vaadi

Vaadi is a transliteration variant of the Arabic term wadi, meaning a valley or dry riverbed. In geographic and linguistic contexts, vaadi/tadi refers to a channel or valley that may be dry for parts of the year and temporarily fills with water during rainfall. The concept is common in arid and semi-arid regions where seasonal rivers shape landscapes.

The term derives from Arabicوادي (wadi), and its appearance as "vaadi" reflects transliteration practices in South Asian languages such as Urdu and Hindi, where long vowels are often indicated in the local writing system. Consequently, vaadi serves as a local or historical spelling in some maps, texts, or signage, even though the standard English transliteration in many fields remains wadi.

In usage, vaadi can appear in descriptions of geography, geology, and topography, particularly when discussing valleys or dry river channels in Middle Eastern, North African, or South Asian contexts. It is not a distinct geographical feature on its own but a variant spelling associated with the same underlying concept as wadi.

Because transliteration conventions vary, readers may encounter both wadi and vaadi in sources discussing similar landscapes. When encounter in a specific text, it is helpful to recognize vaadi as a regional spelling variant of the widely used term wadi.

See also: Wadi; Desert geography; Toponymy.