bengali

bengali — adjective

IPA/beŋˈɡɔː.li/
KK[bɛŋɡˈɑli]IPA/beŋˈɡɔː.li/
  • bengalipositive
  • more bengalicomparative
  • most bengalisuperlative

1. connected with Bangladesh, West Bengal, or the people and culture of that area

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

connected with Bangladesh, West Bengal, or the people and culture of that area

Example

The museum opened a Bengali art show for local school groups.

pattern: Bengali + art / music / food

Our teacher played a Bengali song before the lesson began.

Common collocations
  • Bengali art
  • Bengali song
  • Bengali sweets
  • Bengali fish curry

Grammar Patterns

Bengali music

Bengali family

Bengali food

Usage Note

Usually appears before nouns such as language, food, music, art, or people. In this entry, the adjective covers links to both Bangladesh and West Bengal.

Common Mistakes

She is Bengali language.
She speaks Bengali.' / 'She is Bengali.
Use Bengali alone for a person or a language, not before language in this pattern.

bengali — noun

IPA/beŋˈɡɔːli/
KK[bɛŋɡˈɑli]IPA/beŋˈɡɑːli/

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Bengali can describe a person, a language, or something connected with the Bengal region. Bangladeshi is narrower: it is for nationality or things from Bangladesh, so it does not cover people or culture from West Bengal in India. Bangla is mainly another name for the language, not for a person. Bengal is the place name for the wider historical region, while Bengali names the people, the language, and related culture.

Bengali ↗Bangladeshi ↗BanglaBengal

Etymology

English

Bengali comes from the place name Bengal and is used in English for the people, language, and things connected with that region.