Rajesh Koothrappali, better known as Raj, is an extremely flawed character, but equally likable onThe Big Bang Theory. Studying abroad in the US on a student visa, Raj comes from an exceedingly wealthy Indian family, but often experiences culture clashes as he tries to navigate through life stateside. As you will soon see, Raj has a heart of gold, but often has trouble getting his point across in regular conversations. Despite his intimidating intelligence, Raj has a tendency to misuse colloquial phrases, which gives his character hundreds of quotable lines throughout the run of the series.
In his misguided attempts to find a romantic partner while pursuing his astrophysics degree, Raj delivers countless one-liners throughout the run ofThe Big Bang Theory, and we wanted to talk about 12 of our favorite quotes that show how well-meaning he is, despite the occasional communication breakdown.
12“Three months at the North Pole with Sheldon and I’m reborn as a well-hung billionaire with wings.”
When Sheldon is summoned to conduct research on slow-moving monopoles at the North Pole in order to validate his String Theory research, he brings the gang along with him. Given how irritating Sheldon has proven himself to be in situations involving close quarters, Howard and Leonard express their doubts about going on the expedition. But Raj gets a bit spiritual when he explains why living in a small cabin with Sheldon won’t be so bad after all.
If you’re a fan of the show, you already know that Raj practices the Hindu religion, which has a strong emphasis on the concept of reincarnation. Knowing this, Raj explains to Howard and Leonard that suffering in the current life means being rewarded in the next life. In other words, spending three months with Sheldon will mean being reincarnated into a life of great fortune, and even greater anatomical attributes that will make the suffering worth it. Though we don’t think this is necessarily the point of the Hindu religion, we can’t really blame Raj for looking for a silver lining in the face of adversity.
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11“Well, seeing as its purpose was to piss you off, I’d say it’s spot-on!”
If there’s one trait that makes Raj so likable, it’s hisability to get under Sheldon’s skin. We’re not saying that Leonard, Penny, Howard, and Bernadette are incapable of doing the same, but Raj truly knows how to push Sheldon’s buttons and beat him at his own game. When Raj and Sheldon are researching together in “The Hot Troll Deviation,” he is upset that Sheldon won’t allocate any funds to equip him with a proper desk. When Howard suggests that Raj buy his own desk, Sheldon couldn’t come up with a counterargument, so that’s the end of that, right?
Wrong! When Sheldon enters his office the next day, he’s greeted by Raj, sitting with his feet up on a desk that takes up half of the office. For those of you who don’t followThe Big Bang Theoryclosely, it’s worth noting that Raj comes from an exceedingly wealthy family, and it’s obvious to regular viewers that he spent quite a large sum of cash on the desk that Sheldon could only describe as a “brobdingnagian monstrosity,”
10“Ooh, what if we got a van and drove around, and picked kids up?”
One recurring Raj-centric gag is the fact that he’s a first-generation Indian living in America. Though he has adjusted to US culture seamlessly in many ways, he often says things that are seemingly innocent from his point of view, but could easily be seen as off-color, or downright idiotic despite his high level of intelligence.
When Stuart, the gang’sstruggling comic book store ownerfriend, is trying to figure out how to boost sales to keep his business afloat, Raj makes the very valid point that kids love comic books. But as sincere as Raj is in suggesting that they drive around in a van and pick up children, everybody else looks at him like he’s insane. Not knowing what he just implied, Raj continues to be enthusiastic about the prospect when Howard sarcastically suggests they lure the kids to the van with candy.
9“Tell her I have a deep sexy voice like James Earl Jones.”
Raj is what we would consider to be the exact opposite of a “ladies man.” In fact, an early-season through line was that he couldn’t even talk to women, or look them in the eye, unless he consumed gratuitous amounts of alcohol. Though this joke ran its course and was left by the wayside, there were still plenty of comedic opportunities about Raj’s romantic woes that delivered the laughs inThe Big Bang Theory.
Most of Raj’s initial contact with a deaf woman named Emily in the episode entitled “The Wiggly Finger Catalyst” is through Howard, who tagged along on his first date as a wingman because of his knowledge of American Sign Language.
