کل
kal/kəl/
The English word 'yesterday' is expressed in Urdu as کل (kal).
The word کل is used to refer to the day before today.
Meaning: day before today (noun)
Which one should you use?
The word کل is unique because it can mean both 'yesterday' and 'tomorrow'. You determine which meaning is intended by looking at the tense of the verb used in the sentence.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you want کل to mean 'yesterday', the verb in the sentence must be in the past tense.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /kəl/ (kal).
Did you know?
- The word کل can be confused with other homonyms in Urdu, as it also shares a form with the word for 'whole' or 'entire'.
- The Urdu concept of time symmetry extends to the day before yesterday and the day after tomorrow, which are both called پرسوں.
- The word کل is an etymological chameleon, appearing to have roots in several different Sanskrit words including those meaning 'morrow', 'art', and 'family'.
Examples in context
- کل موسم کیسا تھا؟What was the weather yesterday?This sentence shows how to ask about the weather using کل.Tatoeba #1564774 by nabeel_tahir, translation #385086 by kellenparker
- میں کل چڑیا گھر گئی۔I went to the zoo yesterday.This sentence demonstrates using کل to describe a past action.Tatoeba #13545929 by Roomba_Unit, translation #1876 by Swift
- تمھیں کل کسی نے کال کی تھی؟Did anybody call on you yesterday?This sentence shows how to use کل when asking about a past telephone call.Tatoeba #1521757 by nabeel_tahir, translation #244470 by CM
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a movie they saw.
- عائشہ Ayeshaکیا تم کل فلم دیکھنے گئے تھے؟kya tum kal film dekhne gaye thay?Did you go to see the movie yesterday?
- حمزہ Hamzaہاں، میں کل ہی گیا تھا۔haan, main kal hi gaya tha.Yes, I went just yesterday.
- عائشہ Ayeshaفلم کیسی تھی؟film kaisi thi?How was the movie?
- حمزہ Hamzaفلم بہت اچھی تھی۔film bohat achi thi.The movie was very good.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry کل, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries کل, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
