Word Meaning
जाँ-काह
jāñ-kāh
hiadjective
Meaning
Soul-exhausting, life-draining, excruciating, or agonizingly fatal.
Detailed Meaning
A Persian compound adjective describing an affliction, sorrow, or effort that wears away the soul and drains life vitality. In this couplet by Mir, it qualifies the captive lover's sigh, emphasizing how each agonizing breath is so intensely agonizing that it slowly consumes existence itself.
Etymology
Persian: compound of 'jān' (soul, life) and 'kāh' (present stem of 'kāhīdan', meaning to diminish, consume, or reduce).
Usage
In classical Urdu poetry, it is standardly coupled with words like 'आह' (sigh), 'ग़म' (grief), or 'दर्द' (pain) to evoke the agonizing, slow destruction of the lover's spirit.
Examples
the soul-exhausting sorrow of separation
a life-draining sigh born of despair
Synonyms
जाँ-लेवारूह-फ़र्साहलाक-कुन
Related Words
जाँकाहिशजाँ-गुदाज़जाँ-सोज़