What is Phitkari Called in English?
Phitkari in English is alum. The type most often sold as phitkari or fitkari in India is potassium alum, also written as potassium aluminium sulphate.
Phitkari, fitkari, fitkiri: the same word
You will see the same Hindi word (फिटकरी or फिटकिरी) written many ways in English letters: phitkari, fitkari, fitkiri, phitkiri and sometimes fatkari. They all point to the same mineral salt, so there is no need to treat them as different products.
The English and chemical names
The common English name is alum. In personal care and household use, it usually means potassium alum, whose chemical formula is KAl(SO₄)₂· 12H₂O. The word “alum” actually covers a family of related salts, so product labels often say “potassium alum” to be specific.
Which spelling should you search for?
People search in English, Hindi and Hinglish, and all of these refer to the same thing: “phitkari”, “fitkari”, “alum stone”, “potassium alum” and “फिटकरी”. When you buy a product, check that the ingredient list says potassium alum.
Phitkari in personal care
Phitkari is used in a few personal-care products, including the traditional stone and sprays such as Vibe Fresh Fitkari (Phitkari) Deodorant Spray. For a closer comparison of the two names, read Fitkari vs Potassium Alum.