We have looked at some Plural Urdu words in the past, but a step before that is the Urdu nouns. Nouns are more or less the backbone and gist of grammar. It also dictates what the rest of the parts of speech will be in sentences. So, let’s look at the rules and structure of Urdu nouns in detail.
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Urdu Nouns: A Brief Introduction
In the Urdu language, there are two types of nouns that are formed by the two genders – masculine and feminine nouns. They are an integral and fundamental part of your daily conversations in Urdu. Nouns are the most common words you use in conversation, even as new Urdu speakers. This is even true for the English language and many other languages.
Also, the type of Urdu nouns you use in your sentence will help you to know which adjective, verb, or even possessive adjective to use. The relationship between it all starts with Urdu nouns. However, this rule is especially for the Urdu language.
As we go deeper into Urdu vocabulary, you will notice more than just the two genders; like the category of nouns under each gender, and the most important part will be to start learning how to differentiate them which is helpful. By the end of this article, you will learn the pronunciation of Urdu nouns too in each gender and will get familiarized with how they are spoken in Urdu.
Classification Of Urdu Nouns
Just like the English grammar, Urdu grammar also requires sentences to have a noun. As the name of a person, place, object, or animal, nouns can be masculine or feminine. Let’s talk about the ladies first! In the Urdu language, feminine nouns can be identified easily as they end with the sound “ee” or in Roman Urdu, you finish with an “i”.
Some examples are chicken مرغی murgi, girl لڑکی larki, chair کرسی kursi, female child بچی bachi, and yogurt drink لسسی lassi.
The feminine nouns that are shown fall under the category of “marked feminine nouns”. This is because they are well identifiable. Now, looking at “unmarked feminine nouns” we will see that they have a variety of endings.
Notice the following nouns and their endings: shop دکان dukan, street سڑک sarak, picture تصویر tasweer, object or thing چیز cheez, house مکان makan. They certainly have no specific or marked ending. The solution? PRACTICE! You must try to listen and familiarize yourself with these words. As a beginner, it will be tricky. Later, the rules won’t matter. You will master it all!
For the masculine nouns, they end with “aa” or “ah”. Take a look at these: boy لڑکا larka, male child بچا bacha, horse گھوڑا ghora, dog کتا kutta, and road راستہ rasta. They fall under marked masculine nouns as you can see a pattern and can identify them well.
Moving to the unmarked masculine nouns that end with different letters or sounds, learn the vocabulary and practice pronunciation for fluency. Here are some: name نام naam, sky آسمان asman, country ملک mulk, city شہر sheher, husband شوہر shohar.
Urdu Nouns – Vocabulary & Sentences
The best way to understand if an Urdu noun is feminine or masculine is to repeat the sentence and note the other words in them too. For feminine nouns, often there will be more words ending in “ee”.
Likewise for masculine nouns, other words besides the Urdu noun will have “aa” sound. To save time, look at the words below:
- یہ بچی بہت پیاری ہے Ye bachi bohot pyaari hai meaning “this girl is very pretty”. You can see the word پیاری pyari is ending with “ee” in the same way as بچی bacchi. You can conclude that it is a feminine noun.
- وہ گھوڑا کافی برا ہے Woh ghora kafi bara hai, which means “the horse is quite big”. The word بڑا bara ends with “ah” sound similar to گھوڑا ghora. Therefore, this is a masculine noun.
How about the following nouns? Can you identify if they are masculine or feminine?
| English Noun | Urdu Noun | Pronunciation |
| Mother | ماں | Maa |
| Father | باپ | Baap |
| Teacher | استاد | Ustaad |
| Minister | وزیر | Vazeer |
| Lion | شیر | Sher |
| Tiger | چیتا | Cheetah |
| Bear | ریچھ | Reej |
| Wolf | بھیڑیا | Bheriya |
| Bird | پرندہ | Parinda |
| Zoo | چڑیا گھر | Chiriya Ghar |
| Restaurant | ریستوراں | Restauraan |
| State | علاقہ | ileqa |
| Table | ٹیبل | Tebel |
| Truck | ٹرک | Tarak |
| Pencil | پینسل | Pensil |
| Boot | بوٹ | Buut |
| Book | کتاب | Kitaab |
How Do You Say Noun In Urdu?
In Urdu, we say Noun as اسم – ism. It holds an integral part in the Urdu grammar as it represents a person, place, thing, or idea. You can use this word in the sentences as follows:
A noun is the name of person, place, or thing- اسم کسی شخص، جگہ، یا چیز کا نام ہوتا ہے- ism kisi shakhs, jagah, ya cheez ka naam hota hai.
There are many stories in this book. In this sentence “book” is a noun- اس کتاب میں بہت ساری کہانیاں ہیں. اس جملے میں ‘کتاب’ ایک اسم ہے۔- is kitab mein bohat saari kahanian hain. is jumle mein ‘kitab’ aik ism hai.
Frequently Asked Questions About Urdu Nouns
Do Arabic Nouns Have Genders?
Yes, Arabic nouns have genders that are similar to the Urdu language. They are also classified as masculine and feminine. Similarly, it is essential to understand the difference between these two forms of nouns as they affect the form of other parts of speech associated with the noun.
Which Countries Speak Urdu?
Urdu is the national and official language of Pakistan. Besides this, you can find the majority of Urdu-speaking people in different South Asian countries like India, the United States, the United Kingdom, UAE, and Canada. It is because several Pakistanis and Indians have migrated there.
What Language Has No Gender Nouns?
Several languages have gender-neutral nouns. Some such languages are Chinese, Turkish, Finnish, and Indonesian. For instance, Turkish use the term ‘o’ to refer to both genders and Chinese refer to he as 他 (tā) and she as 她” (tā). In the latter case, you can see that the difference isn’t in the speech but in writing.
Learn Urdu With Ling
Urdu words are beautiful. Yet, speaking Urdu is best done if you have people from Pakistan around you. It helps you to forget all hesitation and dive right into the language. But you are probably trying for more than just Urdu nouns. There is a host of wonderful things to know about the Urdu language. Like Urdu romance, movies, and music are enigmatic and don’t get me started on their delicacies. Also, Pakistanis have a way to your heart through their hospitality and food.
So, if you are interested in learning Urdu, you need to do so with a friend and community member who can guide you through it. One such friend I refer to is the Ling app! It’s not just about vocabulary, phrases, and languages; it is about helping you to speak Urdu like a local and having fun while learning.
With awesome features like voice recognition, speaking to a native, creating and personalizing your interests, and cruising your way through games that are essentially Urdu lessons, this app is the sure way to learn Urdu in a matter of two weeks!
Try the app today – download it from the Apple Store or Google Play Store. Make sure to look at other blogs at Ling as well to gain a cultural understanding of Pakistanis. Once you are done, there are 60+ other languages that you can choose next. Remember, learning languages opens new worlds for you to explore! So why wait? Start learning with Ling today!
