اردو
Urdu
Indo-Aryan
Also known as: Urdu
Urdu (اردو Urdū) is an Indo-Aryan language with ~230M speakers, sole national language of Pakistan and one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Linguistically, Urdu and Hindi share the same colloquial register (Hindustani) — they are mutually intelligible at the spoken everyday level — but diverge sharply in writing system, formal vocabulary, and standardization politics: Urdu uses the Nastaliq Perso-Arabic script (a calligraphic style developed in Persia c. 14th c.) and draws formal/literary vocabulary from Persian and Arabic, while Hindi uses Devanagari and draws from Sanskrit. The split was solidified during 19th-c. British colonial standardization (Hindi-Urdu controversy 1867+) and codified by 1947 Partition. Urdu is celebrated for its ghazal poetry tradition: Mir Taqi Mir (18th c.), Mirza Ghalib (19th c.), Allama Iqbal (20th c., Pakistan's national poet), Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ahmad Faraz. Major literary award: the Adamjee Literary Award. Strong diaspora across UK, USA, Canada, and the Gulf states.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Urdu
Water
پانی
/paːniː/
Fire
آگ
/aːɡ/
Sun
سورج
/suːɾəd͡ʒ/
Moon
چاند
/t͡ʃãːd/
Mother
ماں
/mãː/
Father
والد
/vaːlid/
Eat
کھانا
/kʰaːnaː/
Drink
پینا
/piːnaː/
Love
محبت
/mʊhəbːət/
Heart
دل
/dil/
Tree
درخت
/daɾaxt/
House
گھر
/ɡʱaɾ/
Dog
کتا
/kutːaː/
Cat
بلی
/bilːiː/
Hand
ہاتھ
/haːtʰ/
Eye
آنکھ
/ãːkʰ/
Hello
السلام علیکم
/əsːalaːm əlaɪkʊm/
Thank you
شکریہ
/ʃukrijaː/
One
ایک
/eːk/
Good
اچھا
/at͡ʃːʰaː/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-Aryan languages
| Meaning | Urdu | Hindi | Haryanvi | Hindko | Lambadi | Caribbean Hindustani | Tharu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | پانی /paːniː/ | पानी /paːniː/ | पाणी /paːɳiː/ | پانی /paːniː/ | पानी /paːniː/ | paani /paːni/ | पानी /paːniː/ |
| Fire | آگ /aːɡ/ | आग /aːɡ/ | आग /aːɡ/ | اگ /aɡ/ | आग /aːɡ/ | aag /aːɡ/ | आग /aːɡ/ |
| Sun | سورج /suːɾəd͡ʒ/ | सूरज /suːɾəd͡ʒ/ | सूरज /suːɾədʒ/ | سورج /soːraj/ | सुरज /suɾədʒ/ | suuraj /suːɾəd͡ʒ/ | सूरज /suːrədʒ/ |
| Moon | چاند /t͡ʃãːd/ | चाँद /t͡ʃãːd/ | चांद /tʃãːd/ | چن /tʃan/ | चांद /tʃãːd/ | caand /t͡ʃãːd/ | चांद /tʃãːd/ |
| Mother | ماں /mãː/ | माँ /mãː/ | माई /maːiː/ | ماں /mãː/ | मा /maː/ | mai /mai/ | माई /maːiː/ |
| Father | والد /vaːlid/ | पिता /pitaː/ | बापू /baːpuː/ | پیو /pju/ | बाप /baːp/ | baap /baːp/ | बबा /bəbaː/ |
| Eat | کھانا /kʰaːnaː/ | खाना /kʰaːnaː/ | खाणा /kʰaːɳaː/ | کھانا /kʰaːnaː/ | खा /kʰaː/ | khaae /kʰaːe/ | खाना /kʰaːnaː/ |
| Drink | پینا /piːnaː/ | पीना /piːnaː/ | पीणा /piːɳaː/ | پینا /piːnaː/ | पी /piː/ | pi /pi/ | पीना /piːnaː/ |
| Love | محبت /mʊhəbːət/ | प्यार /pjaːɾ/ | मोहब्बत /mohabːət/ | پیار /pjaːr/ | प्रेम /pɾem/ | piaar /piaːr/ | माया /maːjaː/ |
| Heart | دل /dil/ | दिल /dil/ | दिल /dɪl/ | دل /dil/ | मन /mən/ | dil /dil/ | मन /man/ |
| Tree | درخت /daɾaxt/ | पेड़ /peːɽ/ | पेड़ /peːɽ/ | درخت /daɾaxt/ | पेड़ /peːɽ/ | ped /peɽ/ | पेड़ /peːɽ/ |
| House | گھر /ɡʱaɾ/ | घर /ɡʱaɾ/ | घर /ɡʱəɾ/ | گھر /ɡʱar/ | घर /ɡʱəɾ/ | ghar /ɡʱar/ | घर /ɡʱəɾ/ |
| Dog | کتا /kutːaː/ | कुत्ता /kutːaː/ | कुत्ता /kutːaː/ | کتا /kuttaː/ | कुत्ता /kutːaː/ | kuttaa /kuttaː/ | कुकुर /kukur/ |
| Cat | بلی /bilːiː/ | बिल्ली /bilːiː/ | बिल्ली /bɪlːiː/ | بلی /billi/ | बिल्ली /bilːiː/ | billii /billiː/ | बिलार /bilaːɾ/ |
| Hand | ہاتھ /haːtʰ/ | हाथ /haːtʰ/ | हाथ /haːtʰ/ | ہتھ /hattʰ/ | हाथ /haːtʰ/ | haat /haːt/ | हाथ /haːtʰ/ |
| Eye | آنکھ /ãːkʰ/ | आँख /ãːkʰ/ | आख /aːkʰ/ | اکھ /akːʰ/ | आंख /ãːkʰ/ | ankh /ãːkʰ/ | आंख /ãːkʰ/ |
| Hello | السلام علیکم /əsːalaːm əlaɪkʊm/ | नमस्ते /namasteː/ | राम राम /ɾaːm ɾaːm/ | اسلام علیکم /assalaːmu ʕalaikum/ | राम राम /ɾaːm ɾaːm/ | namaste /namaste/ | राम राम /raːm raːm/ |
| Thank you | شکریہ /ʃukrijaː/ | धन्यवाद /dʱanjaʋaːd/ | धन्यवाद /dʱənjəbaːd/ | شکریہ /ʃukrija/ | धन्यवाद /dʱənjəʋaːd/ | dhanyabaad /dʰanjabaːd/ | धन्यवाद /dʱənjəbaːd/ |
| One | ایک /eːk/ | एक /eːk/ | एक /eːk/ | اک /ik/ | एक /ek/ | ek /ek/ | एक /eːk/ |
| Good | اچھا /at͡ʃːʰaː/ | अच्छा /at͡ʃːʰaː/ | चोखा /tʃoːkʰaː/ | چنگا /tʃəŋɡaː/ | अच्छो /ətʃʰo/ | accha /at͡ʃt͡ʃʰa/ | नीक /niːk/ |
Word order compared
Compare with major world languages
Compare with closely-related languages
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.