The Urdu word for zoo is chiṛiyā ghar, literally 'bird house', a name so charming nobody ever fixed it. Today's trip covers every jānwar (animal) you can point at: the zoo stars, the farm regulars, the birds, and the creatures of water and ground. Tap each one to hear it.
گھوڑاghoṛā: horseaspirated gh, curled ṛ, pure Sound School
گدھاgadhā: donkeyalso the subcontinent's favorite mild insult
کتاkuttā: dogdoubled t, short and sharp
بلیbillī: catdoubled l, soft as the cat
مرغیmurghī: henmurgh (rooster) is the biryani word
خرگوشkhargosh: rabbitkhar + gosh = 'donkey ears' in Persian
چڑیاchiṛiyā: sparrow / small birdthe chiṛiyā of chiṛiyā ghar
طوطاtotā: parrotspelled with to'e, one of that letter's few common words
مورmor: peacockmonsoon dances and all
کواkawwā: crowthe uninvited guest of every rooftop
شاہینshāhīn: falconIqbal's bird: high flight, no nest
چکورchakor: chukar partridgePakistan's national bird
مچھلیmachhlī: fishjal kī rānī, queen of the water
مینڈکmeṉḍak: frognasal ṉ in the middle
کچھواkachhwā: turtlethe app's own slow-button mascot
سانپsāṉp: snakethe nasal hum before the p
مگرمچھmagarmachh: crocodilemagar + machh, the 'fish-grabber'
Good to know
✨ Chiṛiyā ghar, 'bird house', became the word for zoo across Urdu and Hindi. The name likely spread from Delhi's colonial-era menageries, where the aviaries were the star attraction, and it stuck for lions, elephants, and everything else.
✨ Lahore Zoo opened in 1872, making it one of the oldest zoos still running anywhere in the world.
✨ Urdu has crocodile tears too: magarmachh ke āṉsū means exactly what the English idiom means, and aunties deploy it with exactly the same energy.
Urdu Ustaadh is a free Urdu-learning resource: native audio, daily games, the Nastaliq script, and Pakistani culture. A project of Muneeb Ata Enterprises. Start learning free →