Punjabi · Words
What counselling means in Punjabi, word by word
There is no single Punjabi word that means what English means by counselling, and that gap is doing more damage in more families than any of the words themselves.
5 min read · Updated September 17, 2026
Counselling is most often said in Punjabi as ਕਾਊਂਸਲਿੰਗ (kaunsling), the English word written in Gurmukhi, or as ਸਲਾਹ-ਮਸ਼ਵਰਾ (salah-mashwara), which means consultation or taking advice. Neither is exact: the first is borrowed and the second suggests someone telling you what to do, which is not what a counsellor does. Related words are ਮਾਨਸਿਕ ਸਿਹਤ (mansik sehat, mental health), ਚਿੰਤਾ (chinta, worry or anxiety), ਉਦਾਸੀ (udaasi, low mood), ਤਣਾਅ (tanaa, stress) and ਥਕਾਵਟ (thakavat, exhaustion, which is how burnout is usually described). The word most families fear is ਪਾਗਲ (paagal, mad) and it has nothing to do with any of this.
The two words people reach for, and why neither is quite right
In practice most Punjabi speakers in Canada use ਕਾਊਂਸਲਿੰਗ when speaking to someone their own age and ਸਲਾਹ-ਮਸ਼ਵਰਾ or ਮਾਨਸਿਕ ਸਿਹਤ when explaining it to a parent or grandparent. Both are correct. If you are trying to describe it to family, ਮਾਨਸਿਕ ਸਿਹਤ ਬਾਰੇ ਗੱਲ ਕਰਨਾ — talking about mental health — lands more easily than either, because it describes what happens rather than naming a service nobody has used.
| Punjabi | Said as | What it actually carries |
|---|---|---|
| ਕਾਊਂਸਲਿੰਗ | kaunsling | The English word, written in Gurmukhi. Exact in meaning and slightly foreign in feel, which is why an older relative may not recognise it. |
| ਸਲਾਹ-ਮਸ਼ਵਰਾ | salah-mashwara | Consultation, taking advice. Familiar and respectable, but it implies being told what to do — the opposite of how counselling works. |
| ਮਾਨਸਿਕ ਸਿਹਤ | mansik sehat | Mental health, literally. Neutral and accurate. Useful precisely because it sounds medical rather than shameful. |
| ਮਨੋਵਿਗਿਆਨੀ | manovigiaani | Psychologist. Often used loosely for any mental-health professional, which causes confusion about who can diagnose. |
The feeling words, and what gets lost
This is the practical reason a session in Punjabi is different from a session in English with a Punjabi name on the door. Somebody describing ਥਕਾਵਟ is not making a smaller claim than somebody describing burnout; they are using the word their language gives them. A counsellor who works in both hears which one it is.
| Punjabi | Said as | English | Where it does not map |
|---|---|---|---|
| ਚਿੰਤਾ | chinta | Worry, anxiety | Covers ordinary worry and a clinical anxiety disorder with one word, so "I have ਚਿੰਤਾ" can mean either. English separates them; Punjabi leaves it to context. |
| ਉਦਾਸੀ | udaasi | Sadness, low mood | Depression as a condition has no everyday word. ਉਦਾਸੀ sounds like a mood that will pass, which is why a depressive episode is so often heard as ordinary sadness. |
| ਤਣਾਅ | tanaa | Stress, tension | Closest to the English "stress" and widely understood. |
| ਥਕਾਵਟ | thakavat | Exhaustion, tiredness | How burnout is usually described. It puts the problem in the body, which is often how it is first felt and which makes it easier to say out loud. |
| ਸਦਮਾ | sadma | Shock, trauma | Means a sudden blow. The English clinical sense — something that keeps affecting you years later — is not carried by the word. |
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ਇੱਜ਼ਤ, ਸ਼ਰਮ, and the word nobody wants said about them
Two words come up in almost every first conversation. ਇੱਜ਼ਤ (izzat) is honour or standing — not vanity, but the family's position in the eyes of people whose opinion has consequences. ਸ਼ਰਮ (sharam) is shame, and it is the thing that keeps a person from saying any of this at home. Neither word is a problem to be argued away. They are real features of a real community and they get treated as such.
And then ਪਾਗਲ (paagal), mad. It is the word people are afraid will be attached to them, and it is the reason a great many Punjabi-speaking people arrive at counselling years later than they needed to. Counselling is not for ਪਾਗਲ people. It is a conversation with somebody trained to have it, about sleep, work, marriage, grief, parents, money and the things that are keeping you up — the same list as everybody else's.
Confidentiality matters more here than most pages admit, and it is worth being exact: nothing said in a session goes to your family, your community, your employer or your temple, with the narrow legal limits every counsellor has, set out on the standards page.
If you want the rest of this in Punjabi
The practice keeps a full set of pages written in Punjabi rather than translated word for word: ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਕਾਊਂਸਲਿੰਗ is the main one, with guides on what happens in a first session and low mood and exhaustion.
In English, Punjabi-speaking counselling explains how sessions work and who provides them, and therapy in Punjabi versus English is about which language to actually choose, which is a harder question than it looks when you think in both.
Common questions
What is counselling in Punjabi?
Most often ਕਾਊਂਸਲਿੰਗ (kaunsling), the English word written in Gurmukhi, or ਸਲਾਹ-ਮਸ਼ਵਰਾ (salah-mashwara), meaning consultation. When explaining it to an older relative, ਮਾਨਸਿਕ ਸਿਹਤ ਬਾਰੇ ਗੱਲ ਕਰਨਾ — talking about mental health — is usually understood more easily than either, because it says what happens instead of naming a service.
What is burnout in Punjabi?
There is no clinical term. It is described as ਥਕਾਵਟ (thakavat), exhaustion, and sometimes as ਤਣਾਅ (tanaa), stress. Both place it in the body rather than the mind, which is often how it is first noticed and which makes it easier to say out loud at home.
Is there a Punjabi word for depression?
Not an everyday one. ਉਦਾਸੀ (udaasi) means sadness or low mood, and it is the word most people use, but it sounds like something that will lift on its own. That mismatch is one reason a depressive episode in a Punjabi-speaking family is often heard as ordinary sadness for a long time before anybody treats it as more.
Do I have to speak Punjabi in the session?
No. Most people move between Punjabi and English in the same sentence, and that is normal here rather than something to apologise for. You can also book in English entirely and switch when a word only exists in one of them.
Who provides counselling in Punjabi at Westpeak?
Savneet Singh, a Registered Clinical Counsellor who works in Punjabi and English. Sessions are online, anywhere in British Columbia, and the first 30-minute consultation is free.
Will my family find out?
No. What is said in a session is confidential, with the narrow legal exceptions every counsellor has — a serious risk of harm, abuse of a minor, or a court order. Those are explained plainly at the first meeting. Nothing goes to family, community or an employer.
Sources
General information, not clinical, financial, or legal advice. Coverage and service details change, verify anything decision-critical directly with the provider or insurer. If you are in crisis, call or text 9-8-8 (Canada, 24/7) or 310-6789 for BC Mental Health Support.
Questions about cost or coverage?
A free 30-minute consultation is a good place to ask them, before committing to anything.
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