punjabi
n. C / Un. a person from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, or the language they speak.
n. an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the Punjab region; also refers to a member of the ethnic group originating from that area.
My neighbor speaks Punjabi and English fluently.
The local community center offers classes for children to learn Punjabi so they can speak with their grandparents.
While Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in Pakistan, it is often used in informal settings while Urdu remains the primary language for government and education.
Borrowed from Classical Persian پنجابی (panjābī), from پنجاب (panjāb) + ـی (-ī, adjectival suffix). Equivalent to Punjab + -i.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Uncountable when referring to the language; countable when referring to an individual person.
Last updated May 8, 2026