Learn some phrases your professor won't teach you
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Afrah: Assalam u Alaikum Urdupod101.com mein khush amdeed. |
| Eric: Hi everyone, Eric here, and welcome to Urdupod101.com. This is All About, lesson 13, The Top Five Urdu Phrases Your Teacher Will Never Teach You. I’m telling you right now, this lesson is really fun. |
| Afrah: Because we’ll go over some phrases that you won’t learn in class! |
| Eric: Now we don’t want you to get the wrong idea. You won’t find any swear words or anything like that here. |
| Afrah: No, just some Urdu phrases that are a little too slangy to be introduced in a classroom. |
| Eric: Still, you do need to be very careful when using these expressions. Pakistani society is very complicated and there are many situations where using any kind of slang will be inappropriate and might offend others. These are words you’ll encounter in big cities, mostly in colleges or on the road, or even in Lollywood movies. |
| Afrah: So if you’re ready to learn some fun Urdu phrases, let’s get started. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Eric: The first phrase we will go over is… |
| Afrah: zaberdast |
| Eric: This expression means “awesome,” “great,” “cool” or “wow.” |
| Afrah: The word is used by men and women in the same way. |
| Eric: You say it when you really think that something or someone is cool. |
| Afrah: For example, if you see a super cool racecar drive past you, you might just say zaberdast. hai can be added at the end to make it a complete sentence. For example, zaberdast hai. |
| Eric: Which means “it’s awesome.” And next we have... |
| Afrah: hoshyar |
| Eric: “Over smart.” |
| Afrah: hoshyar |
| Eric: Now be careful with this. In fact, it might even be better if you don’t use this one at all, but it’s a good one to know anyway. Depending on the situation and how it’s used, this word can come off as a strong insult or just as a playful joke. |
| Afrah: That’s right. It all depends on how the person uses it, I think. If you’re really angry and you call someone hoshyar, that’s pretty harsh. |
| Eric: But if you’re joking around with your friends and you use it, it just comes off as playful. |
| Afrah:The tone in that case would be soft, like hoshyar, and it will just be a joke. |
| Eric: Okay, next we have... |
| Afrah: chuna lagana |
| Eric: Which means “To cheat.” |
| Afrah: chuna lagana (slow) |
| Eric: I just learned this actually means “to white wash”? |
| Afrah: Right! So the expression refers to the act of making something blank like a white wall in order to conceal something else. |
| Eric: So it really means something like “to cheat somebody cleverly.” |
| Afrah: That’s right, but in general, you’ll hear people say usne chuna lagaya, meaning “he cheated somebody without the other person even knowing.” |
| Eric: Again, sometimes it may be a joke and other times, it may be serious. |
| Afrah: Exactly. If your friend has cheated you just for fun, you can tease him or her with this word. |
| Eric: Now we have... |
| Afrah: panga |
| Eric: And what does it mean? |
| Afrah: Well, it means some trouble or problem. For example, you might hear kuch panga hai kya? which means “is there some trouble?” |
| Eric: It’s used to refer to either big or small problems or any kind of human mistake. |
| Afrah: Yes. It’s commonly used in that sense. Actually panga originally referred to something being messy. |
| Eric: I see. So it’s like saying “what a mess!” |
| Afrah: Yeah, something like that. |
| Eric: Okay, and now onto the next expression. |
| Afrah: ji haan |
| Eric: This is an expression that helps to show you’re paying attention when someone else is talking. |
| Afrah: ji haan means “yeah” or “I know.” |
| Eric: But please be careful. This doesn’t mean that the listeners are agreeing with you. They just want to assure you that they’re listening and still keeping up with the conversation. Are there any other similar expressions? |
| Afrah: Yeah, there is another one. achha |
| Eric: This means “yeah, I know.” It expresses agreement. |
| Afrah: And you can also say hmm, which means “okay” or “yeah.” |
| Eric: Next we’ll talk about words or phrases that are commonly used among young people. Young people tend to be on the cutting edge of things, after all. What’s a good example? |
| Afrah: Well this one is a personal favorite, waillay. You can hear the word waillay being used among students. It actually means “relaxed” or “carefree.” |
| Eric: Like for happy-go-lucky people. |
| Afrah: Yeah. Another slang word is tight. |
| Eric: Which also means “cool,” “wow,” “amazing” or “great”, right? |
| Afrah: Yeah, but this word is mostly used among young guys in college. |
| Eric: I see. Now next we have.... |
| Afrah: bakwass |
| Eric: This is for when someone is talking nonsense. |
| Afrah: That’s right, but young people in Pakistan use this word as slang and you can also hear it in Urdu movies. |
| Eric: Ah, that’s where I know it from! |
| Afrah: So if you want to tell someone to shut up, simply use the words bakwass band karo. |
| Eric: But Afrah, that seems a little strong, doesn’t it? |
| Afrah: Yeah. So be careful when you use it. It might be better if you only use it among friends. |
| Eric: That’s a good tip. What’s the next word? |
| Afrah: Actually this is a funny one, it’s tension. |
| Eric: As in, being worried about something? |
| Afrah: Yeah, it comes from English. The word tension actually means “worry.” |
| Eric: In the sense of “to have stress.” |
| Afrah: Yeah, something like that. |
| Eric: How is it used in Urdu? |
| Afrah: Well for example, tension mat le which actually means “don’t stress out” or “just chill.” You might say it to your friend or somebody you know really well. tension mat le. |
| Eric: I see. Are there a lot of other words young people use a lot? |
| Afrah: There is the word bakra, which is used quite often when someone is being pranked or fooled. |
| Eric: What does bakra means? |
| Afrah: bakra means “goat”, but, as we said, in Urdu it’s also used to refer to someone who has been pranked. |
| Eric: I think all of these phrases are good to know even if you don’t use them. Just knowing them is good, because believe us, you will come across them at some point! |
Outro |
| Eric: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! |
| Afrah: phr milenge. |
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