Bengali

American  

[ben-gaw-lee, -gah-, beng-] / bɛnˈgɔ li, -ˈgɑ-, bɛŋ- /

noun

1. a native or an inhabitant of Bengal; Bengalese.

2. an Indic language spoken in E India and Bangladesh.

3. Bengalee.

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adjective

1. of or relating to Bengal, its inhabitants, or their language; Bengalese.

Bengali British  

/ bɛŋ-, bɛnˈɡɔːlɪ /

noun

1. a member of a people living chiefly in Bangladesh and in West Bengal. The West Bengalis are mainly Hindus; the East Bengalis of Bangladesh are mainly Muslims

2. Also called: Bangla.  the language of this people: the official language of Bangladesh and the chief language of West Bengal; it belongs to the Indic branch of the Indo-European family

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adjective

1. of or relating to Bengal, the Bengalis, or their language

Example Sentences

Bengali filmmaker Kaushik Ganguly cast Bhaduri in his films.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026

"Everything is there. I was stuck here," he told AFP in Karachi, near the well-known Bengali market where he peddles desiccated fish and prawns to make ends meet for $7 to $9 per day.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

In our Bengali household, traditional rice pudding is called Payesh.

From Salon • Jan. 10, 2026

He made campaign videos in Hindi and Bengali, among other languages.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 19, 2025

Her mother had typed up an explanation of Bengali wedding rituals on the computer and mailed it to all the Americans on the guest list.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri