1.3.3 Stress and intonation

Understanding Stress and Intonation in Urdu

In this chapter you will see how Urdu sounds in real speech. You will learn where the voice is strong in a word, and how the voice moves up and down in a sentence. This is what we call stress and intonation. Good control of stress and intonation will make your Urdu sound clearer and more natural.

We will use simple Roman Urdu in examples, with English meanings. Do not worry about the Urdu script here, this chapter focuses only on sound and melody.

What is Stress in Urdu Words?

Stress is the part of the word that you say a little louder, a little longer, or with more energy.

In English, stress can change the meaning or type of a word:

• PREsent (noun) vs preSENT (verb).

In Urdu, stress is usually not used to change the meaning of a word. It is more regular and predictable. This makes Urdu easier than English in this area.

General Pattern of Word Stress

Most Urdu words are stressed on:

• The last syllable, or
• The second last syllable, if the last one is very weak.

A syllable is one beat of sound:

• kitab = ki • taab (2 syllables)
• maktab = mak • tab (2 syllables)
• kitabon = ki • taa • bon (3 syllables)

Typical stress positions:

So in daily speech you will often hear:

• LAR-ka, LAR-ki, ACH-cha, UR-du

Rather than:

• lar-KA, lar-KI, ach-CHA, ur-DU

Stress in Longer Words

When a word has three or more syllables, Urdu tends to stress one of the first two syllables, unless a long, heavy syllable comes later.

Foreign words like university or telephone often keep almost the same stress as in English.

Stress in Phrases and Sentences

So far you saw stress within a single word. But in real speech, words join to make phrases and sentences, and stress works at a sentence level.

In a sentence, some words are strong (content words) and some are weak (function words).

• Content words carry meaning:
• Nouns: larka (boy), khana (food)
• Main verbs: khana (to eat), jana (to go)
• Adjectives: bara (big), accha (good)
• Adverbs: aaj (today), kal (tomorrow)
• Function words are small helpers:
• Pronouns: main (I), tu (you, informal)
• Postpositions: se (from), ko (to), mein (in)
• Auxiliary verbs: hai (is), tha (was)
• Particles: to, hi, bhi (too, also)

Usually, Urdu stresses the important content words. Function words are spoken lighter and faster.

Examples of Sentence Stress

In the following examples, the bold parts are stressed more strongly.

1. Simple statement
• main LARka hoon
  "I am a boy."
2. Adding an adjective
• woh ACCha larka hai
  "He is a good boy."
3. Focus on a different word
• aaj WOH aa raha hai
  "He is coming today." (not someone else)
• aaj woh YAHAN aa raha hai
  "He is coming here today." (not somewhere else)
• aaj woh yahan AA raha hai
  "He is coming here today." (not just calling etc.)

Notice how moving the strongest stress changes what feels new or important in the sentence.

What is Intonation?

Intonation is how your voice moves up and down when you speak. It is like the melody of a sentence.

In Urdu, intonation helps to show:

• If the sentence is a statement, question, or command
• What is new information
• If the speaker is sure, unsure, polite, or surprised

You will hear three basic shapes very often:

1. Falling intonation
2. Rising intonation
3. Rise–fall intonation (up then down, for emphasis)

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Falling Intonation: Statements and WH-Questions

In falling intonation, your voice goes down at the end of the sentence.

Draw it like a line going down:
↘

Use of Falling Intonation

You normally use falling intonation in:

• Simple statements
• Commands
• WH-questions (questions with kya, kab, kahan, kaun, kyun, etc.)

Examples: Simple Statements

Last word goes down.

1. main ghar jaa raha HOON ↘
   "I am going home."
2. woh DOST hai ↘
   "He is a friend."
3. aaj THAND hai ↘
   "It is cold today."
4. hum URdu seekh rahe hain ↘
   "We are learning Urdu."
5. yeh MEri kitaab hai ↘
   "This is my book."

Examples: Commands with Falling Intonation

1. yahan AAO ↘
   "Come here."
2. abhi JAAO ↘
   "Go now."
3. dhyaan SE suno ↘
   "Listen carefully."
4. chup RAHo ↘
   "Be quiet."

Falling intonation here can sound firm and strong. With a softer voice, it can still be polite.

WH-Questions with Falling Intonation

In Urdu, many WH-questions use falling intonation, not rising.

1. aap KAUN hain ↘
   "Who are you?"
2. aap kahan REHte hain ↘
   "Where do you live?"
3. aap ka naam KYA hai ↘
   "What is your name?"
4. aap kab AAE ↘
   "When did you come?"
5. aap Urdu KYUN seekh rahe hain ↘
   "Why are you learning Urdu?"

The voice starts a little higher at the question word and then falls at the end.

Rising Intonation: Yes/No Questions and Uncertainty

In rising intonation, your voice goes up at the end of the sentence.

Draw it like a line going up:
↗

Yes/No Questions

Urdu yes/no questions often have a clear rise at the end.

You can make a question by:

• Adding the question word kya at the start
• Or using only intonation, especially in casual speech

With "kya"

1. kya aap TEA peete hain ↗
   "Do you drink tea?"
2. kya yeh aap ka BAG hai ↗
   "Is this your bag?"
3. kya aaj BARISH hogi ↗
   "Will it rain today?"
4. kya aap PAKistan se hain ↗
   "Are you from Pakistan?"
5. kya aap URdu samajhte hain ↗
   "Do you understand Urdu?"

The pitch is usually higher on the last important word and then goes up at the very end.

Without "kya" (Intonation Only)

In casual speech, you can sometimes ask a yes/no question with just intonation.

1. aap Pakistan se hain ↗
   "You are from Pakistan?" (meaning, "Are you from Pakistan?")
2. aap teacher hain ↗
   "You are a teacher?" (Are you a teacher?)
3. yeh aap ki kitaab hai ↗
   "This is your book?" (Is this your book?)

Without the rising intonation, these sentences are just statements.

Rising Intonation for Uncertainty or Surprise

Sometimes even in a statement, you can raise your intonation to show:

• Surprise
• aap YAhan hain ↗
  "You are here?" (I did not expect that.)
• Doubt / checking
• kal MEeting hai ↗
  "The meeting is tomorrow?" (Are you sure?)

Context and facial expressions also help to show the feeling.

Rise–Fall Intonation: Emphasis and Contrast

Sometimes Urdu uses a rise then fall on one word to show strong emphasis, contrast, or emotion.

Draw it like this:
↗ ↘

Emphasizing a Word

1. YEH ↗ ↘ mera ghar hai
   "This is MY house." (not someone else’s)
2. main ↗ ↘ BILkul theek hoon
   "I am absolutely fine."
3. aaj BOHAt ↗ ↘ thand hai
   "Today it is VERY cold."

The voice goes up then comes down on the key word.

Correcting or Contrasting

1. main doctor nahi, TEAcher ↗ ↘ hoon
   "I am not a doctor, I am a TEACHER."
2. yeh CHAy hai, COFfee nahi ↘
   "This is tea, not coffee."
3. woh LAHore se hai, KArachi se nahi ↘
   "He is from Lahore, not Karachi."

The contrast word often gets a stronger, sometimes rise–fall intonation.

Intonation Patterns in Common Sentence Types

Here is a quick overview of basic sentence melodies.

Minimal Pairs of Intonation

The same words can mean different things with different intonation.

Statement vs Question

1. aap teacher hain ↘
   "You are a teacher." (Statement)
2. aap teacher hain ↗
   "Are you a teacher?" (Question)
3. aap thak gaye hain ↘
   "You are tired."
4. aap thak gaye hain ↗
   "Are you tired?"

Different Attitudes

1. Neutral information
• aaj barish hogi ↘
  "It will rain today."
2. Doubt / confirmation
• aaj barish hogi ↗
  "Will it rain today?" or "It will rain today?" (Are you sure?)
3. Strong emphasis
• aaj BOHAt ↗ ↘ barish hogi
  "It will rain a LOT today."

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Practical Listening Tips

As a beginner, you do not need to master all the details. Focus on three simple habits:

1. Notice the End of the Sentence

Ask yourself:

• Did the voice go down or go up?

Listen to native speakers and try to copy:

• Down for statements
• Up for yes/no questions

2. Find the Strong Word

In each short sentence, try to hear which word is strongest.

For example, if you hear:

• aaj AAP aa rahe hain
  The focus is on "you".
• aaj aap YAHAN aa rahe hain
  The focus is on "here".

This will help you understand what part is important.

3. Imitate Short Phrases

Choose short phrases and copy the melody:

• kya haal hai ↗
  "How are you?"
• theek hoon ↘
  "I am fine."
• shukriya ↘
  "Thank you."
• kya aap Urdu samajhte hain ↗
  "Do you understand Urdu?"

Say them several times, focusing on the up or down movement.

Typical Beginner Problems and How to Avoid Them

1. Using English Intonation in Urdu

Some learners keep English patterns, for example:

• Rising intonation on WH-questions, like aap kahan rehte hain ↗

In Urdu, natives often say this with a fall:

• aap kahan rehte hain ↘

Tip: When there is a question word like kya, kahan, kab, kaun, use falling intonation at the end.

2. No Change in Intonation

If your voice is very flat, it can be hard to understand whether you are asking or telling.

Tip: Exaggerate the difference at first:

• Strong fall for statements
• Clear rise for yes/no questions

3. Stressing Every Word Equally

If you stress all words the same, your speech sounds unnatural and tiring.

Tip: Choose one or two important words per sentence and give them more energy. Make small words like hai, ko, se lighter and faster.

Practice: Short Example Dialogues

Here are simple mini-dialogues with suggested intonation. You can use them to practice.

Dialogue 1: Greeting

A: assalam o alaikum ↘
"Peace be upon you."

B: wa alaikum assalam ↘
"And peace be upon you."

A: aap ka naam kya hai ↘
"What is your name?"

B: mera naam Ali hai ↘
"My name is Ali."

Dialogue 2: Yes/No Questions

A: kya aap student hain ↗
"Are you a student?"

B: ji haan, main student hoon ↘
"Yes, I am a student."

A: kya aap Urdu samajhte hain ↗
"Do you understand Urdu?"

B: thodi si ↘
"A little."

Dialogue 3: Contrast and Emphasis

A: aap Karachi se hain ↗
"Are you from Karachi?"

B: nahi, main LAHore se hoon ↘
"No, I am from Lahore."

A: aaj class hai ↗
"Is there class today?"

B: haan, aaj ZARUR class hai ↗ ↘
"Yes, there is definitely class today."

New Vocabulary from This Chapter

You do not need to memorize all these words now, but they help you talk about stress and intonation in Urdu if you need to.