Urdu ()

Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language with about 104 million speakers, including those
who speak it as a second language. It is the national language of Pakistan and is
closely related to and mutually intelligible with Hindi, though a lot of Urdu
vocabulary comes from Persian and Arabic, while Hindi contains more vocabulary
from Sanskrit. Linguists consider Standard Urdu and Standard Hindi to be different
formal registers both derived from the Khari Boli dialect, which is also known as
Hindustani. At an informal spoken level there are few significant differences
between Urdu and Hindi and they could be considered varieties a single language.
Urdu is also spoken in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Botswana, Fiji, Germany,
Guyana, India, Malawi, Mauritius, Nepal, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South
Africa, Thailand, the UAE, the UK and Zambia.
Urdu has been written with a version of the Perso-Arabic script since the 12th
century and is normally written in Nastaliq style. The word Urdu is Turkish for
'foreign' or 'horde'.
Urdu abjad

The letter nn-e unnah appears only at the ends of words and nasalises the
preceding vowel.
A recording of the Urdu alphabet by ( Mohammad Shakeb Baig) from
( Bhopal, India)
Note
This recording does not include nn-e unnah or the aspirated consonants.
Urdu numerals

Sample text in Urdu

Transliteration
Tamm insn zd r uqq-o izzat ke tibr se barbar peid h'e hei. Inhe
amr r aql vadat h' he. Isli'e inhe ek dsre ke sth bh' re k sulk karn
hi'e.
Useful Urdu phrases
A collection of useful phrases in Urdu. Click on the English phrases to see them in
many other languages.
Key to abbreviations: m = said by men, f = said by women, >f = said to women,
>m = said to men
English

( Urdu)

Welcome

(khush amdid)

Hello
(General greeting)

send as text (assalam 'alaykum)

reply - (wlaikum assalm)

inf - (salm)

on phone - (helo)

How are you?

I'm fine, thanks. And you?

Long time no see

What's your name?

My name is ...

Where are you from?

I'm from ...

>f (ap kaisi hain)

>m (ap kaise hain)
(kya haal hai)
!
(main thik hun, shukriya! aur ap?)
(kafi weqt se ap ko dekha nehin)

(apka nam kya hai)
(mera nam ... hai) ...
(ap ka taluq kahan se hai?)
(mera taluq ... se hai) ...

Pleased to meet you

(ap se milker khushi huwi!)

!
!

Morning greeting(s)

(subha bkhair)

Afternoon greeting(s)/evening

(roz bkhair)

Nighttime parting phrase(s)

(shab bkhair)

Parting phrase(s)

(khuda hafiz)

Good luck

(allah ka fazal ho) !

Good health!

(ache sehat kay leyae) !

Have a nice day

(ap ka din acha guzrae)

Bon appetit /
Have a nice meal

(maze karein)

Bon voyage /
Have a good journey

(ap ka safr acha guzrae)

I don't understand

(main samjha nahin [m] / main samjhi nahin

[f])
Can you speak slowly?

(kya ap ise ahistah keh sakte hain?)

Can you say it again?

(kya ap ise dobarah keh saktay hain?)

Write it down please

(barae mihr bani likhye)

Do you speak Urdu?

Yes, a little

(kya ap Urdu bolte hain?)

(sirf thori si) !

How do you say ... in Urdu?

(aap ... ko Urdu main kya kehte hain?)

Excuse me

(ma'zarat) ( !maf kijiye) !

How much is this?

(yeh kitne ka hai?)

Sorry

(maf karna)

Thank you
Response (No problem)

(bahut) shukriya ( )
(koi baat nahin) !

Where's the toilet?

(bayt-ul-khala khana kahan hay?)

This gentleman/lady will pay for

everything

man - (yeh sahib sab chizon ke paise dain ge)

lady - (yeh sahiba sab chizon ke paise dain gi)

m>f (keya ap mare sath nachna pesand karane
gay?)
Would you like to dance with me?

f>m (keya ap mare sath nachna pesand karane
ge?)
I love you

m (mein ap say muhabat karta hoon)

f (mein ap say muhabat karti hoon)

Get well soon

(jaldi theek ho jaen) !

Leave me alone!

(mujhae akela chore do)

Help!
Fire!
Stop!

(madad)
(aagh)
(roko)

Call the police!

(police ko bula)

Christmas and New Year

greetings

'Merry Christmas' = (krismas mubarak)

'New Year's blessings to you' = (naya sal
mubarik hu)

'Big day's blessings to you' = (burda din mubarik
hu)

(Merry Christmas and happy new year)

Easter greetings
Birthday greetings
One language is never enough

(salgirah mubarak)

(ek zabn kabh bh kfi nahn hot)

Urdu numbers ()
Urdu numbers from 0 to 1 million with numerals and transliterations.
Numeral

Transliteration

(Urdu)

sifar

ek

do

tn

chr

pch

chha

st

nau

das

10

gyrah

11

brah

12

trah

13

chaudah

14

padrah

15

solah

16

satrah

17

ahrah

18

unnis

19

bs

20

ikks

21

bs

22

ts

23

chaubs

24

pachchs

25

chhabbs

26

sattis

27

ahis

28

unts

29

ts

30

ikts

31

batts

32

taits

33

chauts

34

paits

35

chhatts

36

saits

37

ats

38

untls

39

chls

40

pachs

50

sh

60

sattar

70

ass

80

nabb

90

sau

100

hazr

1,000

lkh

100,000

das lkh

1 million

karo

10 million

)The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11: 1-9

) (Urdu

1.

