Ways to say it
| Urdu | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| فون کرنا | fon karnā | /foːn kəɾ.nɑː/ (Standard, Urdu) /fuːn kəɾ.nɑː/ (Standard, Urdu) |
| ملانا | milānā | /mɪ.lɑː.nɑː/ (Standard, Urdu) |
Both فون کرنا and ملانا are used to express the act of calling someone. فون کرنا is a direct construction using the English loanword for phone, while ملانا carries the sense of making a connection.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase فون کرنا is composed of the loanword فون (phone) and the light verb کرنا (to do).
Which one should you use?
فون کرنا is a direct loanword construction, whereas ملانا (literally "to join" or "to connect") is a more traditional way to express the act of calling or making a connection.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the past tense of فون کرنا, you change the light verb to کیا to get فون کیا (phoned). To express the continuous present tense, add رہا ہے to the stem فون کر to get فون کر رہا ہے (is phoning).
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /foːn kəɾ.nɑː/ (fon karnā).
Did you know?
- While فون کرنا is common, the more traditional ملانا reflects a time when operators had to manually 'join' or 'connect' two physical lines to complete a call.
- The word فون is not just a loan from English, but a double-clipped version of the French téléphone, which combined the Greek words for 'far' and 'sound'.
- Because ملانا is the causative form of ملنا (to meet/join), using it for a phone call implies you are 'causing a meeting' to happen between two parties via a connection.
Examples in context
- میں اسے فون کرنا چاہتا ہوں۔Main usay phone karna chahta hoon.I want to call him.
Example conversation
Ahmed is asking Zainab if she can call him later.
- زینب Zainabاحمد، کیا آپ فارغ ہیں؟Ahmed, kya aap farigh hain?Ahmed, are you free?
- احمد Ahmedجی، میں ابھی فارغ ہوں۔Ji, main abhi farigh hoon.Yes, I am free now.
- زینب Zainabکیا میں آپ کو بعد میں فون کروں؟Kya main aap ko baad mein phone karoon?Should I call you later?
- احمد Ahmedٹھیک ہے، ضرور فون کرنا۔Theek hai, zaroor phone karna.Okay, definitely call me.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “phone” translations and entries فون کرنا, ملانا, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries فون, ملانا, کرنا, CC BY-SA 4.0.
