "at" you and things you own--including inalienable possessions like your legs--are "with" you.

[talinthas]

well, kal is generally modified by avti, meaning coming, and gai, meaning gone, ie avtikal is tomorrow, and gaikal is yesterday. but generally you know from context what is being referred to.

[rfk]

but that's gujarati not hindi!

[talinthas]

this is true, but the principle still applies to hindi.

[thedinglestarry]

Yes, like gotokal and agamikal in Bengali. Though in Bengali at least it seems to be "kal" that is generally used in either case.