Urdu Greetings & Basics

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Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby huhmzah » 2008-07-05, 6:23

_____________________________________________________

Notes:
*() = extra note on usage
[ ] = transliteration
{} = common/normal pronunciation

Consonants:
x = "kh" or "ch" in Bach
š = "sh" in Sheep
N = nasal N, as in the French word "mignon" / "raison"

Vowels:
a = "a" as in car, start, art
e = schwa sound "e", as in hotel, faster, other or "u" as in but, hut
é = "ay" as in lay, ray or "a" as in made, shade.
ê = "a" as in cat, bat, hat, rat, match, latch.
i = "i" as in bit, hit
ī = "ee" as in sheep, creep or "ea" as in leap, heap.
o = "o" as in rote, mole, "oa" as in boat, moat.
ō = "o" as in hot, modern, cod, "a" as in all, ball.
u = "ou" as in should, could
ū = "oo" as in boot, food.

_____________________________________________________


Sir: حضور [huzūr]
Madam / Ma'am*: محترمہ [mohterma]

*(Used when addressing an unknown person -- someone whose name you do not know)

Mr. : صاحب [sahib {sab}]
Ms. / Mrs. : صاحبہ [sahiba {saiba}]
Mrs.: بیگم صاحب [bégem-sahib {bégemsab}]

Dear: جان [jan] ex. Mother = امى [emmi], Mom / Mommy = امى جان [emmi-jan].
* [term of endearment / closeness]

Dear: جى [ji] ex. Grandfather = نانا [nana], Grandpa = ناناجى [nanaji]
*[used when referring to elders]
_____________________________________________________

Hello! (non-secular): السلام عليكم [esselamu aleykum {selamalékum / slamlékum}]
Hello! (secular): آداب [adab], (formal) آداب عرض ہے [adab, erz hê] (lit. Hello, I wish to speak)

Good morning! صبح بخیر [suba-bexêr]

Good night! شب بخیر [šeb-bexêr]
_____________________________________________________

Yes (polite): جى [jī]
Yes (regular): جی ہاں [jī-haN {jīyaN}]
Yes (informal / impolite): ہاں [haN]

No (polite): جی نہیں [jī nehīN]
No (regular): نہیں [nehīN]
No (informal / impolite): نہ [na]
_____________________________________________________

Congratulations!: مبارک ہو! [mubarik ho! = may it be blessed!]

Welcome!: خوش آمدید [xuš-amdéd]
_____________________________________________________


How are you? (polite): کیسے مزاج ہیں؟ [kêse mizaj hêN?] (lit. How is your mood?)
How are you? (regular): کیا حال ہے؟ [kya hal hê? {kyalê}]

How do you do? (informal): کیسے / کیسی ہو [kêse / kêsi ho? {kêseo / kêsio}]

I am fine (polite): آپ کی دعائیں ہیں۔ [Apkī duaéN hêN = it is your prayers].
I am fine (regular): ٹھیک ہوں [Thīk hūN], اللہ کا شکر ہے۔ [Allah ka šukr hê {ê} = Thanks to God]
I am fine (informal): ٹھیک ٹھاک [Thīk-Thak]
I am fine (when responding to someone much younger): جیتے / جیتی رہو [jīte/jītī reho = may you live long].

_____________________________________________________

Thank you (formal): نوازش [nevaziš]
Thank you (polite): مھربانی [mêhrbani]
Thank you (regular): شکریہ [šukria]

I am grateful: میں شکرگزار ہوں۔ [mêN šukerguzar hūN]

* (the term بہت [bōhōt {bōt}] or بے حد [béhed] can be added before the term to intensify the meaning (thank you so much, thank you very much))

You are welcome:کوئی بات نہیں [koī bat nehīN {koī batni}]
_____________________________________________________

Please (formal): براہ مھربانی [berahé mêhrbanī {beraé mêhrbanī} = "through kindness"]
Please (polite): براہ کرم [berahé kerem {beraé kerem} = "through generosity"]
Please (regular): مھربانی سے [mêhrbanī sé]
Please (desperate / exclamation): خدا کے لیئے [xuda ké lié!]

Please (invite someone to an activity, like eating): بسم اللہ کیجیئے [bismillah kījīé = do "with the name of God"]
Please (come in, follow me): تشریف لایئے [tešrīf laīé]

Pardon me: معاف کیجیئے [maf kījīé]

Pardon me, may I speak?: جی، میں عرض کروں [Jī, mên erz kerūN?]
Yes, you may: جی، فرمایئے [Jī, fermaīé]

* (It is common to ask permission before entering a conversation, in a gathering, or when addressing an older man or woman.)

