One-to-one mapping is not always there between words in two different languages, but of course sometimes it is there. Apple almost always means the fruit (unless it becomes a brand, or is used in a particular idiom) and सेब has the same properties.

But things get complicated when at first look it seems like there is a one-to-one mapping between two words, but one of them corresponds to a word which seems to make a one-to-one pair with another word.

Confusing?

Let me take this up with an example, or basically the words I want to talk about — ‘and’ and ‘more’.

The word ‘and’ means ‘और’. We could also use तथा/व etc., too, but for now let’s go with और which is most common in spoken language.

On the other hand, at first look it seems like ‘more’ means ‘अधिक’ or ‘ज़्यादा’, in a similar manner. (The two are pretty much the same words with different roots.)

However, if we look a little carefully, we realise that ‘more’ cannot always be translated as ‘अधिक’, even if the meanings are not far apart.

For example, when someone says, “Have some more food”, they mean “थोड़ा और खाना खाओ” and not “थोड़ा ज़्यादा खाना खाओ”, because ‘more’ works for both additional and comparative meanings, but in Hindi, ‘अधिक/ज़्यादा’ is used for comparison, and ‘और’ is used to signify additional. If you say “थोड़ा ज़्यादा खाना खाओ”, it would actually work in a comparative sense, and the implied meaning will be either you eat more than you usually do, or more than you want to.

Put it on the other side of the same conversation, and you’ll find equally interesting (and almost funny) meanings.

If someone says “I want more food”, they’re saying “मुझे और खाना चाहिए” and not “मुझे ज़्यादा खाना चाहिए”. The latter would sound like they want to say that they want more food than others, or than is usual for people to eat.

Similarly, if they say “I don’t want more food”, they are saying “मुझे और खाना नहीं चाहिए” and not “मुझे ज़्यादा खाना नहीं चाहिए”. The latter actually translates to “I don’t want much food” rather than more food, completely changing the meaning.

This entire thing gets even more interesting in cases where ‘and’ and ‘more’ are used together, and that’s pretty common when we mention a few things and say “and more”. It’s often seen as translated to “और अधिक”, while honestly, ‘more’ alone would mean “और अधिक” in this context. Maybe it can be better understood if we use तथा/व for ‘and’ here. Then we can write “तथा और अधिक” instead.

For example, “Movies, music, and more” can be “फ़िल्में, संगीत, तथा और अधिक”. Or rather, something like “फ़िल्में, संगीत तथा और भी बहुत कुछ”. Now that sounds quite natural.

While usage of “और अधिक” for “…and more” in unnatural and not exactly correct, even “तथा और अधिक” sounds odd too because in Hindi, using an adjective (अधिक) without a noun, or at least a very clearly implied noun, isn’t natural, and hence adding “बहुत कुछ” makes it sound more natural.

Of course, if you read it in the right context, “and more” can be simply translated to “और और”, but would look very odd, though, I’m pretty sure we say things like “और और भी बहुत कुछ” while speaking.

So next time you translate ‘more’, maybe wait for a second and check whether it’s used in the comparative sense or additional, and if it’s the latter, see if using ‘और’ is an option.