In an effort to get to know Emily (through Howard), he wants it to be known that he has adeep voice like James Earl Jones, the man who voice-acted Darth Vader. When Howard reminds Raj that Emily is deaf, and doesn’t know what James Earl Jones sounds like, he quickly snaps back, “great. Then she won’t know I’m lying.”
8“You’re right, everyone loves music…”
We didn’t mean to double-dip on “The Wiggly Finger Catalyst,” but Raj just has so many great one-liners in this episode that we had to take a second look. During Raj’s first date with Emily, he wants to ask her about what kind of music she likes in a misguided attempt to get to know her. When Howard reminds Raj, again, that she’s deaf, he asks if he’s sure if he wants to ask this question. Raj snaps back, “You’re right, everyone loves music,” completely missing the point.
We talked about how Raj would occasionally turn a phrase that makes everybody question his intelligence, and in some cases, his sexuality. When Raj and Stuart are both having a dry spell on the romantic front, they start hanging out quite a bit, and their empty lives quickly become more fulfilling. But when Raj suggests that he and Stuart are “filling each other’s holes,” the rest of the gang immediately wonders if they should sit him down and explain to him why such a phrase is problematic without being given the proper context.
This throughline of misusing colloquial phrases is more apparent in the later seasons ofThe Big Bang Theory, and in a way replaced the alcohol gag that we saw in the earlier seasons. It’s almost as if Raj traded off idiosyncrasies; he no longer requires alcohol to talk to women, but now whenever he talks, he says things that would be considered troubling to people that don’t know him well.
6“We could walk right behind each other all night and look like one person going really fast.”
It’s no mystery by now that Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Raj are all comic book nerds, and love dressing up as superheroes. But when they all fail to coordinate outfits for a costume contest, they all end updressing like The Flash. As they scramble to find a solution to their egregious wardrobe malfunction, Raj suggests that they walk quickly in a single file line in the same costume, suggesting that they’re actually just one Flash, who is in a state of constant motion.
Though this may seem like a stupid solution on the surface, it just goes to show you that Raj is always quick to come up with a workaround for even the most complex of problems as a young astrophysicist.
5“My, my. The plot, like my gravy, thickens.”
Outside of science, Raj loves to cook for his friends. In “The Thanksgiving Decoupling,” Raj is busy helming the kitchen as drama unfolds in the other room. The drama comes in the form of Penny’s ex-boyfriend, Zack, who showed up for Thanksgiving, much to the chagrin of Leonard. As it turns out, Penny actually got married to Zack in Vegas as a gag, not knowing that the ceremony was actually legally binding. So in an effort to keep the peace, she invited Zack, so he could come over and sign divorce papers to placate Leonard.
Upon overhearing the commotion, Raj opens the kitchen door, and says, “My, my. The plot, like my gravy, thickens,” before slowly closing the door without breaking eye contact. Though it’s one of Raj’s more creepy deliveries, it certainly did a great job breaking the tension for the audience watching everything unfold, and to his credit, the gravy looked amazing.
4“Get in here with your rod and give it to me.”
Raj loves playingDungeons and Dragonswith the gang, and in doing so has many verbal exchanges in which he doesn’t understand the kind of sexual innuendo he’s implying. In “The Santa Simulation,” Raj, with a straight face, says things like “Oh, man, the first monster I see, I’m gonna sneak up behind him, whip out my wand, and shoot my magic all over his *ss.”
If that wasn’t bad enough, Raj continues to speak in this fashion when his character is killed mid-campaign. In a desperate plea to respawn, so he could continue with the gameplay, Raj loudly exclaims, “Doesn’t anyone have a Rod of Resurrection? Because if you’ve got one, I need it bad. Get in here with your rod and give it to me!”
At this point in the episode, Stuart snaps and suggests that Raj thinks fully through his statements before saying them out loud.
3“I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: Aquaman sucks!”
Circling back to costume kerfuffles, we see Raj take one for the team in “The Justice League Recombination.” When there is no other option but for Raj todress up as Aquaman, he takes every opportunity to let everybody know that Aquaman is the lamest superhero of all time. But always the good sport, Raj dons the green and orange tights, and sits atop a giant inflatable seahorse for good measure.
