1.6.3 Singular nouns

Understanding Singular Nouns in Urdu

In this chapter, you will learn what a singular noun is in Urdu, how to recognize it, and how it behaves in basic sentences. We will not go deeply into gender or plural formation here, because those topics appear in other chapters. Our focus is on using and recognizing singular nouns correctly.

What is a Singular Noun in Urdu?

A singular noun refers to one person, animal, place, thing, or idea.

In English:

"boy" is singular,
"boys" is plural.

In Urdu, singular nouns work in a similar way. A singular noun refers to one item:

English	Urdu (singular)	Roman Urdu
boy	لڑکا	larka
girl	لڑکی	larki
book	کتاب	kitaab
house	گھر	ghar
cat	بلی	billi

If you are talking about exactly one person or thing, you will use a singular noun.

Key rule:
A singular noun in Urdu refers to one person, animal, place, thing, or idea. Use singular verbs and singular forms with it.

We will see examples of singular nouns in simple sentences shortly.

Recognizing Singular Nouns in Urdu

Unlike English, Urdu does not always show singular and plural with simple "-s" or "-es" endings. However, you can still recognize singular nouns using context.

Nouns with "a" or "one" in English

If in English you say "a" or "one," in Urdu you are usually dealing with a singular noun.

English phrase	Urdu phrase	Roman Urdu
a boy	ایک لڑکا	aik larka
a girl	ایک لڑکی	aik larki
a book	ایک کتاب	aik kitaab
a house	ایک گھر	aik ghar
one teacher	ایک استاد	aik ustaad
one student	ایک طالب علم	aik taalib ilm

Notice the word ایک "aik". It means "one" or "a/an". If you see ایک + noun, that noun is singular.

Nouns without a number

Sometimes you do not say "a" or "one". Urdu can still use a singular noun without any number word.

English	Urdu	Roman Urdu
water	پانی	paani
milk	دودھ	doodh
sugar	چینی	cheeni

These are uncountable nouns in many contexts. We will still treat them as singular in simple sentences like:

دودھ گرم ہے
doodh garam hai
"The milk is hot."

We will focus more on the difference between singular and plural in other chapters. For now, remember: if you mean "one" person or thing, use the singular form.

Singular Nouns in Simple Sentences

Urdu has a basic Subject Object Verb order, which you will see in more detail in the parent chapter on sentence structure. Here, we look at how singular nouns appear in simple sentences, especially with the verb "to be".

With the verb "to be" (ہے)

For singular third person, Urdu uses ہے "hai" (is).

English sentence	Urdu sentence	Roman Urdu
The boy is here.	لڑکا یہاں ہے۔	larka yahan hai.
The girl is here.	لڑکی یہاں ہے۔	larki yahan hai.
The book is new.	کتاب نئی ہے۔	kitaab nai hai.
The house is big.	گھر بڑا ہے۔	ghar bara hai.
The cat is small.	بلی چھوٹی ہے۔	billi chhoti hai.

In all these sentences, the subject noun is singular, so the verb is ہے.

Important pattern with singular nouns:
Singular noun + ہے (hai) = "[Singular noun] is ..."

Singular nouns as subjects

The subject is the person or thing that "does" the action or "is" something.

Examples with simple vocabulary:

لڑکا خوش ہے۔
larka khush hai.
"The boy is happy."

لڑکی بیمار ہے۔
larki beemaar hai.
"The girl is sick."

کتاب بھاری ہے۔
kitaab bhaari hai.
"The book is heavy."

دروازہ کھلا ہے۔
darwaaza khula hai.
"The door is open."

Each sentence has one main person or thing, so we use singular nouns.

Singular nouns as objects

Sometimes the main focus is the object of an action. We will study verbs more later, but look at how singular nouns act as objects.

میں کتاب چاہتا ہوں۔ (spoken by a male)
main kitaab chahta hoon.
"I want a book."

میں پانی پیتی ہوں۔ (spoken by a female)
main paani peeti hoon.
"I drink water."

وہ چابی لیتا ہے۔ (spoken about a male)
woh chaabi leta hai.
"He takes the key."

Here, کتاب, پانی, چابی are singular nouns and are the objects of the verbs "want," "drink," "take."

Singular Nouns with "This" and "That"

To talk about one specific thing near or far, Urdu has special words.

English	Urdu	Roman Urdu	Use for
this	یہ	yeh	near
that	وہ	woh	far / not near

Use these with singular nouns:

یہ کتاب ہے۔
yeh kitaab hai.
"This is a book."

وہ لڑکی ہے۔
woh larki hai.
"That is a girl."

یہ میرا گھر ہے۔
yeh mera ghar hai.
"This is my house."

وہ استاد ہے۔
woh ustaad hai.
"That is a teacher."

All the nouns (کتاب, لڑکی, گھر, استاد) are singular.

Singular Nouns and Articles "a," "an," and "the"

English uses a / an / the. Urdu usually does not use separate words like these. You will usually understand from context whether it means "a" or "the."

Patterns

English	Urdu	Roman Urdu
This is a book.	یہ کتاب ہے۔	yeh kitaab hai.
This is the book.	یہ کتاب ہے۔	yeh kitaab hai.
He is a teacher.	وہ استاد ہے۔	woh ustaad hai.
He is the teacher.	وہ استاد ہے۔	woh ustaad hai.

The Urdu sentence does not change, even though English changes "a" and "the."
Context will tell you which one is meant.

If you want to be very clear about "one" in number, you can add ایک.

