Intoxicating in Malayalam
None of the listed words is a plain modern adjective for intoxicating; most of them name the drink itself. മദിര (madhira) is the one glossed as intoxicating, a literary Sanskrit word that in practice is read as wine or liquor, while മദ്യം (madyam) is the ordinary noun for an intoxicating drink.
Intoxicating.
മദിര ഗന്ധം മുറിയിൽ നിറഞ്ഞു.
madhira gandham muriyil niranju.
An intoxicating smell filled the room.
All Malayalam words for “intoxicating”
- മദിര (madhira) — Intoxicating.
- മദന (madhana) — Intoxicating, arousing sexual passion, delightful, pert. to Cupid (god of love).
- മദ്യം (madyam) — Intoxicating drink, toddy, liquor.
- മദ്യപാനം (madyapaanam) — Drinking intoxicating liquor.
- മദ്യമേഖല (madyamegala) — Wet area, area where drinking of intoxicating liquor is allowed.
മദിര is poetic and bookish, മദ്യം is the everyday noun for liquor, മദ്യപാനം is the act of drinking it, and മദ്യമേഖല is an administrative term for an area where drinking is permitted. For describing something as intoxicating, Malayalam normally builds a phrase rather than using one of these.
Common questions
What is intoxicating in Malayalam?
The listed equivalent is മദിര (madhira), though in use it reads as wine. For an intoxicating drink the natural noun is മദ്യം (madyam).
Is madyam a formal word?
It is the neutral, standard word, used on signboards, in laws and in news reports about liquor policy, so it is safe in writing and in speech.