Urdu

About Urdu

Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and an official language there together with English. About 69 million people speak it as a first language, and far more use it as a second language, since most Pakistanis grow up speaking Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto or another regional language. It is also used officially in several states of India. Spoken Urdu is very close to Hindi, and speakers of the two understand each other in everyday conversation.

Urdu is written from right to left in a form of the Perso-Arabic script, usually in the flowing Nastaliq style. Formal Urdu takes many words from Persian and Arabic. Use āp for a polite "you" and tum with friends. The greeting assalam-o-alaikum is used with everyone.

FamilyIndo-European, Indo-Aryan
Native speakersabout 69 million (2019)
Official inPakistan, several states of India
ScriptPerso-Arabic script (Nastaliq style), right to left
Codesur (ISO 639-1), urd (ISO 639-3)

Speaker number: Ethnologue (2019), via Wikidata. Retrieved 26 September 2026.

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