Kachha Kha Jana

# 91

March 23, 2021

Today’s Hindi idiom (मुहावरा) is:

कच्चा खा जाना

(Transliteration: Kachha kha jana.)

Literal translation: To eat (someone or something) raw.

Figurative meaning: To punish severely. To inflict severe pain.

Eating Raw

Usage in a sample sentence:
हमने अभी तक शादी नहीं की है, लेकिन अगर वह मुझे किसी दूसरी महिला को देखते हुए भी पकड़ा, तो वह मुझे कच्चा खा जाएगी।

Transliteration:  Hamne abhi tak shaadi nahin ki hai, lekin agar woh mujhe kisi doosri mahila ko dekhte huae bhi pakda toh woh mujhe kachha kha jaayegi.

Translation: We are not married yet, but if she catches me even looking at another woman, she will (eat me raw) punish me severely.

Origins of the idiom: The origin of this idiom is not very well known, but I would guess that it originates from the fact that when people are very angry, they sometimes react without thinking. They react forcefully or violently in the heat of the moment. They do not think or wait for anything. They do not wait ‘for the food to be cooked,’ so to speak. They grab what is in front of them and then chew on it, even though it is raw and uncooked. Also, when we chew on uncooked food, we need to chew harder. Chewing softly will not serve our purpose. This ‘harder chewing’ points to the severity of the punishment. In English language, we also have a saying that goes, ‘She nearly bit my head off’ in reference to someone reacting suddenly and retaliating violently.