rafta

Rafta is a term that appears in several South Asian languages, notably Hindi and Urdu, where it is used as an adverb meaning slowly or gradually. In these languages, the form raftā (with a long a) is common in everyday speech, and the reduplication raftā raftā can be used for emphasis, similar to “little by little” in English. The word is often encountered in descriptions of slow progress, patient change, or careful action.

Transliteration from Devanagari or Perso-Arabic script yields spellings such as raftā and raftaa. The meaning remains the same across these spellings: gradual pace or tempo. Grammatically, rafta is typically an adverb, but it can appear in phrases with verbs to express gradualness.

Beyond linguistic use, rafta may function as a proper noun in limited contexts, such as personal names or brand names. There is no widely recognized international entity named rafta; usage is highly context-dependent.

See also: raft.