Teera is the shoulder width, ghera is the flare at the hem, mohri is the opening at the ankle, and naap simply means measurement. Below is every word a Punjabi or Hindi speaking tailor writes on a suit form, in Gurmukhi and Devanagari, with the English name and where the tape goes. The second table works the other way, for when a size chart in English asks for inseam or bust and you need the word your tailor uses.
No measuring tape? Prop your phone, turn around twice, and the Silai scanner takes every measurement on this page in about two minutes, free, for men and women. Try the scanner
| On the form | Punjabi | Hindi | In English | Where it is taken |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naap | ਨਾਪ | नाप | Measurement | The full set of numbers for a garment |
| Teera | ਤੀਰਾ | तीरा | Shoulder width | Across the back, shoulder bone to shoulder bone |
| Chhaati, hikk | ਛਾਤੀ, ਹਿੱਕ | छाती | Chest or bust | Fullest part of the chest, level all round |
| Kamar, lakk | ਕਮਰ, ਲੱਕ | कमर | Waist | Natural waist, relaxed |
| Hip, kulhe | ਕੁੱਲ੍ਹੇ | कूल्हे | Hips | Fullest part of the seat |
| Lambai | ਲੰਬਾਈ | लंबाई | Length | Neck to hem (kameez), waist to ankle (salwar) |
| Baanh, aasteen | ਬਾਂਹ | बाँह, आस्तीन | Sleeve length | Shoulder bone to the sleeve hem |
| Baazu, dola | ਬਾਜ਼ੂ, ਡੌਲਾ | बाज़ू | Upper arm, bicep | Fullest part of the upper arm |
| Gala | ਗਲਾ | गला | Neck, neckline | Depth from the base of the neck |
| Baghal, kachh | ਬਗਲ, ਕੱਛ | बगल | Armhole | Around the shoulder joint, through the armpit |
| Ghera | ਘੇਰਾ | घेरा | Flare, hem circumference | All the way round the hem |
| Patt, jangh | ਪੱਟ | जांघ | Thigh | Fullest part of the upper leg |
| Goda | ਗੋਡਾ | घुटना | Knee | Around the knee, for a churidar |
| Mohri, paincha | ਮੋਹਰੀ, ਪਹੁੰਚਾ | मोहरी, पाँयचा | Bottom opening | The leg hem at the ankle |
| Chaak | ਚਾਕ | चाक | Side slit | Where the kameez slit starts |
| Nefa | ਨੇਫ਼ਾ | नेफ़ा | Waistband casing | The folded band the drawstring runs through |
| Nala, naada | ਨਾਲਾ | नाड़ा | Drawstring | Not measured: the tailor cuts it |
| Astar | ਅਸਤਰ | अस्तर | Lining | Say yes or no, and which fabric |
| Chunni, dupatta | ਚੁੰਨੀ, ਦੁਪੱਟਾ | दुपट्टा | Dupatta | Length and width, usually 2.25 m by 1 m |
Spellings vary from shop to shop because the words are written by ear in English letters: teera and tira, mohri and mori, paincha and poncha are the same words.
| On an English chart | Punjabi | Say it as | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measurement | ਨਾਪ | naap | Any body or garment number |
| Bust, chest | ਛਾਤੀ | chhaati | Girth around the fullest part of the chest |
| Waist | ਕਮਰ, ਲੱਕ | kamar, lakk | Girth of the natural waist |
| Hips | ਕੁੱਲ੍ਹੇ | kulhe | Fullest part of the seat; most tailors say hip |
| Shoulder width | ਤੀਰਾ | teera | Straight across the back, bone to bone |
| Sleeve length | ਬਾਂਹ ਦੀ ਲੰਬਾਈ | baanh di lambai | Shoulder bone to the sleeve hem |
| Length, outseam | ਲੰਬਾਈ | lambai | Top to hem, measured on the outside |
| Inseam | ਲੱਤ ਦੀ ਅੰਦਰਲੀ ਲੰਬਾਈ | latt di andarli lambai | Inside leg, crotch to ankle |
| Thigh | ਪੱਟ | patt | Girth of the upper leg |
| Armhole | ਬਗਲ | baghal | Around the shoulder joint |
| Neck depth | ਗਲੇ ਦੀ ਡੂੰਘਾਈ | gale di doonghai | Base of neck down to the neckline |
| Hem opening | ਮੋਹਰੀ | mohri | The opening of the leg at the ankle |
| Tailor, stitching | ਦਰਜ਼ੀ, ਸਿਲਾਈ | darzi, silai | The person and the work |
For reading an English size chart to a tailor, or filling an online form from a tailor's slip.
