Jaggery names in Indian languages: gur, gul, gol, vellam, bellam and more
One food, a dozen names. What jaggery and jaggery powder are called in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi and more, in their own scripts.
In short: Jaggery is गुड़ (gur or gud) in Hindi, ਗੁੜ (gur) in Punjabi, गूळ (gul) in Marathi, ગોળ (gol) in Gujarati, গুড় (gur) in Bengali, வெல்லம் (vellam) in Tamil, బెల్లం (bellam) in Telugu, ಬೆಲ್ಲ (bella) in Kannada and ശർക്കര (sharkara) in Malayalam. All of them name the same food: sugarcane juice boiled down until it sets.
Jaggery in every language, in one table
| Language | Jaggery | Said as | Jaggery powder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hindi | गुड़ | gud or gur | गुड़ पाउडर, शक्कर (gud powder, shakkar) |
| Punjabi | ਗੁੜ | gur | ਸ਼ੱਕਰ (shakkar) |
| Urdu | گڑ | gur | گڑ کا پاؤڈر، شکر (gur ka powder, shakkar) |
| Marathi | गूळ | gul | गूळ पावडर (gul powder) |
| Gujarati | ગોળ | gol | ગોળ પાવડર (gol powder) |
| Bengali | গুড় | gur | গুড় পাউডার (gur powder) |
| Odia | ଗୁଡ଼ | guda | ଗୁଡ଼ ଗୁଣ୍ଡ (guda gunda) |
| Assamese | গুৰ | gur | গুৰৰ গুড়ি (guror guri) |
| Tamil | வெல்லம் | vellam | நாட்டுச் சர்க்கரை (nattu sakkarai) |
| Telugu | బెల్లం | bellam | బెల్లం పొడి (bellam podi) |
| Kannada | ಬೆಲ್ಲ | bella | ಬೆಲ್ಲದ ಪುಡಿ (bellada pudi) |
| Malayalam | ശർക്കര | sharkara | ശർക്കര പൊടി (sharkara podi) |
| Konkani | गोड | godd | |
| Nepali | सखर | sakhar | |
| Sindhi | ڳڙ | gur | |
| Sanskrit | गुड | guda | |
| Sinhala | හකුරු | hakuru |
Checked against the Digital Dictionaries of South Asia and Wiktionary, October 2026.
Pick your language
- Jaggery in Hindi: गुड़ (gud or gur)
- Jaggery in Punjabi: ਗੁੜ (gur)
- Jaggery in Urdu: گڑ (gur)
- Jaggery in Marathi: गूळ (gul)
- Jaggery in Gujarati: ગોળ (gol)
- Jaggery in Bengali: গুড় (gur)
- Jaggery in Odia: ଗୁଡ଼ (guda)
- Jaggery in Assamese: গুৰ (gur)
- Jaggery in Tamil: வெல்லம் (vellam)
- Jaggery in Telugu: బెల్లం (bellam)
- Jaggery in Kannada: ಬೆಲ್ಲ (bella)
- Jaggery in Malayalam: ശർക്കര (sharkara)
Two families of words
Look down the table and the names fall into two groups. Across the north, west and east the word descends from the Sanskrit guda: gur, gud, gul, gol, guda. Across the south it is a different root altogether: vellam, bellam, bella. Malayalam stands apart with sharkara, from the Sanskrit word that also gave the world sugar.
Where the English word comes from
Jaggery is not an English invention. Merriam-Webster traces it to the Portuguese jágara, probably from the Malayalam chakkara, and dates its first known use in English to 1631. The Portuguese met it on the Kerala coast and carried the word home. The full story of what gud, gur and shakkar are called in English is in gud in English.
The powder has its own names
The block and the powder often carry different words. Tamil calls the block vellam and the powder nattu sakkarai. Punjabi calls the block gur and the powder shakkar. Elsewhere the powder is simply the block’s name with the local word for powder added: bellam podi, bellada pudi, sharkara podi. What the powder is, in any language, is in what is jaggery powder.
Jaggery outside India
| Name | Where | Made from |
|---|---|---|
| Panela | Colombia and much of Latin America | Sugarcane |
| Piloncillo | Mexico | Sugarcane |
| Rapadura | Brazil | Sugarcane |
| Panocha | Philippines | Sugarcane |
| Kokuto | Okinawa, Japan | Sugarcane |
| Gula melaka, gula jawa | Malaysia and Indonesia | Coconut palm sap |
The trade calls all the cane ones non-centrifugal sugar: the molasses is never spun out.
Questions people ask
- What is jaggery called in Hindi?
- गुड़, written gur or gud in English. Jaggery powder is गुड़ पाउडर, and in western Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab it is called शक्कर (shakkar).
- What is jaggery called in Tamil?
- வெல்லம் (vellam). Powdered jaggery is நாட்டுச் சர்க்கரை (nattu sakkarai) and palm jaggery is கருப்பட்டி (karuppatti).
- What is jaggery called in Telugu?
- బెల్లం (bellam). Palm jaggery is తాటి బెల్లం (tati bellam).
- What is jaggery called in Kannada?
- ಬೆಲ್ಲ (bella). Jaggery powder is ಬೆಲ್ಲದ ಪುಡಿ (bellada pudi).
- What is jaggery called in Malayalam?
- ശർക്കര (sharkara). The older word ചക്കര (chakkara) is the source of the English word jaggery.
- What is jaggery called in Marathi and Gujarati?
- गूळ (gul) in Marathi and ગોળ (gol) in Gujarati.
- Are gur, gud, vellam and bellam the same thing?
- Yes, when they are made from sugarcane. They are regional names for the same food. Palm jaggery, such as karuppatti or khejur gur, is made from palm sap and is a different product.