English	Urdu	Roman Urdu
This is one book.	یہ ایک کتاب ہے۔	yeh aik kitaab hai.
He is one student.	وہ ایک طالب علم ہے۔	woh aik taalib ilm hai.

Both کتاب and طالب علم are singular nouns.

Everyday Examples with Singular Nouns

Here are several short everyday sentences that use singular nouns that beginners often need.

People

English	Urdu sentence	Roman Urdu
The man is here.	آدمی یہاں ہے۔	aadmi yahan hai.
The woman is here.	عورت یہاں ہے۔	aurat yahan hai.
The child is asleep.	بچہ سو رہا ہے۔	bacha so raha hai.
The friend is late.	دوست دیر سے ہے۔	dost der se hai.

Nouns: آدمی, عورت, بچہ, دوست
All are singular.

Objects

English	Urdu sentence	Roman Urdu
The pen is on the table.	قلم میز پر ہے۔	qalam mez par hai.
The phone is off.	فون بند ہے۔	phone band hai.
The door is closed.	دروازہ بند ہے۔	darwaaza band hai.
The light is on.	بتی جل رہی ہے۔	batti jal rahi hai.

Nouns: قلم, میز, فون, دروازہ, بتی
All singular.

Places

English	Urdu sentence	Roman Urdu
The school is far.	اسکول دور ہے۔	school door hai.
The market is near.	بازار قریب ہے۔	bazaar qareeb hai.
The office is closed.	دفتر بند ہے۔	daftar band hai.
The park is empty.	پارک خالی ہے۔	park khaali hai.

Nouns: اسکول, بازار, دفتر, پارک
All singular.

Common Structures with Singular Nouns

Here are simple patterns that you will use very often.

Pattern 1: "Noun + ہے" (Noun is ...)

لڑکا تھکا ہوا ہے۔
larka thaka hua hai.
"The boy is tired."

بلی بھوکی ہے۔
billi bhooki hai.
"The cat is hungry."

پانی ٹھنڈا ہے۔
paani thanda hai.
"The water is cold."

Basic structure:
[Singular noun] + [adjective] + ہے (hai)
Example: کتاب اچھی ہے۔
kitaab achhi hai.
"The book is good."

Pattern 2: "This/That + noun + ہے"

یہ لڑکا میرا دوست ہے۔
yeh larka mera dost hai.
"This boy is my friend."

وہ لڑکی میری بہن ہے۔
woh larki meri behen hai.
"That girl is my sister."

یہ گھر نیا ہے۔
yeh ghar naya hai.
"This house is new."

Here each subject is one person or thing, so we use singular nouns.

Practice: Identify the Singular Noun

Look at these Urdu sentences. Identify which word is the singular noun and what it means.

کتاب یہاں ہے۔
kitaab yahan hai.
"The book is here."

Singular noun: کتاب (book)

بلی باہر ہے۔
billi baahar hai.
"The cat is outside."

Singular noun: بلی (cat)

دوست مصروف ہے۔
dost masroof hai.
"The friend is busy."

Singular noun: دوست (friend)

پانی گرم ہے۔
paani garam hai.
"The water is hot."

Singular noun: پانی (water)

استاد کلاس میں ہے۔
ustaad class mein hai.
"The teacher is in the class."

Singular noun: استاد (teacher)

Quick Contrast: Singular vs. "More than one"

We will learn plurals properly later, but it is helpful to see the idea.

Meaning	English	Urdu	Roman Urdu
one boy	boy	لڑکا	larka
many boys	boys	لڑکے	larkay
one girl	girl	لڑکی	larki
many girls	girls	لڑکیاں	larkiyan

For this chapter, focus only on the singular forms:
لڑکا, لڑکی.

Mini-dialogues Using Singular Nouns

These short exchanges show singular nouns in simple real-life speech.

A: یہ کیا ہے؟
yeh kya hai?
"What is this?"

B: یہ کتاب ہے۔
yeh kitaab hai.
"This is a book."

A: وہ کون ہے؟
woh kaun hai?
"Who is that?"

B: وہ استاد ہے۔
woh ustaad hai.
"That is a teacher."

A: بلی کہاں ہے؟
billi kahan hai?
"Where is the cat?"

B: بلی کمرے میں ہے۔
billi kamray mein hai.
"The cat is in the room."

A: گھر کیسا ہے؟
ghar kaisa hai?
"How is the house?"

B: گھر بڑا ہے۔
ghar bara hai.
"The house is big."

Each dialogue uses singular nouns: کتاب, استاد, بلی, گھر.

New Vocabulary from This Chapter

Urdu	Roman Urdu	English meaning
لڑکا	larka	boy
لڑکی	larki	girl
کتاب	kitaab	book
گھر	ghar	house, home
بلی	billi	cat
دوست	dost	friend
آدمی	aadmi	man
عورت	aurat	woman
بچہ	bacha	child
استاد	ustaad	teacher
طالب علم	taalib ilm	student
پانی	paani	water
دودھ	doodh	milk
چینی	cheeni	sugar
چابی	chaabi	key
قلم	qalam	pen
میز	mez	table
فون	phone	phone
دروازہ	darwaaza	door
بتی	batti	light (bulb/switch)
اسکول	school	school
بازار	bazaar	market
دفتر	daftar	office
پارک	park	park
کلاس	class	class (room/session)
یہاں	yahan	here
وہاں / وہ	wahan / woh	there / that
یہ	yeh	this
ایک	aik	one, a, an
ہے	hai	is

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