I'm insulted! (I think.)

July 23, 2006 11:20 AM

Pardon if this is vulgar or offensive: What do "Mada chod" and "Bey shalam" mean? How is the latter a retort to the former?

I just had an odd chat while playing a board game online. I was asked for my "asl plz" and told the guy to shut up and play (not too classy on my part, I admit.) he responded with "mada shod." I googled the phrase and got a general idea that it could be like calling someone a 'jerk,' but if anyone knows what the appropriate English translation is, I would appreciate knowing.

anyway, I skimmed the google results during the game and decided to try responding with "bey shalam" just for kicks. my opponent promptly apologized and we played on.

can anyone explain that exchange to me?

posted by carsonb to human relations (9 comments total)

If I recall correctly, mada shod means mother f*ck*r in Hindi or Bengali. I don't know what the other one means.
posted by special-k at 11:26 AM on July 23, 2006

My better half is from Bangladesh and he and his buddies use a Bengali phrase which sounds like "mada choy" for "motherfucker." Never heard the other one, but I'll ask him.
posted by jamesonandwater at 11:27 AM on July 23, 2006

Well here's your mada choy on a list of hindi swear words. On a quick scan, nothing I see that reads as bey shalom but plenty of other useful phrases . . .
posted by jamesonandwater at 11:38 AM on July 23, 2006

'Mada chod' is actually 'Madar chod' which means, as correctly suggested earlier, 'Mother fucker' and what you ought to have said instead of 'bey shalam' is 'bey sharam' which, rather innocuously in comparison, means 'shameless' (sharam = shame and bey = without).
posted by sk381 at 11:43 AM on July 23, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

my mistake, 'bey sharam' was my response.
posted by carsonb at 11:49 AM on July 23, 2006

As part of a cultural exchange, a co-worker of mine originally from India and I were discussing...ummm...cursing in Hindi vs. American english.

My lesson, so to speak, focused on the phrase behen chod which translates as sister f%#ker -- a variation on the phrase listed by the OP. Madar chowd is the spelling of that phrase according to my link.

Beofre using this phrase (pronounced ba hind' showed), I was advised to make sure that I was halfway out the door of the local bodega staffed by somewhat disagreeable folks who would understand this comment. :)
posted by bim at 11:52 AM on July 23, 2006

As an Indian, I'm ROFL'ing at this question. Can't add anything since it's already been answered. :)

On preview,

Beofre using this phrase (pronounced ba hind' showed),

Well, there are minor regional variations, but the "showed" part is incorrect. The "behen" is pronounced "be-hen" (the short "be" of "bell") and the latter part is "chod" with a "o" as in "soap" and a soft "d" at the end.

Tone is important while saying it though. And in Delhi, where I grew up, it's used practically as punctuation.
posted by madman at 1:27 PM on July 23, 2006

Thanks for the clarification, madman. And speaking of certain phrases practically being used as punctuation, I hope everyone caught yesterday's thread on a movie called The Big Lebowski. :)
posted by bim at 2:39 PM on July 23, 2006

bim: Thanks for the pointer. I'd missed that thread. (And as a hardcore Deadwood fan, it would have been a real shame if I'd missed it.)
posted by Meep! Eek! at 2:58 PM on July 23, 2006