Aate Mein Namak

January 23, 2021

Today’s Hindi idiom (मुहावरा) is:

आटे में नमक।

(Transliteration: Aate mein namak.)

Literal translation: Salt in wheat-flour.

Figurative meaning: Almost negligible amount.

A pinch of salt

Usage in a sample sentence:

600 डॉलर प्रति महीना कोई राहत नहीं देगा। यह तो आटे में नमक के बराबर है।

(Transliteration: Che sau dollar prati mahina koi rahat nahin dega. Yeh toh aate mein namak ke barabar hai.)

Translation: $ 600 a month will not provide any relief. This is equal to salt in flour.

Origins of the idiom: Wheat flour naturally contains no salt. Even when we make rotis with it, the quantity of salt we add to the flour is very, very small. It is an insignificant or negligible amount. It is as good as nothing. This idiom uses that fact to point out and make us communicate with others the insignificance of certain other things, like a ridiculously tiny so-called relief package scheme announced by the government.