Urdu

[oor-doo, ur-, oor-doo, ur-]

noun

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

Urdu

/ ˈɜː-, ˈʊəduː /

noun

1. 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Urdu¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Urdu¹

C18: from Hindustani ( zabāni ) urdū (language of the) camp, from Persian urdū camp, from Turkish ordū

Example Sentences

It made him wonder how his generation had slowly drifted away from their mother tongue, as other languages like English, Urdu and Hindi became more widespread.

From BBC

When BBC Urdu visited in the aftermath, the area was dotted with large stones, concrete blocks and uprooted trees.

From BBC

Kathiruddin told BBC Urdu that they had arrived in the valley that morning, and sometime around afternoon, his brother stepped into a cave.

From BBC

He has posted one campaign video entirely in Urdu and mixed in Bollywood film clips.

From BBC

He's posted one campaign video entirely in Urdu and mixed in Bollywood film clips.

From BBC

When To Use

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.