Table of Contents
Welcome to A1 Beginner Urdu
This chapter gives you a clear picture of what you will learn at the A1 level and how this course is organized. You are not expected to know any Urdu yet. After this chapter, you will know what to expect, how to study, and what skills you will start to build.
What A1 Beginner Means
In the CEFR system, A1 is the very first level. At A1 in Urdu, you are starting from zero or almost zero.
By the end of A1 in this course, you will be able to:
- Recognize the Urdu script and read simple words
- Say and understand very common greetings and polite phrases
- Give basic personal information
- Use the present tense for very simple sentences
- Talk a little about your daily life and family
- Handle predictable, everyday situations with short phrases
You will not yet speak fluently or understand fast native speech. That is normal for A1.
At A1, aim for simple, correct, and clear Urdu, not complex Urdu.
What Skills You Will Develop
At A1 you will work on four basic skills together: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. You will also build vocabulary and grammar step by step.
Listening
You will mainly listen to:
- Greetings and introductions
- Simple questions and short answers
- Very basic information, for example about time, days, family
At this level, listening materials are slow and clear. You will often hear the same phrases many times. This repetition helps your ear get used to the sounds of Urdu.
Speaking
You will speak in short, prepared patterns, for example:
- Saying hello and goodbye
- Introducing yourself
- Answering simple questions about name, nationality, job, family
- Talking very briefly about your daily routine
Typical A1 spoken sentences:
- “My name is …”
- “I am from …”
- “I am a student.”
- “I live in …”
- “I like tea.”
You will not need long explanations or stories yet.
Reading
You will start from the very beginning of the Urdu writing system. First you will learn:
- The Urdu alphabet
- How letters change shape in a word
- How to connect letters
You will move from:
- Recognizing individual letters
- Reading short syllables
- Reading whole words
- Reading very short, simple sentences
You will also see some “Roman Urdu” examples, where Urdu is written with English letters.
Writing
You will learn to:
- Write individual letters by hand
- Join letters to make simple words
- Copy short, basic sentences
The writing focus in A1 is on correct formation of letters and clear joining, not speed.
How the A1 Course Is Organized
The A1 part of this course moves in a logical order that matches how complete beginners usually learn.
Introduction to Urdu
You will first learn:
- What Urdu is and how it is related to other languages
- Where Urdu is used in the world
- The difference between the traditional Urdu script (Nastaliq) and Roman Urdu
- An overview of Urdu sounds and pronunciation
At this stage, you are just getting a big picture and a first contact with the language.
Urdu Alphabet and Writing System
Then you focus on:
- The full set of Urdu letters
- How letters look when they stand alone, and when they appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a word
- Short and long vowels
- Which letters connect and which do not
- Basic writing practice for accuracy
This part gives you the foundation to read and write simple Urdu.
Basic Pronunciation and Phonetics
You will work specifically on:
- Hearing and pronouncing pairs like "aspirated" and "unaspirated" consonants
- Producing “retroflex” sounds that are new for many learners
- Understanding basic stress and intonation in Urdu sentences
The goal is not to sound perfect, but to sound clear enough to be understood.
Greetings and Polite Expressions
You will learn very common everyday expressions, for example:
- How to say hello and goodbye
- How to ask and answer “How are you?”
- How to introduce yourself politely
- How to say “please,” “thank you,” “sorry,” “excuse me,” and similar phrases
At A1, memorizing these chunks helps you speak without thinking about grammar too much.
Personal Information
In this part you will use simple language to give and ask for:
- Name
- Nationality
- Profession or occupation
- Basic yes and no answers
Simple question and answer patterns will help you handle first conversations with Urdu speakers.
Basic Sentence Structure
You will learn the typical Urdu word order:
- How to place the subject, object, and verb
- How Urdu shows grammatical gender
- How singular nouns behave in basic patterns
This is the first step toward building your own simple sentences.
Present Tense (Simple)
You will focus on:
- The very common verb forms ہے and ہیں
- A small group of high-frequency verbs such as:
- کرنا “to do”
- جانا “to go”
- آنا “to come”
You will use these to talk about:
- Where you are
- Where you go
- What you do in your daily life
Numbers, Time, and Dates
You will work with:
- Numbers from 1 to 100
- Telling the time on a clock
- Days of the week
This allows you to understand and give simple information about schedules, appointments, and daily plans.
Family and People
You will learn words for:
- Common family members
- Basic ways to talk about “my,” “your,” “his,” “her,” etc., using forms like کا, کی, کے
This helps you introduce your family and talk about people around you.
Everyday Activities
Finally, you will talk in the present about:
- Your daily routine
- Very common actions
- Simple likes and habits
You will combine vocabulary, basic verbs, and the present tense to describe an ordinary day in your life.
What You Will Be Able to Do After A1
By the end of the A1 Beginner level, you will typically be able to:
- Greet people and use basic polite expressions
- Introduce yourself and ask for another person’s name and basic details
- Say where you are from and what you do
- Talk a little about your family and daily routine
- Understand and use very frequent everyday vocabulary
- Read and write simple phrases and sentences in Urdu script
- Use the simple present tense in basic patterns
Your language will still be limited, but you will have a real foundation for further learning.
How to Study Effectively at A1
Here are some practical habits for this level:
Repeat and Imitate
- Listen to the same audio many times.
- Repeat aloud, trying to copy the rhythm and melody.
- Practice short dialogues as if you are in a real conversation.
Write by Hand
- Practice each letter several times.
- Write slow but correctly.
- Copy simple words and sentences from the lessons.
Use Small, Frequent Sessions
It is better to study:
- 15 to 20 minutes every day
than
- 2 hours once a week
Short, regular practice keeps the sounds and shapes of Urdu fresh in your memory.
Accept Mistakes
You will make many mistakes at A1. That is expected and useful. Focus on:
- Communicating the basic idea
- Correcting frequent errors step by step
- Remembering key patterns and phrases
At A1, regular practice and repetition are more important than “natural talent.”
Example Mini Dialogues You Will Reach in A1
These are the kind of short exchanges you will be able to handle by the end of A1. At this stage you are not expected to understand every word perfectly, but you will recognize the structure and general meaning.
Example 1: Greeting and introducing
- “Hello, my name is Sara. What is your name?”
- “My name is Ali. Nice to meet you.”
Example 2: Basic information
- “Where are you from?”
- “I am from Pakistan.”
Example 3: Daily routine
- “I wake up at seven. I go to work at nine.”
You will later see and practice these ideas in Urdu script and pronunciation, but this chapter only shows the type of communication you are moving toward.
In the next chapters, you will begin your real contact with Urdu: what it is, where it is spoken, and how it sounds.