A tailor's slip from Ludhiana, Lahore or Southall is written in a working shorthand that no English size chart explains, and an online size chart is written in words the tailor never uses. Most wrong-size suits ordered from abroad start with one number written into the wrong box: a teera entered as a sleeve, or an inseam given where the tailor wanted the full lambai.
Two pairs cause most of the trouble. Lambai is the outside length, waist to ankle, while inseam is the inside leg and is 20 to 28 cm shorter. Chhaati is the girth all the way round, while a chest width on a ready-made listing is a straight line across the front. Write the English name and the unit beside every number and the slip can be read by anyone.
Mohri is written two ways. Some tailors write the hem measured all the way round, others the hem laid flat, which is half of it. Ask which one the form means before you copy a mohri from an old suit.
Buying ready-made instead? See the size charts for Lashkaraa, KALKI Fashion, Manyavar, Biba and seven more brands, each with a size finder. Buying a kurta? The kurta size calculator names your size at each of them.
Scan yourself with your phone camera on Silai: about 2 minutes, free, no tape and no second person. You get every measurement on this page, and you can see your own sheet right now, no account needed.
Buying ready-made? The same numbers show your size at Lashkaraa, KALKI Fashion, Manyavar, Biba and seven more brands.
Shoulder width. Teera is measured straight across the back from one shoulder bone to the other, and on a stitched shirt or kameez it is the distance between the two shoulder seams. A women's teera is usually 35 to 42 cm (14 to 16.5 in) and a men's 42 to 50 cm (16.5 to 19.5 in).
Flare, or hem circumference. Ghera is the distance all the way round the bottom edge of a kameez, frock, anarkali or lehenga. A straight kameez has a ghera a little over the hip measurement, and an anarkali or lehenga is quoted in metres.
The bottom opening of a trouser leg, at the ankle. Jeans mohri, pant mohri and salwar mohri all mean the hem of the leg. Paincha and poncha are other words for it.
Measurement. Suit da naap in Punjabi and suit ka naap in Hindi both mean the measurements for a suit, and naap dena means to give your measurements. In English a tailor's naap is a measurement chart or a measurement form.
List each measurement by its English name with a unit after the number: bust, waist, hips, shoulder width, sleeve length, armhole, kameez length, front and back neck depth, salwar length, thigh and bottom opening. The printable salwar kameez form on Silai has the fields in that order, with the Punjabi word beside each.
Inseam is the inside leg length from the crotch to the ankle bone: latt di andarli lambai (ਲੱਤ ਦੀ ਅੰਦਰਲੀ ਲੰਬਾਈ). Punjabi tailors rarely ask for it. For a salwar or pajama they take lambai, the outside length from the waist to the ankle, so give that unless a size chart asks for inseam by name.
Kamar da naap (ਕਮਰ ਦਾ ਨਾਪ), also said lakk da naap. It is the girth of the natural waist, the narrowest part of the torso above the navel. For a salwar the tailor measures lower, where the drawstring will sit.
Both mean chest. On a suit form chhaati is the bust or chest girth, taken around the fullest part with the tape level front and back.
Yes. Tailors in Punjab call the kameez the shirt, so shirt teera is the shoulder width of the kameez and shirt ghera is its hem.
Yes. The Silai scan reads chest, waist, hips, shoulder width, arm length, thigh and the lengths in about two minutes from a propped phone, and names each one in English so you can copy them onto a tailor's form.
Saree blouse measurements · What does blouse length 0.8 metre mean? · Kurta size chart, sizing and measurements · Lehenga measurements · Salwar kameez measurements · Gown and anarkali measurements · What measurements does a tailor need? · Men's kurta pajama measurements · Punjabi suit measurements, with the Punjabi and Hindi terms · Dupatta size: standard length and width
Measuring the body itself? Body measurement chart: what size am I? · How to measure your bust or chest · Is bust the same as chest? · How to measure your waist · How to measure your hips · How to measure your inseam and trouser length