Table of Contents
Basic pattern for introducing yourself
When you introduce yourself in Urdu, you usually give your name first, then maybe your country or city, and sometimes your profession or what you do. In this chapter we focus on very short, practical sentences that you can say as a beginner.
In everyday situations, you will often hear people use either polite full sentences, or very short, casual phrases. You should learn both, but as a beginner it is good to start with the polite, complete forms.
Key idea: A very common and polite way to introduce yourself is:
میرا نام … ہے
mera naam … hai
“My name is …”
We will build several useful versions of this, step by step.
Saying your name
“My name is …”
The most standard, neutral sentence is:
- میرا نام احمد ہے
mera naam Ahmad hai
“My name is Ahmad.”
Structure:
- میرا mera = “my”
- نام naam = “name”
- احمد Ahmad = the name
- ہے hai = “is”
You can put any name in the middle:
| Urdu | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| میرا نام علی ہے | mera naam Ali hai | My name is Ali. |
| میرا نام سارہ ہے | mera naam Sarah hai | My name is Sarah. |
| میرا نام فاطمہ ہے | mera naam Fatima hai | My name is Fatima. |
| میرا نام جان ہے | mera naam John hai | My name is John. |
If your name is unfamiliar in South Asia, you still use the same pattern:
- میرا نام لوکاس ہے
mera naam Lukas hai
“My name is Lukas.”
“I am …” with a name
You can also say:
- میں احمد ہوں
maĩ Ahmad hũ
“I am Ahmad.”
This is shorter and more direct. It sounds natural and is used a lot in conversation.
Compare:
| Urdu | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| میرا نام عمر ہے | mera naam Umar hai | My name is Umar. |
| میں عمر ہوں | maĩ Umar hũ | I am Umar. |
Both are correct. As a beginner, memorize at least one of these patterns very well.
Asking for someone’s name
When you meet someone, you also want to ask their name.
Polite, full question
To ask “What is your name?” politely, you can say:
- آپ کا نام کیا ہے؟
aap ka naam kya hai?
“What is your name?”
Here:
- آپ aap = polite “you”
- کا ka = “of” (here, “your”)
- نام naam = “name”
- کیا kya = “what”
- ہے؟ hai? = “is?”
This is safe and polite in almost all situations.
Less formal, friendly option
With friends or people your own age, you might hear:
- تمہارا نام کیا ہے؟
tumhara naam kya hai?
“What is your name?” (informal “you”)
In this course, for beginners, you can mainly use the polite آپ form, آپ کا نام کیا ہے؟, because it works in most situations.
Answering the question
If someone asks:
- آپ کا نام کیا ہے؟
aap ka naam kya hai?
“What is your name?”
You can answer with:
- میرا نام علی ہے۔
mera naam Ali hai.
“My name is Ali.”
or
- میں علی ہوں۔
maĩ Ali hũ.
“I am Ali.”
Short introduction exchanges
Here are some complete mini dialogues. Practice them aloud.
Dialogue 1, very basic
A: سلام۔ آپ کا نام کیا ہے؟
Salaam. aap ka naam kya hai?
“Hello. What is your name?”
B: میرا نام مریم ہے۔
mera naam Maryam hai.
“My name is Maryam.”
A: میں علی ہوں۔
maĩ Ali hũ.
“I am Ali.”
Dialogue 2, with a greeting and reply
A: السلام علیکم۔ آپ کا نام کیا ہے؟
assalaamu alaikum. aap ka naam kya hai?
“Peace be upon you. What is your name?”
B: وعلیکم السلام۔ میرا نام حسن ہے۔
wa alaikum assalaam. mera naam Hasan hai.
“And peace be upon you. My name is Hasan.”
Dialogue 3, asking back
A: آپ کا نام کیا ہے؟
aap ka naam kya hai?
“What is your name?”
B: میرا نام ندا ہے۔ اور آپ کا نام کیا ہے؟
mera naam Nida hai. aur aap ka naam kya hai?
“My name is Nida. And what is your name?”
A: میرا نام عمر ہے۔
mera naam Umar hai.
“My name is Umar.”
Notice the useful word اور aur “and” in the second sentence.
