Paav Bhari Hona

# 99

March 31, 2021

Today’s Hindi idiom (मुहावरा) is:

पाँव भारी होना

Legs Became Heavy

(Transliteration: Paav bhari hona.)

Literal translation: Feet being heavy (usually referring to a woman).

Figurative meaning: To be pregnant.

Usage in a sample sentence:
मैरी ने सहेली से कहा, “तुम यहां पैरिस आ जाओ; मुझे बहू के साथ यहीं रहना होगा — उसके पाँव भारी हैं।

Transliteration: Mary ne Saheli se kaha, “Tum yahan Paris aa jaao; mujhe bahu ke sath yahin rahna hoga — usske paav bhari hain.

Translation: Mary told her friend, “You come here to Paris; I have to stay here with my daughter-in-law — (her feet are heavy) she is pregnant.”

Origins of the idiom: When a woman is pregnant, her body needs as much rest and care as is possible. Sometimes she feels tired and finds it difficult to move about as easily as she used to. She may feel as if her feet were heavier that before. This feeling of ‘feet being heavy’ was adopted as a euphemism for the lady being pregnant.