آدھی رات
ādhī rāt/ɑː.d̪ʱiː ɾɑːt̪/feminine
The Urdu word for midnight is آدھی رات, romanized as ādhī rāt. If unsure, use آدھی رات. Wiktionary also lists نِصْفِ شَب (nisf-i śab).
Meaning: 12 o'clock at night exactly (noun)
Ways to say it
| Urdu | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| آدھی رات | ādhī rāt | /ɑː.d̪ʱiː ɾɑːt̪/ (Standard, Urdu) | feminine |
| نِصْفِ شَب | nisf-i śab |
آدھی رات is the common, everyday way to say midnight. In casual talk people also say رات کو بارہ بجے, twelve o'clock at night.
What does it mean word for word?
آدھی رات literally means half night. نِصْفِ شَب, romanized as nisf-i śab, literally means half of the night.
Which one should you use?
نِصْفِ شَب is more formal or literary than آدھی رات.
How does it change in a sentence?
rāt, night, is a feminine noun, so any adjective describing it must be feminine too, which is why the first word is ādhī.
How do you pronounce it?
It is pronounced /ɑː.d̪ʱiː ɾɑːt̪/. The d is dental and breathy, and the r is a quick tap.
Did you know?
- The word رات, meaning 'night', shares an ancient ancestor with the English word 'night', both tracing back to the Proto-Indo-European root *h₁réh₁-trih₂.
- In Urdu poetry, the time of آدھی رات is often used as a metaphor for the peak of loneliness or the deepest point of spiritual longing.
- The formal term نِصْفِ شَب is frequently used in Islamic prayer contexts to refer to the time for special late-night voluntary prayers.
Examples in context
- آدھی رات کو بہت ٹھنڈ ہوتی ہے۔aadhi raat ko bohat thand hoti hai.It is very cold at midnight.
- ہم آدھی رات کو پہنچیں گے۔hum aadhi raat ko pohanchain gay.We will arrive at midnight.
- کیا آدھی رات کو دکان کھلی ہوتی ہے؟kya aadhi raat ko dukan khuli hoti hai?Is the shop open at midnight?
Example conversation
Ali and Fatima are talking about a late-night arrival.
- فاطمہ Fatimaکیا تم آدھی رات کو آؤ گے؟kya tum aadhi raat ko ao gay?Will you come at midnight?
- علی Aliہاں، میں بالکل آدھی رات کو پہنچوں گا۔haan, mein bilkul aadhi raat ko pohanchun ga.Yes, I will arrive exactly at midnight.
- فاطمہ Fatimaٹھیک ہے، میں تمہارا انتظار کروں گی۔theek hai, mein tumhara intezar karun gi.Okay, I will wait for you.
- علی Aliشکریہ، فاطمہ۔shukriya, Fatima.Thank you, Fatima.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “midnight” translations and entries آدھی رات, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries رات, CC BY-SA 4.0.
