#1 Quick Guide To Urdu Pronouns

Did you know we use pronouns to substitute nouns? If not, don’t worry. We’re here to learn Urdu pronouns anyway. 

Urdu pronouns help us avoid repeating nouns while still making well-structured sentences. Thus, they make communication short and easy. 

Considering this, let’s briefly explore these pronouns and master how to use them effectively in our daily conversations. We’ll look into the different types and practice them with example sentences. Let’s start! 

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Different Types Of Urdu Pronouns

There are various types of pronouns in Urdu, each with its own significance. 

For instance, the most common pronouns are relative, possessive, intensive, interrogative, demonstrative, indefinite, and personal pronouns. 

Let’s look at some of these most common types of Urdu pronouns and understand how each works so you can start using them in your conversations!

Personal Pronouns

As you know, there are three grammatical persons: first, second, and third. The pronouns that relate to any of these grammatical persons are known as personal pronouns. 

Let’s break down the different personal pronouns depending on the three grammatical persons: 

1. First-Person Pronouns

Before we learn different first-person Urdu pronouns, it’s important to know that we use them when talking about ourselves. Yet, there are different pronouns for specific situations. 

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ہیلو hello Hello

آپ کیسے ہیں aap kaisay hain How are you

میرا نام ہے mera naam hai My name is

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For instance: 

• We use “I” – me (میں) and “We” – hum (ہم) pronouns when we ourselves perform the action.  
• We use “My” – mera (میرا) and “Our” – hamara (ہمارا) pronouns to show possession and ownership. 
• We use “Me” – mujhe (مجھے) and “Us” – hamain (ہمیں) when we want to indicate that we are directly or indirectly receiving the action. 
  
  

Below is a quick chart of all first-person personal pronouns to provide you with a handy guide:

2. Second-Person Pronouns

Unlike first-person pronouns, we use second-person pronouns when we speak to someone or about them. Again, we use different pronouns for different cases. 

For instance, 

• We use “you” – tum (تم) to indicate that the other person performed the action. 
• We use “your” – tumhara (تمہارا) to show the other person’s possession or ownership. 
• We use “you” – tumhein (تمہیں) when the other person receives the action.  
  
  

Let’s use each second-person personal pronoun in sentences for better understanding: 

A pro tip for you: Use the pronoun “you” – aap (آپ) instead of “you” – tum (تم) when talking to elders. It’s the easiest way to impress them, and you might get a token of appreciation.

A sweet treat, right? 

You can get more such tips by learning about formal vs informal Urdu grammar. It will help you adjust your speech accordingly and make you a pro speaker! 

3. Third-Person Pronouns

There is only one third-person pronoun in Urdu, woh (وہ), which refers to the pronouns “he,” “she,” “it,” and “they.” We use this in the subjective case. 

However, when we want to show the subject’s possession, we use the pronoun “his, hers, its, and theirs” – us ka (اُس کا). 

And, when we want to present the subject as the object, we use the pronoun “him, her, it, and theirs” – usy (اُسے). 

For example, we can write “he” in these three cases as follows:

Have you noted something here? 

In Urdu, we use the same third-person pronoun Woh (وہ) for he, she, it, and they.

For instance, 

• She eats an apple – wo saib khati hai (وہ سیب کھاتی ہے) 
• He eats an apple – wo saib khata hai (وہ سیب کھاتا ہے) 
  
  

Here, we use the pronoun woh (وہ) in both sentences, even though the first sentence has a female subject and the second one has a male subject. 

So, keep this point in mind to ensure accurate Urdu pronoun usage in your speech!

Demonstrative Pronouns

We use demonstrative pronouns to point out something. These words include “this,” “that,” “these,” and “those” in English. 

As you know,

• “These” and “those” are plural pronouns. We use the Urdu pronoun yeh (یہ) for them. 
• “This” and “that” are singular pronouns. We use the Urdu pronoun woh (وہ) for them. 
  
  

Don’t get confused by seeing the same woh (وہ) pronoun here too. Although it’s the same, its purpose is different. 

That is, we use the personal pronoun woh (وہ) to directly talk about someone or something. 

On the other hand, we use the demonstrative pronoun woh (وہ) to refer to someone or something. 

You will get the hang of it by consistently practicing Urdu pronouns. 

Reflexive Pronouns

A pronoun that finishes with “self” or “selves” and emphasizes its antecedent is known as a reflexive pronoun. 

There are also different pronouns based on three gendered persons. These are: 

• First-person reflexive pronouns are “myself” – me khud (میں خود) and “ourselves” – hum khud (ہم خود). 
• The second-person reflexive pronoun is “yourself” – apne aap ko (اپنے آپ کو). 
• The third-person pronoun is “itself,” “herself,” and “themselves” – khud (خود).
  
  

Let’s practice these reflexive pronouns together.

Interrogative Pronouns

These are usually called question words, as we use them to ask questions. These interrogative pronouns include which, what, whom, whose, and who. 

On the other hand, the words that end with -ever are also interrogative pronouns. These are whomever, whoever, whatever, whichever, etc. 

Let’s look at some common Urdu interrogative pronouns, or Urdu question words:

Urdu Pronouns Usage In Sentences

Now that you have mastered the different types of Urdu pronouns, it’s time to use them in sentences and learn how they work. 

