Urdu/Vocabulary/Greetings
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Normally when one refer to an unknown person or an elder one, one always says aap the formal you. On the other hand, tum is used as an informal 'you'. Tum is also used for friends, intimate relationships and also for children and other people who may be younger than the speaker. Sometimes other words also may be used to refer to people like 'Sahab Jii(Male)', Bhai Sahab(Male), Bhai Jee(Male), Bahan Jii(Female), Aunty(Female), Nana(Old Male) and Sir Jii(in office for Male).
Greetings in Urdu are either related to religion or otherwise non-religious. Normally 'Assalam-o-alakium', a religious greeting, is still the most common greeting for all age groups, kya haal hay(how are you?) is also commonly used among the new generation.
Normally Greetings have a great difference in East and West. In west, good morning, Bon Appetit, Thank You, Sorry, You are welcome have become mandatory. As Allama Iqbal said, the West is nothing but Tukaluf(Greetings), East is just the opposite. In Eastern Culture, if you will say Thank you unnecessarily, they may be become angry. Normally if a person is mute, it means that you are affirmative to the situation. In Pakistan, if somebody will feel bad, he will say it of course.
Accha and Haan is the most commonly used word for affirmation or confirming that one is understood with the situation. The older generation who migrated from India to Pakistan uses mostly 'Thiik Hay.
[edit] Some common Greetings
Yasir Qaisar Qureshi
| English | Urdu Script | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| Hello (used esp. when answering the phone) | Assalam-o-alaikum | |
| See you later | phir milenge | |
| How are you? | Kya Haal Haiy ? or Kaisay Ho? | |
| How are you? | āp khairiyat se hai? | |
| I am fine | main thīk hūn | |
| OK/fine (colloq.) | thīk hai, Accha | |
| Fine, and you? (more formal reply) | main teek huun, aur āp sunāiye | |
| What is your name? | āpka nām kya hai? | |
| My name is ___ . | mera nām ___ hai. | |
| Nice to meet you (formal). | āpse milkar bahoot khuśī huī haiy | |
| Nice to meet you too (reply). | mujhe bhī barii khusi hui haiy | |
| Yes | haan | |
| No/not | nahīn | |
| Do you speak English? | āpko angrezī ātī hai? aap angrezi boltay hain? | |
| Is there someone here who speaks English? | kya yahaan kisī ko angrezī ātī hai? | |
| I don't speak Urdu | mujhay Urdu naheen aati hai | |
| I can't speak Urdu | main Urdu nahīn bol sakta hūn. | |
| I speak some Urdu. | mujhe thoorii see Urdu ātī hai | |
| I don't understand. | main samjha/samjhī nahīn , mujhay sumajh nahneen aaya | |
| Please speak more slowly | Zaraa dhīre dhīre boliye or Zaraa Ahistigi say boliye | |
| Come again? | Phirse aain ga? | |
| What does "..." mean? | "..." ka matlab kya hai? or "..." say kya muraad hai? | |
| How do you say "..."? | "..." ko kaise kehte hain? | |
| Where are you from? | āp kahan se hain? | |
| I'm from ... | main ... se hūn | |
| Please | maharbanii hoogi | |
| Thank you | shukria | |
| Thank you very much | bahut bahut shukria | |
| You're welcome | Koi baat naheen | |
| You're welcome (lit. don't mention it) | koī bāt nahīn | |
| Excuse me (getting s.o.'s attention) | suniye , Janaab | |
| Pardon me | Maaf kījiye ga, Maaf Karna | |
| Pardon me/I'm sorry | Maaf karo (informal especially to beggars) Maaf kejiyay ga (formal) | |
| Where is the toilet? | bayt-ul-khala kahan hai? (obselete) bathroom/washroom kahan hai(polite) | |
| Good!, really?, nice, etc. | accha, Zabardaast, kya baat hai | |
| Just one minute | ek minat tehroo |
