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- DictionaryUr·du/ˈo͝ordo͞o/
noun
- 1. an Indic language closely related to Hindi but written in the Persian script and having many loanwords from Persian and Arabic. It is the official language of Pakistan, and is also widely used in India and elsewhere: "she posted statements in Hindi, English, and Urdu announcing her decision"
adjective
- 1. relating to Urdu: "it is not just a bookshop but an institution where one got to meet noted writers and lovers of Urdu literature"
Urdu (/ ˈ ʊər d uː /; اردو, ⓘ; ALA-LC: Urdū) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan, where it is also an official language alongside English.
- Indo-Pakistani Sign Language, Signed Urdu
Apr 13, 2024 · Urdu language, member of the Indo-Aryan group within the Indo-European family of languages. Urdu is spoken as a first language by nearly 70 million people and as a second language by more than 100 million people, predominantly in Pakistan and India .
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Where is Urdu spoken? Urdu is a living language which, according to estimates, is spoken by close to 100 million people around the world. It is the official language of Pakistan, a status which it shares with English.
- What you already know about Urdu. Many English words are commonly used in spoken and written Urdu. سائنس [science], science. گلاس [glass], glass. کرپٹ [corrupt], corrupt.
- How hard is it to learn? Urdu grammar, word construction and sentence structure are very systematic, however, Urdu presents some challenges. Urdu uses formal and informal verb forms and each noun has either masculine or feminine gender.
- The most difficult words and tongue twisters. If you say any of these tongue twisters repeatedly, you’re bound to stumble! You are trying to view Flash content, but you have no Flash plugin installed.
- History
- Relations to Persian
- Levels of Formality
- Poetics
- Common Words/Phrases in Urdu
- Urdu vs. Hindi--What's The difference?
In the 11th century AD, the Ghaznavid Empire ruled over Punjab, the region characterized by five rivers. Also known as Hind, the Punjab was a land east on the Indus River. The primary language spoken by Ghaznavids, who were of Turkic ethnicity, was Persian. The Ghaznavids met the people who spoke an Indo-Aryan dialect after acquiring Punjab or Hind...
Differences
The letters in Urdu are derived from the Persian/Farsi alphabet, which is derived from the Arabic alphabet. The additional letters that are found in Urdu include ٹ ,ڈ ,ڑ (ṫ, ḋ, ṙ). To make the alphabet more enriched, two letters were created for the sounds ه (h) and ی (y). By adding these letters to the existing Persian letters, the Urdu alphabet became more suitable for the people of Pakistan and for some people of North India, who primarily use nastaliq script. Both are also Indo-Iranic lan...
Similarities
Urdu is written right to left like Farsi (Persian) script. Urdu is also written in the Nasta’ liq style of Persian Calligraphy. Nastaliq style is a cursive script invented by Mīr ʿAlī of Tabrīz, a very famous calligrapher during the Timurid period (1402–1502). Both belong to the Indo-Iranic language subfamily.[source?]
Informal
Urdu in its less formalized register has been called a rekhta (ریختہ, ), meaning "rough mixture". The more formal register of Urdu is sometimes called zabān-e-Urdu-e-mo'alla (زبان اردو معلہ [zəbaːn eː ʊrd̪uː eː moəllaː]), the "Language of Camp." In local translation, it is called Lashkari Zabān (لشکری زبان [lʌʃkɜ:i: zɑ:bɑ:n]) meaning "language of battalions" or "battalion language." This can be shortened to Lashkari. The etymology of the word used in the Urdu language, for the most part, dec...
Formal
Urdu is supposed to be a well-formed language; many of words are used in it to show respect and politeness. This emphasis on politeness, which comes from the vocabulary, is known as Aadab (Courteous) and to sometimes as takalluf (Formal) in Urdu. These words are mostly used when addressing elders, or people with whom one is not met yet. Just like French Vous and Tu. Upon studying French and other forms of Language, similar formal language constructs are present. The whole grammatical layout a...
Two well-respected poets who are not only celebrated in the South Asian subcontinent, but are famous in many other communities worldwide are Mirza Ghalib and Sir Dr. Muhammed Iqbal.
Formal Urdu: Aap tashreef rakhein = Please have a seat Main mu'azzarat chahta/chahti hun = Please excuse me/I apologize Informal Urdu: Aap bethein (You sit) or Tum betho (Sit, more informal) Main maafi chahta/chahti hun= I ask for forgiveness ************* Aap kaisay hein? = How are you? Main sahein hun = I am fine Assalam O Alaikum = Peace be upon...
Although often misunderstood as two separate languages, Urdu and Hindi are two registers of the same Hindustani language, often called Hindi-Urdu. Urdu is the official language of Pakistan and spoken by 71 million people in India. Urdu's vocabulary borrows primarily from Chagatai, Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic.Hindi, also historically known as Hindu...
- 68.62 million (2021), Total: 230 million (2021)
Urdu (اردو, trans. Urdū, historically spelled Ordu) is an Indo-Aryan language of the Indo-Iranian branch, belonging to the Indo-European family of languages.
Feb 15, 2018 · Urdu is widely known as the national language (قومی زبان/qaumi zabaan where “zabaan” is a fem. noun) of Pakistan, but it is also one of India’s 22 official languages (سرکاری زبان/sarkaari zabaan). Modern Standard Urdu, once commonly known as a variant of Hindustani (ہندوستانی), a colloquial language combining ...
Jan 5, 2021 · The Urdu language formed from Khariboli which was spoken in North India at the time, picking up regional dialects and including Persian and Arabic contributions and influences along the way. It is the official language of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and one of the 23 national languages of India .
