2.5.1 Postpositions

Understanding Urdu Postpositions

In Urdu, what English and many European languages express with prepositions (words like “in”, “on”, “to”, “from”) are expressed with postpositions. A postposition comes after a noun or pronoun, not before it. This chapter introduces the most common location and direction postpositions you will need at elementary level.

We will not cover complex or abstract postpositions here, only the basic and very frequent ones that help you talk about places and simple relations in space.

What are postpositions?

A postposition is a little word that shows a relationship such as:

• place: in, on, at, under, near
• direction: to, from, toward
• possession or relation: of, with, about (you will see more of this later)

In English, the preposition stands before the noun:

• in the house
• on the table

In Urdu, the postposition stands after the noun:

• گھر میں
• میز پر

So, the basic pattern is:

• Noun + Postposition

Examples:

• شہر میں
• باغ میں
• کرسی پر

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Very common location postpositions

Here are the most important location postpositions to learn first.

You will meet other postpositions. For directions, these are the ones you need now.

"میں" for “in”

Use میں to say that something or someone is inside a place or an area.

Pattern:

• Noun + میں

Examples:

• گھر میں
• in the house / at home
• کمرا میں / کمرے میں
• in the room

Some complete sentences:

• میں گھر میں ہوں۔
  Main ghar mẽ hoon.
  I am at home.
• وہ کمرے میں ہے۔
  Woh kamre mẽ hai.
  He / she is in the room.
• کتاب بیگ میں ہے۔
  Kitaab bag mẽ hai.
  The book is in the bag.
• ہم لاہور میں رہتے ہیں۔
  Hum Lahore mẽ rehte hain.
  We live in Lahore.
• وہ پاکستان میں ہے۔
  Woh Pakistan mẽ hai.
  He / she is in Pakistan.

Note how میں works for small spaces (room, bag) and big ones (city, country).

"پر" for “on”

Use پر to say that something is on a surface, often touching it.

Pattern:

• Noun + پر

Examples:

• میز پر
• on the table
• زمین پر
• on the ground / floor

Sentences:

• کتاب میز پر ہے۔
  Kitaab mez par hai.
  The book is on the table.
• بچہ کرسی پر ہے۔
  Bacha kursi par hai.
  The child is on the chair.
• جوتے زمین پر ہیں۔
  Jootay zameen par hain.
  The shoes are on the floor.
• تصویر دیوار پر ہے۔
  Tasveer deewaar par hai.
  The picture is on the wall.

پر is also used with vehicles and some public places:

• میں بس پر ہوں۔
  Main bus par hoon.
  I am on the bus.
• وہ سٹیج پر ہے۔
  Woh stage par hai.
  He / she is on the stage.

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"میں" vs "پر"

Sometimes both میں and پر are possible but with different ideas.

• باغ میں
• in the garden (inside the area of the garden)
• باغ پر
• on the garden (rare, might mean on top of it in some physical sense)

More common contrasting pairs:

If you imagine being inside, choose میں. If you imagine being on a surface, choose پر.

"سے" for “from”

Use سے for:

• “from” a place
• “from” with movement
• “since” with time expressions (you will see more later)

Pattern:

• Noun + سے

Location and direction:

• مدرسہ سے
• from the school
• بازار سے
• from the market

Sentences:

• میں لاہور سے ہوں۔
  Main Lahore se hoon.
  I am from Lahore.
• وہ کراچی سے ہے۔
  Woh Karachi se hai.
  He / she is from Karachi.
• وہ اسکول سے آ رہا ہے۔
  Woh school se aa raha hai.
  He is coming from school.
• ہم بازار سے آ رہے ہیں۔
  Hum bazaar se aa rahe hain.
  We are coming from the market.
• میں دفتر سے جا رہا ہوں۔
  Main daftar se ja raha hoon.
  I am going from the office.

For time:

• وہ صبح سے یہاں ہے۔
  Woh subah se yahan hai.
  He / she has been here since morning.

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"کی طرف" for “toward”

Use کی طرف to express movement or direction toward something, not necessarily arriving.

Pattern:

• Noun + کی طرف

Examples:

• گھر کی طرف
• toward home
• شہر کی طرف
• toward the city

Sentences:

• میں گھر کی طرف جا رہا ہوں۔
  Main ghar ki taraf ja raha hoon.
  I am going toward home.
• وہ بازار کی طرف جا رہی ہے۔
  Woh bazaar ki taraf ja rahi hai.
  She is going toward the market.
• ہم دریا کی طرف چل رہے ہیں۔
  Hum darya ki taraf chal rahe hain.
  We are walking toward the river.

You can use کی طرف with places and also with directions like “left” and “right” (those words will appear in the “Directions” chapter).

"کے پاس" and "کے نزدیک" for “near” / “at someone's place”

These two postpositional phrases are very common and useful.

"کے پاس"

کے پاس has two main meanings:

1. Near someone or something
2. At someone's place (home, office)

Pattern:

• Noun / pronoun + کے پاس

Examples with people:

• میرے پاس
• near me / with me
• اس کے پاس
• near him / her / it

Examples with place:

• گھر کے پاس
• near the house
• مدرسہ کے پاس
• near the school

Sentences:

• میں دوست کے پاس ہوں۔
  Main dost ke paas hoon.
  I am at my friend's place.
• وہ گھر کے پاس ہے۔
  Woh ghar ke paas hai.
  He / she is near the house.
• وہ میرے پاس ہے۔
  Woh mere paas hai.
  It is with me / near me.

