In my conversational Hindi classes, online for kids, I teach Hindi but also often incorporate general learning and knowledge so that students learn about a topic while also learning Hindi. In one such lesson I taught, what’s the difference between a jungle and a forest?
The first thing to know is that the word jungle aka jangal is actually a Sanskrit word! The original Sanskrit word is jangala. It means rough and arid. English borrowed it from the Hindustani word, jangal, in the 1900s.
Jungle in Hindi: jangal
Forest in Hindi: vana or vann. This also means “woods”.
What’s The Difference Between a Jungle and a Forest?
There are a few differences.
Size. Vann is usually larger than a jangal.
Climate. Jangal generally has high temperatures, humid and rain. Forests are generally dry. But not all forests are dry as as there are rainforests as well. We will talk about those later.
Trees/Plants. Jangal has trees, vines, plants that are thick, tangled and intertwined and cover from the ground to the tall trees. They have a lot of undergrowth. That just means a lot of plant life growing close to the ground. Jangal also has much more plant life of trees + plants + bush compared to vann which generally have a lot of tall trees.
Access. Because there is so much more plant life in a jangal, it makes it harder for people to go through compared to a vann.
Location. Sometimes a jangal is at the edge of a vann. In other words, in some places a vann turns into a jangal and vice versa.
Gyaan par Dhyaan: The word jungle is not a scientific term but the word forest is.
Similarities of Forests and Jungles
Animals. Jangal and vann have a lot of animals and lots of different species, though jangal generally has more.
Locations. Jangal and vann can both be found near the equator and in tropical areas. But not all vann are near the equator or tropical areas. Many vann are in dry climates.
Gyaan par Dhyaan: Every jangal is a vann but not every vann is a jangal. That makes sense because every jangal has a community of lambay paird (tall trees). But not every vann has loads of plants closely packed together growing all over the ground. And not every vann has a lot of rain.
What’s The Difference Between a Jungle and a Rainforest?
We have answered the question, what’s the difference between a jungle and forest? But what about the difference between a jungle and a rainforest?
They seem very similar. And they are. But remember we said there are forests (vann) and there are also rainforests. These are two different things.
First let’s learn what a rainforest is called in Hindi: varsha vann.
A varsha vann is a type of vann (forest). Like a regular vann, it has lots of tall trees. But a varsha vann is not dry. It is the opposite – as the name implies – rainforest. Thus they have a lot of rain. The trees “close” the rainforest like a closed canopy. That means that less sunlight comes through which means that the trees and plant life inside a varsha vann depend highly on paanee. And that inside a varsha vann is humid.
So what’s the difference between a jangal and a varsha vann? Even though they are similar there are some differences. A varsha vann gets less sunlight than a jangal as you can see in the images above.
Varsha vann has a closed canopy of trees that lets less sunlight pass through. And like a dry vann, it has mostly lots of tall trees and people can travel through it whereas a jangal has much more dense and tangled plant growth close to the ground and throughout into the tree tops which makes it more difficult for people to get through.
The Words Jangal and Vann In Everyday Use
In everyday conversation the terms jangal (jungle) and vann (forest) are often used interchangeably. And so are the terms jangal and varsha vann (rainforest). Unless you’re a scientist or researched, using these words interchangeably is fine. But I wrote this article to satisfy curiosity.
Jangal, Vann, and Varsha Vann
in India
Did you know that India is where Disney’s famous The Jungle Book takes place? The ‘bad guy’ is a tiger named Sher Khan. But Sher actually means lion in Hindi. Tiger, in Hindi, is baagh.
India has jangal, vann as well as varsha vann. In fact about 25% of the country is forested. The jangal are found at the edges of the varsha vann in south India, Northeast India as well as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
My Visit To Ranthambore National Park
In 2023 I had the opportunity to visit Ranthambore National Park in India. This national park is a vann (forest). Ranthambore is a popular place to go on safari to see the world famous Bengal Tigers. Did you know that the Bengal Tiger is the national animal of India?
What is a national animal? It’s an animal that comes from that country or is found in that country. Countries choose their national aminal based on the cool things that the animal can do or how beautiful it is, or how strong it is or what the animal is known for.
The Bengal Tiger is strong, brave, beautiful, and unique – all things that are true about India too.
Not only are there Bengal Tigers in Ranthambore but many mohr (peacocks), baaloo (bears), langur (similar to a monkey – bandar) too!
While the Bengal Tiger is the national animal of India, the peacock (mohr) is the national bird of India.
Hindi Jungle and Forest Vocabulary Learn and Listen
Junjal
Vann
Varsha Vann
Paird
Baagh
Share
Bandar
Hiren
Mohr
Chideeya
Summary
In this blog, we answered, what’s the difference between a jungle and a forest. While learning this interesting distinction we learned many Hindi vocabulary words as well. Use this blog to larn Hindi online or consider joining one of our Hindi classes.
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About Samta Aunty
Growing up in Orange County, California, I learned Hindi and Indian culture from my parents and the community. At one point, in addition to understanding Hindi, I developed an interest in speaking, and my parents encouraged me.
Friday night was date-night with my mom. We would eat parathas and watch Hindi movies together. I asked lots of questions and switched to speaking in Hindi at home.
That day, in high school, when my Chachi in Delhi said, “Tumhari Hindi bahut achi hain” is one of my favorite memories.
I started Virtual PreSkool to pay it forward. It’s fulfilling when a student comes to class and excitedly shares that they successfully connected with grandparents/relatives or when they were in India and knew how to ask for directions.
After completing undergrad at UC Irvine, I did my MBA at the USC Marshall School of Business. I’ve been an entrepreneur my entire career.
When I’m not teaching and creating lessons, I’m usually exercising, cooking vegan meals, or traveling. I love writing about travel on my blog PassportPages.
Dhanyavaad!
