5.6.2 English to Urdu

Understanding English to Urdu Translation

In this chapter you will focus specifically on translating from English into Urdu. At C1 level, you are not only finding Urdu equivalents of English words, you are making conscious stylistic and grammatical choices that sound natural to Urdu speakers.

We will look at key principles, common structural shifts, typical problem areas, and different levels of formality, always with English-to-Urdu direction in mind.

Translation Goals and Levels of Equivalence

Translating into Urdu requires you to balance accuracy, naturalness, and cultural appropriateness.

You will often choose between three types of equivalence:

1. Literal equivalence
   Keeping structure and wording as close as possible.
2. Functional equivalence
   Changing structure or vocabulary so that the function and meaning in context match in Urdu.
3. Cultural or idiomatic equivalence
   Using a culturally appropriate Urdu phrase that may be structurally quite different from the English original.

Example comparison:

Directionality: Thinking From Urdu, Not Through English

When going from English to Urdu, your target is a fluent Urdu sentence, not an English sentence with Urdu words. This requires you to:

• Anticipate Urdu word order and typical collocations.
• Choose appropriate politeness level.
• Use Urdu discourse markers instead of copying English ones.

A useful mental procedure:

1. Understand the English sentence completely.
2. Forget the English wording, keep only the meaning.
3. Ask: How would an educated native Urdu speaker naturally say this?
4. Draft a Urdu sentence.
5. Compare with English again and check nothing important was lost or added.

Example thought process:

English: “If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.”

Possible translation:

اگر آپ کے کوئی سوال ہوں تو بلا جھجھک مجھ سے رابطہ کیجیے۔

Check:

• Condition: “If you have any questions” → اگر آپ کے کوئی سوال ہوں
• Invitation: “feel free” → بلا جھجھک
• Polite imperative “contact me” → مجھ سے رابطہ کیجیے

Literal “اگر آپ کے کوئی سوال ہیں تو مجھ سے رابطہ کیجیے، آزاد محسوس کیجیے” would sound foreign.

Handling Differences in Sentence Structure

SVO vs SOV and Clause Positioning

English is mainly Subject Verb Object (SVO). Standard Urdu is Subject Object Verb (SOV).

In complex sentences, you often move clauses or phrases.

Example:

English: “The book that you gave me yesterday was very interesting.”

Possible Urdu:

جو کتاب آپ نے مجھے کل دی تھی وہ بہت دلچسپ تھی۔

Here the relative clause “that you gave me yesterday” becomes initial “جو کتاب آپ نے مجھے کل دی تھی”.

Another example:

English: “I will call you when I reach home.”

Natural Urdu:

میں گھر پہنچ کر آپ کو فون کروں گا۔
یا: جب میں گھر پہنچ جاؤں گا تو آپ کو فون کروں گا۔

Notice:

• “when I reach home” → either subordinated “جب … تو” or participial “پہنچ کر”.

Tense and Aspect Shifts

Urdu often prefers different tense/aspect combinations than English.

For polite requests, Urdu may drop the “was wondering” padding and use a direct but polite modal structure.

Register and Politeness Choices

Translating into Urdu always involves a register choice: very formal, neutral, or informal. English often leaves this ambiguous, so you must decide.

T/V Distinction: تم, تو, آپ

You may need two acceptable translations depending on target register.

Example:

English: “How are you?”

Possible translations:

• Formal: آپ کیسے ہیں؟
• Friendly: تم کیسے ہو؟
• Very formal written: آپ خیریت سے ہیں؟

Formal vs Colloquial Lexis

English business or academic texts usually require more Persian‑Arabic vocabulary. Casual English requires simpler, often Hindustani vocabulary.

Examples:

Sentence illustration:

English: “We conducted research on this issue.”

Semi‑formal: ہم نے اس مسئلے پر ریسرچ کی۔
More formal: ہم نے اس مسئلے پر تحقیق کی۔

Translating English Modals and Softening Devices

English uses many modal verbs and softeners: can, could, would, might, should, I think, maybe, kind of, a bit.

Urdu expresses similar nuances with:

• سکتا / سکتی / سکتے
• چاہیے
• شاید
• میرا خیال ہے / میرے خیال میں
• ذرا
• کچھ / تھوڑا سا

Requests and Offers

Suggestions and Advice

English: “You should talk to a doctor.”

Possible Urdu:

• تمہیں ڈاکٹر سے بات کرنی چاہیے۔ (informal)
• آپ کو ڈاکٹر سے مشورہ کرنا چاہیے۔ (politer and more idiomatic)

English: “Maybe we can try another way.”

Urdu:

• شاید ہم کوئی اور راستہ آزما سکیں۔
• کیوں نہ ہم کوئی اور طریقہ آزما لیں؟

Idioms and Fixed Expressions

Literal translation of English idioms often fails. You must know or search for Urdu equivalents, or at least rephrase to a non‑idiomatic but clear sentence.

Non‑literal vs Literal

Example in context:

English: “I am not really into politics. It is not my cup of tea.”

Urdu:

مجھے سیاست میں خاص دلچسپی نہیں۔ یہ میرے بس کی بات نہیں۔
یا: سیاست میرا موضوع نہیں ہے۔

Handling Culture Specific Items

Some culture specific items may be:

• Institutional names (House of Commons, Supreme Court, etc.)
• Culture specific foods, events, measures, idioms
• Place names and titles

Strategies:

1. Borrow with Urdu script: لندن, فیس بک, کیمبرج یونیورسٹی
2. Borrow plus explanation: تھینکس گیونگ (امریکی شکر گزاری کا تہوار)
3. Functional equivalent: high school → ہائی اسکول / ثانوی مدرسہ (context dependent)

Example:

English: “He studied at a community college in the United States.”

Possible Urdu:

اس نے امریکہ کے ایک کمیونٹی کالج میں پڑھائی کی۔

Here “community college” is kept as is, because there is no exact institutional equivalent, but the context is clear.

Word Order, Focus, and Emphasis

English often uses stress and word order to mark emphasis. Urdu uses:

• Fronting of elements
• Particles like ہی, بھی, ہی تو, تو ہی
• Repetition and parallelism

Example:

English: “Only then did I understand.”

Urdu possibilities:

• تب ہی میں سمجھ سکا۔
• اسی وقت مجھے سمجھ آئی۔

English: “I just cannot believe it.”

Urdu:

• مجھے یقین ہی نہیں آ رہا۔
• میں تو بالکل یقین نہیں کر پا رہا۔

Note the use of تو and ہی for emphasis.

Translating Connectors and Paragraph Flow

English uses many connectors: however, therefore, in addition, firstly, on the other hand.

Urdu has its own preferred connectives, which are often shorter and more idiomatic.

Example paragraph:

English: “Many people support this policy. However, some critics argue that it is too expensive. In addition, they say it is ineffective.”

One natural Urdu version:

بہت سے لوگ اس پالیسی کی حمایت کرتے ہیں۔ لیکن بعض ناقدین کا کہنا ہے کہ یہ بہت مہنگی ہے۔ اس کے علاوہ وہ یہ بھی کہتے ہیں کہ یہ مؤثر نہیں۔

Here, “however” → لیکن, “in addition” → اس کے علاوہ, plus insertion of “یہ بھی” for smooth flow.

Common Problem Areas for English to Urdu

1. Articles (a, an, the)

Urdu has no direct articles. You must decide whether to express indefiniteness with ایک or leave it implicit.

Overuse of ایک is a common error when translating phrase by phrase.

2. Continuous and Non‑continuous Verbs

English permits continuous forms with many verbs that Urdu would not.

English: “I am loving this song.”

Urdu would usually avoid a direct continuous “محبت کر رہا ہوں” in this sense and say:

مجھے یہ گانا بہت پسند آ رہا ہے۔
یا: یہ گانا مجھے بہت اچھا لگ رہا ہے۔

3. “There is / there are”

English often uses “there is/are” as an existential or introductory device. Urdu uses constructions like:

• یہاں … ہے / ہیں
• … موجود ہے / ہیں
• … پایا جاتا ہے / جاتی ہے / جاتے ہیں
• لوگوں کو … ملتا ہے / ملتی ہے

Examples:

English: “There is a park near my house.”

Urdu:

میرے گھر کے پاس ایک پارک ہے۔

English: “There are many problems in this system.”

Urdu:

اس نظام میں بہت سے مسائل ہیں۔
یا: اس نظام میں کئی طرح کے مسائل پائے جاتے ہیں۔

4. Phrasal Verbs

Many English phrasal verbs have no direct Urdu phrasal equivalents. You usually choose a simple verb plus a noun or a single Urdu verb.

Example sentence:

English: “We cannot put off this decision any longer.”

Urdu:

ہم اس فیصلے کو اب مزید مؤخر نہیں کر سکتے۔
یا: ہم اس فیصلے کو اب اور نہیں ٹال سکتے۔

Micro‑translation Exercises with Commentary

To consolidate, here are some English sentences with suggested Urdu translations and short commentary.

Example 1

English: “I have been waiting for you for more than an hour.”

Suggested Urdu:

میں تمہارا ایک گھنٹے سے زیادہ سے انتظار کر رہا ہوں۔ (informal)
میں آپ کا ایک گھنٹے سے زیادہ سے انتظار کر رہا ہوں۔ (formal)

Notes:

• Present perfect continuous becomes رہا ہوں construction.
• “for more than an hour” → ایک گھنٹے سے زیادہ سے.

Example 2

English: “If you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.”

Suggested Urdu:

اگر آپ کو مزید معلومات درکار ہوں تو بلا جھجھک ہم سے رابطہ کیجیے۔

Notes:

• “further information” → مزید معلومات.
• “do not hesitate” → بلا جھجھک, not a negative literal translation.
• Plural polite “ہم سے رابطہ کیجیے” for an institution or company.

Example 3

English: “He denied that he had said anything like that.”

Suggested Urdu:

اس نے انکار کیا کہ اس نے ایسی کوئی بات کہی تھی۔
یا: اس نے یہ کہہ کر انکار کیا کہ اس نے ایسی کوئی بات نہیں کہی تھی۔

Notes:

• “denied that” → انکار کیا کہ.
• Double clause structure in Urdu is natural.

Example 4

English: “Nowadays people spend too much time on social media.”

Suggested Urdu:

آج کل لوگ سوشل میڈیا پر بہت زیادہ وقت گزار دیتے ہیں۔
یا: آج کل لوگ سوشل میڈیا پر ضرورت سے زیادہ وقت صرف کرتے ہیں۔ (slightly more formal)

Notes:

• “spend time on” → وقت گزارنا / وقت صرف کرنا.
• “too much” → بہت زیادہ / ضرورت سے زیادہ.

Practical Strategy Checklist

When translating from English to Urdu, use this quick checklist:

New Vocabulary from this Chapter

This chapter has focused on the distinctive challenges and strategies for translating from English into Urdu, particularly at an advanced level where naturalness, register, and cultural fit are as important as basic accuracy.