{"id":273,"date":"2025-09-07T05:52:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T05:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snehasinghvi.com\/?p=273"},"modified":"2025-09-07T05:52:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T05:52:53","slug":"10-words-we-use-wrongly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snehasinghvi.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/07\/10-words-we-use-wrongly\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Words We Use Wrongly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A while back in India, talking in English was a very big deal.<\/em> Remember those school rules? \u201cEnglish only, no Hindi, no Marathi, no Kannada in the corridors.\u201d<\/em> Kids would actually get fined or scolded for slipping into their mother tongue. Speaking in English was almost a badge of being \u201csmart\u201d or \u201cmodern.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward to today and things have flipped. Every state now wants its own language in the spotlight, boards, announcements, even ruckus over signages. But through all this, I still feel English is still here to stay. Although it might be a bit t<\/strong>wisted, stretched, and given our own desi masala flavor. Here are some of the words we\u2019ve cheerfully bent out of shape, without a shred of guilt, hehe..!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Literally<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Drama is our middle name)<\/em>
We say:<\/strong> \u201cI literally died laughing.\u201d<\/em>
Truth:<\/strong> Unless you\u2019re reading this from the afterlife, you didn\u2019t actually die. \u201cLiterally\u201d means exactly as stated.<\/em> But in India, we use it like extra mirchi in a curry for that extra zing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Peruse<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Skimming in the name of studying.)<\/em>
We say:<\/strong> \u201cI perused the notes quickly.\u201d<\/em>
Truth:<\/strong> Nope. \u201cPeruse\u201d means read carefully or study in detail,<\/em> not \u201cflip through two minutes before the exam.\u201d But hey, even our shortcuts deserve fancy words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Ultimate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(<\/em> Because why stop at best when you can be ultimate?)<\/em>
We say:<\/strong> \u201cThis chaat stall has the ultimate panipuri!\u201d<\/em>
Truth:<\/strong> \u201cUltimate\u201d technically means the final or last in a series. But for us, it\u2019s a synonym for the best ever. And honestly, pani puri deserves nothing less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Prepone<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

( India: 1, English: 0)<\/em>
We say:<\/strong> \u201cThe meeting is preponed to 2 PM.\u201d<\/em>
Truth: <\/strong>This word doesn\u2019t even exist in global English. We invented it to balance \u201cpostpone.\u201d Honestly, Oxford should thank us, we fixed their gap!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Cousin Brother \/ Cousin Sister<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

( We like our relations crystal clear.)<\/em>
We say: <\/strong>\u201cMeet my cousin brother.\u201d<\/em>
Truth:<\/strong> In English, \u201ccousin\u201d is gender-free. But Indians are practical people, we love clarity. Why leave it vague when you can specify?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Passed Out<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Graduated\u2026 or fainted? You decide)<\/em>
We say:<\/strong> \u201cI passed out of college in 2010.\u201d<\/em>
Truth:<\/strong> In English, \u201cpassed out\u201d means fainted.<\/em> The correct word is graduated.<\/em> But given how exams feel, fainting and finishing often go hand in hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Revert<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Emails aren\u2019t complete without it)<\/em>
We say:<\/strong> \u201cPlease revert back at the earliest.\u201d<\/em>
Truth:<\/strong> \u201cRevert\u201d already means reply or return.<\/em> That \u201cback\u201d is just extra weight. But admit it, your email feels naked without it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Discuss About<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Double protection, Indian style)<\/em>
We say:<\/strong> \u201cLet\u2019s discuss about it later.\u201d<\/em>
Truth: <\/strong>\u201cDiscuss\u201d already implies \u201cabout.\u201d But we love a little safety net. Why use one word when two feel more secure?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Good Name<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Apka shubh naam kya hai?)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We say:<\/strong> \u201cWhat\u2019s your good name?\u201d<\/em>
Truth: <\/strong>English has no such thing. But \u201cgood name\u201d carries warmth and courtesy. And honestly, it sounds sweeter than plain \u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Give an Exam<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Teachers, students, everyone\u2019s giving, no one\u2019s taking.)<\/em>
We say:<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019m giving my exams next week.\u201d<\/em>