"کے نزدیک"

کے نزدیک also means “near” and is a bit more neutral or formal.

• گھر کے نزدیک
• near the house
• مسجد کے نزدیک
• near the mosque

Sentences:

• ہوٹل مسجد کے نزدیک ہے۔
  Hotel masjid ke nazdeek hai.
  The hotel is near the mosque.
• اسکول بازار کے نزدیک ہے۔
  School bazaar ke nazdeek hai.
  The school is near the market.

You can usually use کے پاس or کے نزدیک for “near a place.” کے پاس is more common in everyday speech, especially with people (“with someone,” “at someone's place”).

"کے بیچ" and "کے درمیان" for “between”

Use کے بیچ or کے درمیان when something is between two places or two people.

Patterns:

• Noun A + اور + Noun B + کے بیچ
• Noun A + اور + Noun B + کے درمیان

Examples:

• گھر اور مسجد کے بیچ
• between the house and the mosque
• دو دکانوں کے درمیان
• between two shops

Sentences:

• میرا گھر مسجد اور اسکول کے بیچ ہے۔
  Mera ghar masjid aur school ke beech hai.
  My house is between the mosque and the school.
• پارک دو سڑکوں کے درمیان ہے۔
  Park do sarkõn ke darmiyaan hai.
  The park is between two roads.
• ہوٹل دریا اور بازار کے درمیان ہے۔
  Hotel darya aur bazaar ke darmiyaan hai.
  The hotel is between the river and the market.

Both کے بیچ and کے درمیان are acceptable. کے درمیان sounds slightly more formal.

Using postpositions with pronouns (basic forms)

With pronouns, postpositions often need a special form of the pronoun that you will learn fully in grammar reference. For now, here is a small practical table with very common combinations you will meet often when talking about location.

Example sentences:

• وہ میرے پاس ہے۔
  Woh mere paas hai.
  He / she / it is with me.
• میں آپ کے پاس آ رہا ہوں۔
  Main aap ke paas aa raha hoon.
  I am coming to you. / I am coming to your place.
• وہ تمہاری طرف آ رہا ہے۔
  Woh tumhaari taraf aa raha hai.
  He is coming toward you.

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Postpositions and SOV order

Urdu sentences usually follow Subject – Object – Verb order. Postpositions attach to the noun and stay with it.

Pattern:

• Subject + [Noun + Postposition] + Verb

Examples:

• میں گھر میں ہوں۔
  Subject: میں, Location phrase: گھر میں, Verb: ہوں
  I am at home.
• وہ اسکول سے آ رہا ہے۔
  Subject: وہ, From phrase: اسکول سے, Verb: آ رہا ہے
  He is coming from school.
• ہم پارک کے پاس ہیں۔
  Subject: ہم, Near phrase: پارک کے پاس, Verb: ہیں
  We are near the park.
• وہ دریا کی طرف جا رہے ہیں۔
  Subject: وہ, Direction phrase: دریا کی طرف, Verb: جا رہے ہیں
  They are going toward the river.

Practice: small example sets

Here are some mini-dialogues and sets of simple sentences that combine postpositions.

Saying where someone is

• احمد کمرے میں ہے۔
  Ahmed kamre mẽ hai.
  Ahmed is in the room.
• فاطمہ کچن میں ہے۔
  Fatima kitchen mẽ hai.
  Fatima is in the kitchen.
• بچے پارک میں ہیں۔
  Bachay park mẽ hain.
  The children are in the park.
• کتابیں میز پر ہیں۔
  Kitaabẽ mez par hain.
  The books are on the table.

Saying where you are coming from

• میں دفتر سے آ رہا ہوں۔
  Main daftar se aa raha hoon.
  I am coming from the office.
• وہ بازار سے آ رہی ہے۔
  Woh bazaar se aa rahi hai.
  She is coming from the market.
• ہم اسکول سے آ رہے ہیں۔
  Hum school se aa rahe hain.
  We are coming from school.

Saying where you are going

• میں گھر کی طرف جا رہا ہوں۔
  Main ghar ki taraf ja raha hoon.
  I am going toward home.
• وہ پارک کی طرف جا رہی ہے۔
  Woh park ki taraf ja rahi hai.
  She is going toward the park.
• ہم دریا کی طرف جا رہے ہیں۔
  Hum darya ki taraf ja rahe hain.
  We are going toward the river.

Saying what is near or between

• مسجد اسکول کے پاس ہے۔
  Masjid school ke paas hai.
  The mosque is near the school.
• میرا گھر بازار کے نزدیک ہے۔
  Mera ghar bazaar ke nazdeek hai.
  My house is near the market.
• پارک مسجد اور اسکول کے بیچ ہے۔
  Park masjid aur school ke beech hai.
  The park is between the mosque and the school.

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Summary of core postpositions in this chapter

New Vocabulary in this Chapter

Below is a list of new or important words that appeared in this chapter.