Punjabi

American  

[puhn-jah-bee] / pʌnˈdʒɑ bi /

Or Panjabi

noun

Punjabis plural

1. a native or inhabitant of the Punjab.

2. an Indic language of the Punjab.

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Punjab, its people, or their language.

Punjabi British  

/ pʌnˈdʒɑːbɪ /

noun

1. a member of the chief people of the Punjab

2. the state language of the Punjab, belonging to the Indic branch of the Indo-European family

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Punjab, its people, or their language

Usage

What does Punjabi mean? A Punjabi is a person who is from or lives in Punjab, a former UK province. Punjabi is also the language spoken by the people of Punjab. Punjab was a province of British India until 1947. In that year, the province was split between the Asian countries of India and Pakistan. The majority of the former Punjab is now located in Pakistan, as the eastern province of Punjab. The rest of the land makes up the northwestern Indian state of Punjab. According to the 2011 Indian Census, just over 33 million speakers of Punjabi lived in India. It was the 11th most popular language in the country at that time, with 2. 7 percent of the country speaking it. According to the CIA Factbook, Punjabis are the largest ethnic group in Pakistan, making up 44. 7 percent of the population, and the Punjabi language is spoken by 48 percent of the country.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• Punjabis
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Punjabi

First recorded in 1780–90; Punjab + -ī a suffix indicating relationship or origin

Example Sentences

In 2025, it issued a similar directive against actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh over his appearance alongside Pakistani actor Hania Aamir in a Punjabi film.

From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026

On the way to the police station, Digwa, speaking in Punjabi to his brother, agreed to pretend that he had acted in self-defense.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026

The Koh-i-Noor, meaning "Mountain of Light" in Persian, has been the subject of conquest and intrigue for centuries, passing through the hands of Mughal princes, Iranian warriors, Afghan rulers and Punjabi Maharajas.

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026

Dressed in a layered outfit, Multani’s right wrist glinted with a Kara — an iron bracelet, known as one of five articles of Sikh faith — decorated with Punjabi language script and proudly visible.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

He shared the room with a teenaged Punjabi boy who, I later learned from one of the nurses, had broken his leg when he had slipped off the roof of a moving bus.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini