Diana Bessie

The usual way to say hello in Pakistan is السلام علیکم (assalamu alaikum), “peace be upon you”.

In Pakistan the usual way to greet a friend is السلام علیکم میرے دوست (assalāmu ʿalaikum mere dost).

Urdu in Pakistan has a separate word for each kind of aunt. A mother’s sister is خالہ (khālā) and a father’s sister is پھوپھی (phūphī).

The standard Urdu word for “love” is محبت (muhabbat). In daily speech people say پیار (pyār), and عشق (ishq) means passionate love.

The Urdu word for “lion” is شیر (sher). To be exact about the animal, some speakers say ببر شیر (babbar sher). شیر (sher) is also a word for bravery.

Brother is بھائی (bhāī) in Pakistan. Urdu adds the age: چھوٹا بھائی (chhoṭā bhāī) is a younger brother and بڑا بھائی (baṛā bhāī) is an older one.

Urdu has no single word for “sister-in-law” in Pakistan, and the word depends on who she is.

The usual Urdu word for “stupid” in Pakistan is بیوقوف (bevaqūf). It is an insult, though a mild one, and friends sometimes say it as a joke.

In Pakistan “thank you so much” is بہت بہت شکریہ (bohat bohat shukriya), where repeating بہت (bohat), “very”, adds the extra feeling.

In Pakistan you say السلام علیکم، آپ کیسے ہیں؟ (assalamu alaikum, aap kaise hain?) to a man. To a woman it is آپ کیسی ہیں؟ (aap kaisi hain?).