Truth:<\/strong> Students take exams.<\/em> Teachers give exams.<\/em> But in India, everyone\u2019s a giver. So generous! :p<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, does it matter that we use these words \u201cwrongly\u201d? Honestly, no. As long as two people talking get each other, the job is done. That\u2019s the whole point of language, right? to connect, not to police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Words are slippery little things. They carry history, shifts in meaning, and cultural quirks. The good news? Language is alive, and even when we \u201cmisuse\u201d words, if enough people do it, the dictionary eventually will have to accept it. So rather than finding the right words, here is to finding the words that make us happy, make us feel right at home, like literally..!! \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love & Icecreams<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sneha Singhvi<\/p>\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A while back in India, talking in English was a very big deal. Remember those school rules? \u201cEnglish only, no Hindi, no Marathi, no Kannada in the corridors.\u201d Kids would actually get fined or scolded for slipping into their mother tongue. Speaking in English was almost a badge of being \u201csmart\u201d or \u201cmodern.\u201d Fast forward to today and things have flipped. Every state now wants its own language in the spotlight, boards, announcements, even ruckus over signages. But through all this, I still feel English is still here to stay. Although it might be a bit twisted, stretched, and given our own desi masala flavor. Here are some of the words we\u2019ve cheerfully bent out of shape, without a shred of guilt, hehe..!! 1. Literally (Drama is our middle name)We say: \u201cI literally died laughing.\u201dTruth: Unless you\u2019re reading this from the afterlife, you didn\u2019t actually die. \u201cLiterally\u201d means exactly as stated. But in India, we use it like extra mirchi in a curry for that extra zing! 2. Peruse (Skimming in the name of studying.)We say: \u201cI perused the notes quickly.\u201dTruth: Nope. \u201cPeruse\u201d means read carefully or study in detail, not \u201cflip through two minutes before the exam.\u201d But hey, even our shortcuts deserve fancy words. 3. Ultimate ( Because why stop at best when you can be ultimate?)We say: \u201cThis chaat stall has the ultimate panipuri!\u201dTruth: \u201cUltimate\u201d technically means the final or last in a series. But for us, it\u2019s a synonym for the best ever. And honestly, pani puri deserves nothing less. 4. Prepone ( India: 1, English: 0)We say: \u201cThe meeting is preponed to 2 PM.\u201dTruth: This word doesn\u2019t even exist in global English. We invented it to balance \u201cpostpone.\u201d Honestly, Oxford should thank us, we fixed their gap! 5. Cousin Brother \/ Cousin Sister ( We like our relations crystal clear.)We say: \u201cMeet my cousin brother.\u201dTruth: In English, \u201ccousin\u201d is gender-free. But Indians are practical people, we love clarity. Why leave it vague when you can specify? 6. Passed Out (Graduated\u2026 or fainted? You decide)We say: \u201cI passed out of college in 2010.\u201dTruth: In English, \u201cpassed out\u201d means fainted. The correct word is graduated. But given how exams feel, fainting and finishing often go hand in hand. 7. Revert (Emails aren\u2019t complete without it)We say: \u201cPlease revert back at the earliest.\u201dTruth: \u201cRevert\u201d already means reply or return. That \u201cback\u201d is just extra weight. But admit it, your email feels naked without it. 8. Discuss About (Double protection, Indian style)We say: \u201cLet\u2019s discuss about it later.\u201dTruth: \u201cDiscuss\u201d already implies \u201cabout.\u201d But we love a little safety net. Why use one word when two feel more secure? 9. Good Name (Apka shubh naam kya hai?) We say: \u201cWhat\u2019s your good name?\u201dTruth: English has no such thing. But \u201cgood name\u201d carries warmth and courtesy. And honestly, it sounds sweeter than plain \u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d 10. Give an Exam (Teachers, students, everyone\u2019s giving, no one\u2019s taking.)We say: \u201cI\u2019m giving my exams next week.\u201dTruth: Students take exams. Teachers give exams. But in India, everyone\u2019s a giver. So generous! :p Now, does it matter that we use these words \u201cwrongly\u201d? Honestly, no. As long as two people talking get each other, the job is done. That\u2019s the whole point of language, right? to connect, not to police. Words are slippery little things. They carry history, shifts in meaning, and cultural quirks. The good news? Language is alive, and even when we \u201cmisuse\u201d words, if enough people do it, the dictionary eventually will have to accept it. So rather than finding the right words, here is to finding the words that make us happy, make us feel right at home, like literally..!! \ud83d\ude09 Love & Icecreams Sneha Singhvi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[47],"class_list":["post-273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/snehasinghvi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/snehasinghvi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/snehasinghvi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snehasinghvi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snehasinghvi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/snehasinghvi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":278,"href":"https:\/\/snehasinghvi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273\/revisions\/278"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snehasinghvi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/snehasinghvi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snehasinghvi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/snehasinghvi.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}