2.

3.

"

"

4.

5.
" " "

6.

"

7.

8.

9.

!If you say any of these tongue twisters repeatedly, youre bound to stumble

[Samajh samajh ke samajh ko samjho
Samjh samjhana bhee ek samajh hai
Samajh samjh ke bhee jo na samjhe
]Meri samjh mein wo naasamajh hai.
In an understanding way, understand the understanding. Understanding the understanding is an

understanding in itself.
He who doesn't understand the understanding, in my understanding, is a 'non-understanding'.

[Chunnu kay chacha ne,

chunnu ki chachi ko,
chandni raat mein,
chandi ki chamach se,
chatni chatai.]
The little boy's uncle made the little boy's auntie lick the sauce with a silver spoon on a moonlit night.

[Katcha papad pakka papad.]
Uncooked poppadum, cooked poppadum.

:

:

[Aik mota aadmi apney dubley dost sey kehta hey: jab bhi mey tumhey dekhta
hoon, lagta hey dunya mey qehet par gaya hey.
Dubla foran jawab deta hey: Aur tumhey dekh key koi bhi asaani sey ye samajh
sakta hey key ye qehet kioon para hey.]
A chubby man says to a thin friend: When I look at you, I feel the world is hit by a
famine.
The thin man replies: And looking at you I feel it is you who has caused this
famine.

 :
:
:
[Bacha baap sey: Abbu lagta hey key aap ka qad barh raha hey.
Baap: tumhey kesey pata chala?
Beta: aap ka sar balon sey bahar aaraha hey.]
A little boy says to his father: Dad! You look like youre getting taller.
Dad: How do you know this?
Boy: Your scalp is coming out of your hair.

[Sabaat aik taghayyur ko hey zamaney mey.]
Only change is permanent.
Famous Urdu poet Allama Iqbal (1877-1938)

!
[Adaalat ki na-insafion ki fehrist bari toolani hey. Tareekh aaj tak iskey maatam sey
farigh na hosaki.]
The list of injustices of judiciary is so long that history still could not end its
mourning.
Indian congress leader and famous Urdu writer, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (18881958).

9. First written records

The first book in Urdu is known to be

[ Sabras], written in 1635-36 by

Mullah Asadullah Wajhi. Its an allegorical mystical romance translated from the
Persian Masnavi Dastur-e-Ushshaq and Husn-o-dil by Mohammad Yahya Ibn-eSaibak, written about two centuries earlier. The copies of Sabras were handwritten
as the printing press had not yet reached India at that time.

The first Urdu book printed by a printing press brought to India by the Portuguese,
was

[ Bagh-o-bahar] by Mir Amman, published in 1801.

10. How to be polite and show respect

Urdu is a delicate and sophisticated language and many of its words are used to
show respect and civility. This emphasis on politeness in vocabulary is known as
[ adab], respect or

[takalluf], politeness. This polite vocabulary is generally

used when talking to seniors or people youre not familiar with.

For example, the English pronoun you can be translated into three words in Urdu:
[ tu] informal, extremely intimate or offensive
[ tum] informal and showing closeness
[ aap] (the plural form) formal and respectful

Similarly, different request forms of verbs can be used to give degrees of formality
in three ways. For example, when telling someone 'to go', using the verb
[ jaanaa] to go, there are three forms you could choose from:
[ jaa] extremely informal, very intimate, but also derogatory depending on who
it is addressed to
[ jaao] informal
[ jaaiye] formal and respectful

Some small things are considered very bad manners in an Urdu speaking society
even in the family circle. For example, smoking, sitting cross-legged or shouting in

the presence of elders, not standing up and paying regards when an elder appears
or talking while eating.
In Urdu there are three commonly used verbs which are very similar:
[ kehna], to say
[ khana], to eat
[ karna], to do
Learners often mix these up, so pay careful attention to them.
The informal Urdu word for hey or hello is

[ oey] but dont use this with

anyone in the street or any other public place because it is an extremely informal,
almost intimate, word. You may only use the word with a respectful suffix like
[ bhai] brother or

[dost] friend.

To attract someones attention in a polite way, you may use a variety of different
words like

[ sunye], similar to excuse me in English -

jaan] elder brother or

[ bhai

[ Janab]mister, sir. To get the attention of a woman you

may use polite words like

[ baaji], older sister or

respectful word for sister. With older women you can use
[ amma jee] dear mother.

[ behen jee], a
[ bibi] lady or