Adding a polite phrase with your name
When you introduce yourself, it is natural to add a polite phrase like “Nice to meet you.” The exact expression will be covered more in the “Courtesy phrases” chapter, but here is one simple pattern that often appears with introductions:
- آپ سے مل کر خوشی ہوئی۔
aap se mil kar khushi hui.
“(I) am happy to meet you.” / “Nice to meet you.”
You can put this after saying your name:
- میرا نام احمد ہے۔ آپ سے مل کر خوشی ہوئی۔
mera naam Ahmad hai. aap se mil kar khushi hui.
“My name is Ahmad. Nice to meet you.”
For now, you only need to recognize this sentence and maybe use it as a fixed phrase.
Introducing basic extra information about yourself
In a real conversation, after your name, people often ask or say one extra fact, such as country, city, or language. Detailed grammar for nationality and profession comes later, but you can already learn a few very simple model sentences that commonly follow your name.
Name plus country (simple patterns)
Some very frequent patterns use a known country name like “Pakistan” or “India.” For now, treat these as memorized chunks:
- میں پاکستان سے ہوں۔
maĩ Pakistan se hũ.
“I am from Pakistan.” - میں بھارت سے ہوں۔
maĩ Bhaarat se hũ.
“I am from India.” - میں انگلینڈ سے ہوں۔
maĩ England se hũ.
“I am from England.” - میں جرمنی سے ہوں۔
maĩ Germany se hũ.
“I am from Germany.”
Combine with your name:
- میرا نام سارہ ہے، میں انگلینڈ سے ہوں۔
mera naam Sarah hai, maĩ England se hũ.
“My name is Sarah, I am from England.” - میں علی ہوں، میں پاکستان سے ہوں۔
maĩ Ali hũ, maĩ Pakistan se hũ.
“I am Ali, I am from Pakistan.”
Simple questions about origin
Again, more work with questions comes later, but here is a very common question you will hear after names:
- آپ کہاں سے ہیں؟
aap kahaan se haĩ?
“Where are you from?”
You can answer with the patterns above:
- میں امریکہ سے ہوں۔
maĩ America se hũ.
“I am from the United States.”
Even if you do not fully understand each individual word yet, try to memorize these as useful conversation blocks.
Practice: put it together
Here are some model self-introductions. You can change the name and country.
- میرا نام علی ہے۔
mera naam Ali hai.
“My name is Ali.” - میں احمد ہوں۔
maĩ Ahmad hũ.
“I am Ahmad.” - میرا نام نینا ہے، میں جرمنی سے ہوں۔
mera naam Nina hai, maĩ Germany se hũ.
“My name is Nina, I am from Germany.” - میں نور ہوں، میں پاکستان سے ہوں۔
maĩ Noor hũ, maĩ Pakistan se hũ.
“I am Noor, I am from Pakistan.” - میرا نام مائیکل ہے، آپ سے مل کر خوشی ہوئی۔
mera naam Michael hai, aap se mil kar khushi hui.
“My name is Michael, nice to meet you.”
Try to say each sentence out loud, then substitute:
- your own name
- your country or city
New vocabulary in this chapter
| Urdu | Transliteration | Part of speech | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| میں | maĩ | pronoun | I |
| آپ | aap | pronoun | you (polite) |
| تمہارا | tumhara | pronoun (possessive) | your (informal) |
| میرا | mera | pronoun (possessive) | my |
| نام | naam | noun | name |
| کیا | kya | question word | what |
| کہاں | kahaan | question word | where |
| ہے | hai | verb (to be) | is |
| ہوں | hũ | verb (to be) | am |
| ہیں | haĩ | verb (to be) | are |
| اور | aur | conjunction | and |
| سے | se | postposition | from |
| سلام | salaam | noun / greeting | hello, peace |
| السلام علیکم | assalaamu alaikum | phrase | peace be upon you (greeting) |
| وعلیکم السلام | wa alaikum assalaam | phrase | and upon you be peace (reply) |
| آپ سے مل کر خوشی ہوئی | aap se mil kar khushi hui | phrase | nice to meet you |
| پاکستان | Pakistan | proper noun | Pakistan |
| بھارت | Bhaarat | proper noun | India |
| انگلینڈ | England | proper noun | England |
| جرمنی | Germany | proper noun | Germany |
| امریکہ | America | proper noun | United States / America |