Sorry: معذرت [mazeret]
Sorry (informal): معاف کیجیئے [maf kījīé]
_____________________________________________________

Take care: خیال رکھنا [xyal rekhna]
Take care: اجازت دیجیئے [ijazet dījīé = allow me (to depart)]
Take care: دعاوں میں یاد رکھنا۔ [duaoN méN yad rekhna = keep me in your wishes/prayers]

* (The last two phrases do not mean "take care" - they are phrases said when departing / parting ways)

Goodbye! (regular): خدا حافظ (xuda hafiz {xudafiz}] / الله حافظ [Allah hafiz]
Goodbye! (non-secular): فى امان الله [fī iman Allah]
Goodbye! (writing): الودع [elvida]
Last edited by huhmzah on 2008-07-05, 7:41, edited 3 times in total.

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Hindi

Postby zara » 2008-07-10, 13:27

I am trying to learn this language and do know the basics but get very confused with the masculine and feminine.

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Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby Meera » 2008-10-09, 1:20

thanks! those phares are so helpful :)

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Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby mastermind786 » 2008-10-11, 10:09

Thank you so much for sharing but i have one question
is it not ok if you use Roman urdu too for some peoples those know nothing about urdu ?

like

Sir = hazur , (Janab )


welcome Will be =خوش آمدید , xuš-amdéd , Khush amdeed ?

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Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby salmanchapa » 2011-04-13, 7:49

Wonderful post... Very informational and educational as usual!

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Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby JFthunder1 » 2011-06-02, 7:10

Thanks for informative post

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Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby Meera » 2011-06-02, 23:27

JFthunder1 wrote:Thanks for informative post



Welcome to the Hindi/Urdu forum :D
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Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby umairaraza100 » 2011-07-16, 10:53

well i have just arrived in Pakistan and this is a great opportunity for me to learn urdu with this forum because here is everywhere urdu speakers which is great thing and thanks you add a brief post here for the learners of urdu language

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Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby Saim » 2011-09-04, 9:19

اسلامولیکوم امیرزار! کہاں کے ہو؟ ثمہار "چروفئل" کہثا ہے کے ثمہار "نیشونیلثی" چاکسثانی ہے، لیکن ثم کہثے ہو کے ثم اردو چرھ جھثے ہو۔ کیا ثمہاری اوث زبان ہے؟ میری اوث زبان انگریزی ہے۔ کیوں ثم اسامابد میں ہو؟ میں اردو سیکھ جھثا ہوں کیمںکے میرے ابو کا خندان پاکسثانی ہے۔

Assalamu aleikum umairazara! Kahan ke ho? Tumhara profile kehta hai ke tumhara nationality pakistani hai, lekin tum kehte hai ke tum urdu parh chate hai. Kya tumhari awwal zabaan/bhasa hai? Meri awwat bhasa angrezi hai. Kyõ tum islambad men hai? Men urdu seekh chata hun kyonke mere abu ka xandaan pakistani hai.

Hello umairazara! Where are you from? Your profile says that your nationality is Pakistani, but you say that you want to learn Urdu. What is your first language? My first language is English. Why are you in Islamabad? I want to learn Urdu because my father's family is Pakistani.

(How do I italicize Urdu text? Because whenever I try to use BBcode it makes the text jump around, moving words into places where I don't want them.)

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Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby nabila1230 » 2011-10-15, 10:51

Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and is spoken in various countries, including Aghanistan, India, Germany, Thailand, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. According to Omniglot, this Indo-Aryan language boasts 104 million speakers, including those who speak it as a second language. The script used to write Urdu is a version of the Perso-Arabic script, and is usually written in Nastaliq style. To learn proper Urdu grammar, there are several steps to take.
1
Get a qualified Urdu learning course that will get you on track by giving you a head start. The "Teach Yourself Urdu" and "Read and Write Urdu Script: Teach Yourself" courses that include books and CDs are viable options. Also, consider looking for local universities and community colleges that offer Urdu language classes.
2
Use free online tools to keep learning and practicing Urdu grammar. Websites such as MyLanguages.org feature free lessons that help you improve your vocabulary--adjectives, adverbs, nouns, prepositions-- as well as other essential areas that help you learn proper Urdu grammar.
3
Interact with native Urdu speakers. If you do not know people who are native Urdu speakers, consider joining chat rooms, such as Live Mocha, where you can chat with native Urdu speakers so you can get an idea of how natives write and speak the language. Also, use websites like My Language Exchange where you can practice with a native Urdu speaker who wants to learn your language. With My Language Exchange you are able to write and speak Urdu online to improve you conversational and grammar skills
4
Read news and literature in Urdu and listen to Urdu radio and music. This will help you open up your vocabulary and develop your conversational skills. Ultimately this will help you become familiar with the Urdu language.
5
Consider visiting Pakistan, or living with people who are native Urdu language speakers. This forces you to immerse yourself in the culture and to practice the language at all times. Forcing yourself to step out of your comfort zone and having no other option but to practice the language will help you increase your Urdu grammar skills

