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.
سیدھے جائیے، پھر بائیںsīdhe jāiye, phir bāeṉ: Go straight, then leftThe answer you were hoping for, in one breath.
یہاں سے قریب ہےyahāṉ se qarīb hai: It's near from hereQarīb, near. Its opposite dūr you already know.
کتنی دور ہے؟kitnī dūr hai?: How far is it?Kitnī, feminine, because dūrī (distance) is a she.
پیدلpaidal: on footPaidal jāeṉ ge? Shall we walk? From the Persian for foot.
اس کے سامنےis ke sāmne: in front of itSāmne = opposite, facing, in front of. A landmark word.
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 →