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Khandan · Family & People

Talk about the people in your life

Family is the heart of Urdu conversation. Combine these with Level 3 numbers ('mere do bhāī haiṉ'. I have two brothers) and Level 2 patterns to introduce your whole family.

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The phrases

خاندانkhāndān: family
امیammī: momFormal word: wālida. But everyone says ammī.
ابوabbū: dadFormal word: wālid.
بھائیbhāī: brotherAlso used for any friendly male, 'bhāī, listen!'
بہنbehen: sister
بیٹاbeṭā: sonElders call any young person 'beṭā' affectionately.
بیٹیbeṭī: daughter
دادیdādī: grandma (dad's side)Urdu splits the family tree by side!
نانیnānī: grandma (mom's side)Different word, different grandma.
دوستdost: friendA Persian loan, as in 'dostī', friendship.
میرے دو بھائی ہیںmere do bhāī haiṉ: I have two brothersLevel 3 numbers + Level 4 words. It's all connecting.
آپ کے کتنے بہن بھائی ہیں؟āp ke kitne behen bhāī haiṉ?: How many siblings do you have?Behen bhāī together = siblings. No separate word needed.
گھر میں سب کیسے ہیں؟ghar meṉ sab kaise haiṉ?: How is everyone at home?The question every relative asks before any other business.
سب خیریت سے ہیںsab khairiyat se haiṉ: Everyone is wellKhairiyat = wellbeing. The answer every relative is waiting for.
میری ایک بیٹی ہےmerī ek beṭī hai: I have one daughterUrdu has no verb 'to have': the daughter simply IS, and she is mine.
شادی شدہshādī shudā: marriedShādī (wedding) + shudā (having become). Ask gently.

Good to know

✨ Urdu maps the family tree with surgical precision: your father's brother is chāchā, your mother's brother is māmūṉ, your father's sister's husband is phūphā… English's one word “uncle” covers at least six distinct Urdu relatives.
✨ “Bhāī” (brother) doubles as friendly street address for any man, shopkeepers, taxi drivers, strangers. “Bhāī jān” is warmer still.
✨ Urdu is Pakistan's national language, yet it's the mother tongue of well under 10% of Pakistanis, most grow up with Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, or others, and learn Urdu as the shared bridge language.

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