Urdu

American

[oor-doo, ur-, oor-doo, ur-] / ˈʊər du, ˈɜr-, ʊərˈdu, ɜr- /

noun

one of the official languages of Pakistan, a language derived from Hindustani, used by Muslims, and written with Persian-Arabic letters.

Urdu British

/ ˈɜː-, ˈʊəduː /

noun

an official language of Pakistan, also spoken in India. The script derives primarily from Persia. It belongs to the Indic branch of the Indo-European family of languages, being closely related to Hindi but containing many Arabic and Persian loan words

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What does Urdu mean? Urdu is the official language of Pakistan. It is derived from the older Hindustani language, and the written form uses Persian-Arabic letters.The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a south Asian country with Afghanistan to its north and India to its south. Urdu is a member of the Indic family of languages, which includes other languages spoken by culture groups in Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka.Urdu is recognized by Pakistan as the official language and it is the fifth most common language spoken in the country.

Etymology

Origin of Urdu

< Urdu, Hindi urdū, extracted from Persian zabān i urdū literally, language of the camp (ultimately < Turkic; horde )

Compare meaning

How does urdu compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

Urdu vs. Hindi

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"Bengalis who live in Karachi mostly speak Urdu," he said, adding: "We don't have our own culture now".

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

Tonight, Mui came equipped with bright blue flyers in six languages: English, Spanish, Bangla, Chinese, Arabic, and Urdu.

From Slate • Oct. 27, 2025

The morning newspapers saluted him with "Zendabad" - a pun on zindabad, the Urdu word for long live.

From BBC • Sep. 25, 2025

Abdul Salam, who lives in Punjab, told BBC Urdu of the moment he realised his wife, two daughters and son may have been caught in the Swat Valley floods.

From BBC • Aug. 18, 2025

On my side, Raj Mandali yelled something in Urdu, probably “I have to go potty!” and ran for the exit.

From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023