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Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby Saim » 2011-10-23, 2:50

Meh, I'd skip the first two and go straight to point 3-5. I tried using Teach Yourself and Colloquial to teach me Urdu, but I learned hardly anything. Now I'm using actual Urdu speakers, and I'm learning pretty rapidly.

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Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby Farhan » 2012-04-21, 15:41

Very useful and true information, There is no false information in this tread, Thank you for posting.


______________________________________________________________________________________
Abogados Barcelona

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Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby DavidMike » 2012-05-29, 15:55

Urdu can be understood and spoken very easily, it is very difficult to write it !

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Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby Jesus Bhai » 2012-05-29, 16:47

You aren't kidding about that, Mike. I learned Devnagari in like a month. Urdu I've been struggling with for 3 years now and I still read like a child!
Interested in practicing urdu over IM services, check my profile for contact info. Big interest in Old Hindustani and Punjabi music, always uploading songs to my youtube channel.

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Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby Meera » 2012-05-30, 0:10

Oh god, I studdied Urdu for hours today and my eyes are still hurting from the script!
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Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby Saim » 2012-05-31, 10:22

For me, the most difficult part of Urdu is the same as with Hindi - the vocabulary. If I knew how to speak Urdu well, I don't think I'd have much trouble learning to read.

By the way, here's a good site that's been helping me a lot with my Urdu reading:

http://urdu.wustl.edu/intro.php

Just head down to the "Urdu readings". It'd probably be easier if you already have a decent vocabulary, so Jesusbhai and Meera I think you'll get a lot more out of it than me.

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Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby Jesus Bhai » 2012-06-01, 15:18

Hey, thanks for the link Saim! This does looks quite helpful.

I'm a bit different from you I think, Learning to read and write for me has been a nightmare. Compared to Devanagari and Gurmukhi, it's been a total nightmare learning nastaliq AND THEN naksh. In terms of vocab, I struggle with higher Hindi vocab, that you'll hear in news. Not because I find it tough, but because I simply can't stand the way it sounds. "Are we speaking Hindi or Sanskrit here?" Whereas only some Urdu vocab bugs me. Its just a problem of script to me. Going from Organized logical phonetics to confusing chaotic vowel-less urdu is driving me nuts. I actually picked up some books totally in roman script, to learn Urdu, because the script drives me insane.
Interested in practicing urdu over IM services, check my profile for contact info. Big interest in Old Hindustani and Punjabi music, always uploading songs to my youtube channel.

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Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby Meera » 2012-06-02, 4:43

Saim wrote:For me, the most difficult part of Urdu is the same as with Hindi - the vocabulary. If I knew how to speak Urdu well, I don't think I'd have much trouble learning to read.

By the way, here's a good site that's been helping me a lot with my Urdu reading:

http://urdu.wustl.edu/intro.php

Just head down to the "Urdu readings". It'd probably be easier if you already have a decent vocabulary, so Jesusbhai and Meera I think you'll get a lot more out of it than me.


OMG this site is amazing!!!
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Bijlee

Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby Bijlee » 2012-06-12, 5:56

Saim wrote:For me, the most difficult part of Urdu is the same as with Hindi - the vocabulary. If I knew how to speak Urdu well, I don't think I'd have much trouble learning to read.

By the way, here's a good site that's been helping me a lot with my Urdu reading:

http://urdu.wustl.edu/intro.php

Just head down to the "Urdu readings". It'd probably be easier if you already have a decent vocabulary, so Jesusbhai and Meera I think you'll get a lot more out of it than me.


Wow, that looks pretty good. Thanks! Now if only my Urdu didn't suck so much. :/

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Re: Urdu Greetings & Basics

Postby Jesus Bhai » 2012-06-13, 6:31

Thank you for the link again, Saim. They have a section there about Alf Laila (1001 Arabian Nights), which I happen to be a huge fan and collector of. I have 12 different versions on my bookshelf, hahaha.

Having something that interests me so much there, has kind of lit a fire under me to go and practice every chance I get. :D


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