Anyone speak Arabic?

[Papa Verine]

I've been visiting all these Indian, Pakistani stores lately and they have huge sections of herbal supplements and different preparations for whatever ails you. So, I'm wondering if anyone knows how to say "opium" or "poppies" or whatever in Arabic or however it might be spelled on Indian products.

It would be cool to find something useful. They have lots of Betel nut, Nigella seeds and Ashwaganda... but I'm wondering if there's an opium-containing product to be found. I just can't read any of the labeling. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to look for? Are there "medicines" sold OTC in India that contain opium? It looks like they brought EVERYTHING over here to fill up some of these stores.

Thanks to anyone who can help!

[RxQueen]

sorry i can't help ya here. but my best friend way back in high school spoke arabic and persian... i remember getting her to teach me a few phrases in each, but nothing that would help here (even if i could remember them 24 years later!)

[Indy]

You could look for myrrh, they say that it's a mild opioid and a good potentiator. I remember they call the powdered poppy straw "doda" pronounced doh-day.

Poppy seed is
أبو النوم


abu an-num : "father of sleep or abu al num, abu al noom, abu al anum, different ways to spell it but basically the same"

Or Khashkhash- خشخاش is a culinary word for poppy seed i think. I might have them mixed up, and it'shard to type because whenever i paste arabic into the box, it starts making me type from right to left and messing with my font as you can see

[Indy]

I'm making another post because typing in that first one is really messed up (try editing it once and see if it's like that for you, mods), it makes me type right to left and skips all over the page.

I posted that second arabic word right before khashkhash, but that's supposed to be the word for khashkhash i think. Use khashkhash whenever possible, because it's the word for poppyseed in arabic and farsi, and you might have more luck in pakistani shops with that.

I don't know about Indian stores though...maybe you could try the ancient Sumerian word "hul-gil" or joy plant! Not sure how many ancient sumerians you'll run into, though...

[clonaze-whammed]

if the shop is indian/pakistani then i doubt that its an Arabic translation you're looking for.
more likely Urdu or some other Indian language, of which there are many and look similar to arabic when written.

[nick]

I've heard post or posta used for poppies in urdu,but I believe that's slang and I've heard dodae or khas khas used by Indians(hindi).Actually,I think dodae is Punjabi for opium.

Go with any or all of those because all these languages:farci,hindi,urdu and pashtun are similar and interconnected.

Can't help with arabic,my arabic only extends to no thank you and get lost.

[Morphus]

Turkish=Afiyum=opium i believe

[Papa Verine]

Hey thanks everybody for your help on this one. I think I made it pretty obvious with my OP that I don't know what the Hell I'm talking about when it comes to what languages are spoken/written in India and Pakistan.

And as for seeds... all these stores sell white poppy seed. the seed germinates well. I grew it one year. But the seeds sold in the stores are so damned clean it's obvious they wash them well before selling them for culinary use. I've found 3 different brands of white poppy seed, imported from India. They're all the same. Very, very clean. They practically sparkle...

I'll always keep looking though. I think it would be real cool to find a bag of white poppy seed that looks all dirty, with bits of pod debris all mixed in. I'd have to give those a try for a cup of tea.

[Swellin]

Hey keep us updated i would love to know if this worked, we have tons of Pakistanis, and Hindus where i come from. And i wouldn't mind walking into one of there stores one day and coming out with a bag full of opium haha

[Papa Verine]

Hey keep us updated i would love to know if this worked, we have tons of Pakistanis, and Hindus where i come from. And i wouldn't mind walking into one of there stores one day and coming out with a bag full of opium haha

Have you tried the Betel nuts yet? I don't like the shit... but some people do.

[EleusisII]

Meh, I can say "I'm a Danish journalist", "Where is the army" "Who is shooting" and "How much is..." but I doubt any arabic will help you with an Urdu-speaking Pakistani shopkeeper ;)

Did I write this just to be a smartass? No friend... I'm here to help!

In Toronto, you can buy "Dode", crushed up poppys perfect for tea, in Indian stores.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/459351

Might be worth asking for...

[bindegal]

In Toronto, you can buy "Dode", crushed up poppys perfect for tea, in Indian stores.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/459351

Might be worth asking for...

Interesting article!
Can I ask where you learned using that helpfull vocabulary? :p

[EleusisII]

Nablus, Ramallah and the Gaza strip ;)