Notebook cover in Hindi: what covers are called across India, and what each name means
Notebook cover in Hindi is usually कॉपी कवर or किताब कवर. What जिल्द, brown cover, synthetic cover and other trade names mean, and how to order clearly.
In Hindi, a notebook cover is usually called a कॉपी कवर (copy cover) or a किताब कवर (kitaab cover), and the roll it comes in is a बुक कवर रोल. Older customers may still say जिल्द, the traditional word for a book's cover, as in किताब पर जिल्द चढ़ाना. In the trade, the names that matter more are the ones that tell you the material and the packing: synthetic cover, brown cover, transparent cover, or cover by the kilo.
At Jagannath Polymers Pvt Ltd (JPPL) we make covers in our own plant and sell them to stationery distributors and wholesale dealers. The same roll gets called by different names in different towns, and sometimes the same name means a different roll. This guide is a map of the names you and your retailers are likely to hear, and what each one usually means.
What is a notebook cover called in Hindi?
Two words do most of the work.
- कॉपी (copy) is what most Hindi-speaking families call a school notebook. So a notebook cover is a कॉपी कवर.
- किताब (kitaab) is a book, usually a textbook. A किताब कवर is often asked for when the book is bigger than a notebook.
Then there is the old word. जिल्द is given in dictionaries such as HinKhoj as binding, the outer cover of a book. A grandmother may still ask a child, "जिल्द चढ़ाई?" before the new session. Many of us grew up hearing it.
Names you will hear in a stationery shop
| Name you hear | What it usually means in the trade | Closest JPPL design |
|---|---|---|
| कॉपी कवर, notebook cover | A cover for school notebooks, usually from a 14 inch roll | Any 14 inch design |
| किताब कवर, बुक कवर | A cover for textbooks, sometimes a wider roll for big books | 16 and 19 inch rolls |
| बुक कवर रोल, cover roll | Cover film sold as a roll, to cut at home | All our rolls |
| synthetic cover, सिंथेटिक कवर | Plain coloured HM-HDPE film, stiff and crisp | Star, Vidhyarthi, Student, Student JPPL, Unique, China |
| brown cover, ब्राउन कवर | Once brown paper. Today often brown synthetic or jute brown PP | Synthetic in brown, Standard in jute brown |
| transparent cover, plastic cover, पारदर्शी कवर | A see-through cover that shows the notebook's own design | Clear (BOPP), natural PP |
| printed cover, cartoon cover | A cover with multicolour prints | Classic, Combo, Standard multicolour print |
| lining cover | A cover with a lining pattern | Lining, and Unique with embossed lining |
| fluorescent cover, neon cover | Bright fluorescent colours | Floura, Standard fluorescent |
| किलो वाला कवर, tube | Rolls sold by weight, often a two-layer tube | Standard series |
| boxed cover, डिब्बे वाला कवर | One roll in its own box | Super Delux series |
A few notes on that table. Names change from market to market, and a shop owner in one town may use a word differently from the next town. Take it as a guide, not a dictionary.
Why "brown cover" does not always mean paper
For a long time, the school cover was brown paper (our paper versus synthetic comparison goes into why that changed). That is where the name comes from, and the name stayed even after the material changed.
Today, when a parent asks for a brown cover, the shop may hand over brown synthetic film, jute brown PP or brown paper. All three get called by the same name.
I should be clear about our side. JPPL makes no paper covers, and what a synthetic book cover is explains the film we use instead. Our brown covers are plastic: brown in the synthetic (HM) range, and jute brown in the Standard 11 and 13 inch range. If a school list says brown paper specifically, follow the school.
Copy or kitaab: does the name change the size?
Often it does, and this is where wrong orders happen.
Notebooks and textbooks come in different sizes. Our rolls come in 11, 13, 14, 16 and 19 inch widths. The 14 inch roll suits a regular notebook of about 24 x 18 cm. Smaller notebooks can use 11 or 13 inch, and big textbooks and registers need 16 or 19 inch. Our wide book covers page covers the bigger sizes, and the sizes and packing page lists every width and length.
So when a customer says किताब कवर, the shop should ask one question before it cuts or sells: how big is the book? It is worth telling your retailers this, because a wrong width is a wasted sale for both of you.
Other languages, same trade words
Across India, the English trade words travel everywhere. Cover, roll, micron, synthetic, transparent and lining are understood from Jaipur to Pune.
In Maharashtra, a notebook is a वही in Marathi, and you will hear covers asked for as वहीचे कव्हर. Other states have their own words for a notebook. If your customers use a local name we have not listed here, I would genuinely like to hear it.
How should a distributor order covers so the right roll arrives?
A name alone is not an order. "Brown cover" could be three different products at three different prices. When you order from us or from any supplier, put these five things in writing:
- The design name, such as Student JPPL, Floura or Clear.
- The colour.
- The width and length, such as 14 inch x 8 m.
- The thickness in micron. Every JPPL cover is 50 micron or thicker.
- The packing, such as boxed, five rolls per polybag, or Standard by the kilo.
"Student JPPL, orange, 14 inch x 8 m, 70 micron, boxed" leaves nothing to guess. "Brown cover, 2 cartons" leaves almost everything to guess.
Our notebook covers page shows every design by name, so you can match what your retailers ask for to what we make. This page is also a handy one to share with the shops you supply.
What is a notebook cover called in your town? Tell us. I am sure we have missed a few names, and I would like to add them here.
Questions buyers ask
What is a notebook called in Hindi?
In most Hindi-speaking towns a school notebook is called a कॉपी (copy), and a textbook a किताब (kitaab). That is why a notebook cover is usually asked for as a कॉपी कवर, and a textbook cover as a किताब कवर.
What does जिल्द चढ़ाना mean?
It means putting a cover on a book. जिल्द is the older word for a book's outer cover or binding. Older customers still use it, especially for textbooks.
Is a synthetic cover the same as a plastic cover?
A synthetic cover is a kind of plastic cover. In the trade, "synthetic" means plain coloured covers made of HM-HDPE film. Clear and printed covers are plastic too, but they are usually BOPP or PP film and are not called synthetic.
