Ways to say it
| Urdu | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| پَڑْھنا | paṛhnā |
| سِیکْھنا | sīkhnā |
| مُطالَعَہ کَرْنا | mutāla'a karnā |
| پَڑھائی کَرْنا | paṛhāī karnā |
What does it mean word for word?
The formal noun مُطالَعَہ is a loanword from Arabic and refers to the act of study, observation or deep reading.
Which one should you use?
The choice of word depends on the specific type of studying you are doing: * پَڑْھنا is used both for the act of reading and the general act of studying/learning in a school context. * پَڑھائی کَرْنا specifically refers to the activity of being a student or performing academic studies, whereas پَڑْھنا can simply mean the physical act of reading a book. * سِیکْھنا focuses more on the acquisition of a skill or a specific piece of information (learning) rather than the process of reading or academic study. * مُطالَعَہ کَرْنا is a more formal and sophisticated way to say 'to study' or 'to examine/peruse' than پَڑْھنا.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The present habitual form of پَڑْھنا (to study/read) is پَڑْھتا ہے for masculine singular subjects.
How do you pronounce it?
paṛhnā
Did you know?
- While پَڑْھنا means 'to study' or 'to read' in Urdu, it is also used as a ritual term for chanting a prayer or a religious text aloud.
- The concept of 'studying' in a traditional religious school is described as دَرْس, which refers to a lecture delivered by a teacher rather than self-study.
- The word سِیکْھنا is used for learning everything from a new language to a trade or even a bad habit.
Examples in context
- میں روزانہ اردو پَڑْھنا چاہتا ہوں۔main rozana urdu parhna chahta hoon.I want to study Urdu every day.
- وہ رات کو پَڑْھنا پسند کرتا ہے۔woh raat ko parhna pasand karta hai.He likes to study at night.
- کیا آپ امتحان کے لیے پَڑْھنا چاہتے ہیں؟kya aap imtihan ke liye parhna chahte hain?Do you want to study for the exam?
Example conversation
Two friends are talking in a library about their evening plans.
- سارہ Saraعمر، کیا تم ابھی پَڑْھنا چاہتے ہو؟Umar, kya tum abhi parhna chahte ho?Umar, do you want to study now?
- عمر Omarہاں، مجھے بہت پَڑْھنا ہے۔haan, mujhe bohat parhna hai.Yes, I have to study a lot.
- سارہ Saraٹھیک ہے، میں بھی پَڑْھنا شروع کرتی ہوں۔theek hai, main bhi parhna shuru karti hoon.Okay, I will start studying too.
- عمر Omarاچھا ہے، سارہ۔acha hai, Sarah.That is good, Sarah.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “study” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