As we mentioned above, we use pronouns to substitute Urdu nouns. 

So, if you have mentioned the noun once in the sentence and don’t want to repeat it, you can use a pronoun in place of it. 

For instance, 

If you have the noun “young people” – jawan log (جوان لوگ) and you have already mentioned it once in the sentence, you can replace it with the pronoun “they” – Wo (وہ). 

Let’s look at it to see how Urdu pronouns work. 

• Young people are our future. They should work hard and stay away from bad guys. – Nojawan hamara mustakbil hain. Inhe sakht mehnat karni chahye or bure logon se bachna chahye (نوجوان ہمارا مستقبل ہیں۔ انہیں سخت محنت کرنی چاہئے اور برے لوگوں سے بچنا چاہئے)
  
  

Let’s look at another example: 

• This is Ahmed’s car. He drives it. – Yeh Ahmed ki gari hai. Wo isy chalata hai (یہ احمد کی گاڑی ہے۔ وہ اِسے چلاتا ہے) 
  
  

Can you locate how many pronouns we used in this sentence? 

Yes, we used three pronouns here. Let’s look at each one. 

• One pronoun is “this” – yeh (یہ). We used it to point out the specific car and say that it belongs to Ahmed. 
• The second pronoun is “he” – wo (وہ). It’s a third-person personal pronoun that we used to replace the noun “Ahmed.” 
• The third pronoun is “it” – isy (اِسے). It’s also a third-person personal pronoun, which we used to replace the noun “car.” 

Tips To Ensure Effective Urdu Pronoun Usage

Here are a few tips to help you easily use Urdu pronouns in your sentences and avoid making any mistakes: 

1. Start with the personal pronouns. Master how to use “I” – me (میں) and “me” – mujhe (مجھے) accurately in your sentences. It’s very significant to thoroughly learn the usage of each pronoun before you start using them in your conversations. 
   
   
2. Practice using formal and informal “you” pronouns. For instance, refer to people with “you” – aap (آپ) in professional settings or when talking to elders or strangers, and use “you” – tum (تم) when talking to your friends and siblings. Practice will make this distinction easy for you. 
   
   
3. Learn where to use yeh (یہ) and wo (وہ). We already learned that we use yeh (یہ) for “this” and “these” (the things that are near) and wo (وہ) for “that” and “those” (the things that are far). 
   
   
4. Match the possessive pronouns with the gender of the noun they are describing. For instance, use feminine pronouns with feminine nouns and masculine pronouns with masculine nouns. Like, “my chair” – meri kursi (میری کرسی) and “my bag” – mera basta (میرا بستہ). 
   
   
5. Choose interrogative pronouns wisely. For instance, use “what” – kya (کیا) when asking about something, “who” – kon (کون) when asking about someone, and “whose” – kis ka (کس کا) when asking about ownership. 
   
   
6. Consistently practice Urdu pronouns in your daily conversations to use them naturally and avoid making common Urdu grammar mistakes. 

Frequently Asked Questions Related To Urdu Pronouns

1. How Many Genders Are There In Urdu?

Like English, Urdu also has two genders: masculine – muzakar (مزکر) and feminine – mau’nis (مؤنث). There are different rules for these genders that come with a few exceptions. 

In addition, Urdu genders also have numbers –singular and plural– depending on the type of nouns. 

2. Do Urdu Pronouns Change With Gender? 

Yes, but only possessive Urdu pronouns change with gender. Other pronouns remain the same. 

For instance, 

• He is playing – Wo khel raha hai (وہ کھیل رہا ہے)
• She is playing- Wo khel rahi hai (وہ کھیل رہی ہے) 
  
  

See, in both sentences, we use the pronoun wo (وہ) even though the first sentence contains the masculine subject “he” and the second has the feminine subject “she”. 

However, if you say, 

• Female: This is my book – Yeh meri kitab hai (یہ میری کتاب ہے) 
• Male: This is my bag- Yeh mera basta hai (یہ میرا بستہ ہے)
  
  

In the first sentence, as “book” is a feminine noun, we use the feminine possessive pronoun “my” – meri (میری). In the second sentence, “bag” is a masculine noun, so we use the masculine possessive pronoun “my” – mera (میرا) with it. Yet, the pronoun “this” – yeh (یہ) remains the same in both sentences. 

So, we only change possessive pronouns according to the gender. Other pronouns remain the same. 

3. Does Urdu Have Honorifics?

Yes, Urdu has honorifics, which are categorized into formal, informal, and religious honorifics. For example, people generally say “sir” as janab (جناب) or sahab (صاحب) out of respect. 

The interesting part is Urdu honorifics are deeply rooted in Pakistani culture and tradition. 

In fact, honorific actions also hold utmost importance, such as greetings, shaking hands, etc. 

Urdu Pronouns Made Easy! 

Urdu pronouns are one of the most important aspects of Urdu grammar. They can refine your sentences and make them look more advanced. Yet, it takes patience to master them completely. 

But you don’t have to worry. This handy guide has already covered all Urdu pronouns and taught you how to use them. 

So, just start practicing them by making simple sentences, and you’ll see how proficiently you use them in your conversations!

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Happy learning!