Get anywhere: left, right, straight, and 'where is…?'
Level 6 gave you 'kahāṉ hai?' — now you can understand the answer. Directions plus the places you'll actually ask about. Practice pointing while you say them; your hands learn Urdu too.
بائیںbāeṉ — leftRhymes with dāeṉ — and both end in Sound School's nasal hum.
سیدھاsīdhā — straight ahead'Sīdhā jāeṉ' — go straight. The answer to most direction questions.
قریبqarīb — nearStarts with Sound School's deep ق.
دورdūr — far
بازارbāzār — market / bazaarEnglish borrowed this one too — via Persian.
ہسپتالhaspatāl — hospitalEnglish 'hospital' in an Urdu outfit — you already know it.
اسٹیشنisṭeshan — stationSame trick: listen and you'll hear 'station'.
مسجدmasjid — mosque
اسٹیشن کہاں ہے؟isṭeshan kahāṉ hai? — Where is the station?L6's pattern with L11's places. Ask with confidence.
دائیں مڑیںdāeṉ muṛeṉ — turn rightMuṛeṉ = please turn — with the retroflex flap ڑ you trained for.
Good to know
✨ Urdu absorbed English infrastructure words wholesale — isṭeshan, haspatāl, bas asṭāp. Colonial railways left their vocabulary parked all over the language. If you're lost, half the words you need are English wearing a shalwar kameez.
✨ Notice loanwords grow a leading i-: station → isṭeshan, school → iskūl. Urdu phonology dislikes starting words with 'st' or 'sk', so it politely adds a vowel ramp.
✨ Directions come with a bonus workout: muṛeṉ (turn) uses the retroflex flap ڑ, and dāeṉ/bāeṉ end in nasal hums. Asking for directions IS Sound School revision.
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 →