Bengali vocabulary
Bengali is one of the Indo-Aryan languages, which evolved from Magadhi Prakrit, native to the eastern Indian subcontinent. The core of Bengali vocabulary is thus etymologically of Magadhi Prakrit origin, with significant ancient borrowings from the older substrate language of the region. However, in medieval times, more borrowings have occurred, from Sanskrit, Arabic, Classical Persian, Turkish and other languages has led to the adoption of a wide range of words with foreign origins; thus making the origins of borrowed words in the Bengali vocabulary numerous and diverse, due to centuries of contact with various languages.
Origins of words in Bengali
Bengali is typically thought to have around 100,000 separate words, of which 16,000 are considered to be তদ্ভব tôdbhôbô, or Tadbhava, 40,000 are তৎসম tôtśômô or Tatsama, and borrowings from দেশী deśi, or "indigenous" words, which are at around 16,000 of the Bengali vocabulary. The rest are বিদেশী bideśi or "foreign" sources, including Persian, Turkish, Arabic, and English among others, accounting for around 28,000 of all Bengali words, highlighting the significant influence that foreign languages and cultures have had on the Bengali language throughout Bengal's long history of contact with different peoples and the cultural exchanges that came with such interactions.Persian had one of the most significant influence in terms of foreign loanwords, and numerous sources put this figure at around 10,000 words at a minimum, which includes words that were borrowed directly from Persian and words influenced by it. However, these figures do not reflect the average Bengali speaker's vocabulary, as this will vary greatly by dialect. For example, Muslims and Bangladeshis typically lean on more Persian and Arabic words in their Bengali than their Hindu and Indian Bengali counterparts. Persian influence was so significant throughout Bengal's history, and was the official language of the region for 600 years, until the British arrived and changed it to English in 1836. Persian influence was so extensive that during the medieval Bengal period, a register of highly Persianized Bengali formed, known as Dobhashi, which was used by administrative officials and for literary purposes.
Differences in vocabulary
This table below compares the differences of spoken and used Bengali vocabularies in Dhaka and Shantipur.| Word | Dhakaiya dialect | Dhakaiya transcription | Shantipuri dialect | Shantipuri transcription |
| Water | পানি | pani | জল | jôl |
| Salt | লবণ | lôbôn | নুন | nun |
| Invitation | দাওয়াত | dawat | আমন্ত্রণ/নিমন্ত্রণ/নেমন্তন্ন | amôntrôn/nimôntrôn/nemôntônnô |
| Chili | মরিচ | môric | লঙ্কা | laṅkā |
| Maternal Aunt | খালা | khala | মাসি | masi |
| Paternal Aunt | ফুফু | phuphu | পিসি | pisi |
| Bath | গোসল | gosôl | স্নান/চান | snān/chān |
| Wind | হাওয়া | hāoā | বাতাস | batas |