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Lesson Transcript

Assalam u Alaikum mera naam Afrah hai. Hi everybody! My name is Afrah. Welcome to UrduPod101.com’s “3 minat mein Urdu”. The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Urdu.
In the last lesson, you learned the most common forms of greetings in Urdu. Do you remember them?
In this lesson you’re going to learn a very useful phrase: “Do you speak English?”
If you find yourself in a situation where you need assistance in English, this phrase can be a lifesaver. And because you’re asking it in Urdu, you can be sure that everyone will understand what you’re saying, even if their answer is ‘No’.
Let’s start with the formal expression. First, though, take note that, in Urdu, verbs change depending on the number and gender of the noun.
So, when asking a man if he speaks English, you would say:
kia ap angrezi bolte hain?
[slowly]kia ap angrezi bolte hain?
But to ask a woman if she speaks English, you’d say
kia ap angrezi bolti hain?
[slowly] kia ap angrezi bolti hain?
Let’s have a closer look:
First we have kia, a question marker which comes at the beginning of the sentence.
Next is ap
This is the respectful word for “you” and is used in formal situations. You should always use it with people you don't know or with elders.
Next we have, angrezi which means "English"
Next is the verb bolte, meaning “to speak”. It is used when the subject is masculine.
We use bolti when is the subject is feminine.
And finally, hain
hain is a sentence ending particle used with ap.
Once more, for a man, it’s:
kia aap angrezi bolte hain?
[slowly] kia aap angrezi bolte hain?
and, for a woman:
kia ap angrezi bolti hain?
[slowly] kia ap angrezi bolti hain?
We’re now going to make this sentence informal. First, we need to use the informal version of “you,” which is Tum. If we change the word for “you,” we will also change the sentence ending particle to ho. Everything else stays the same:
When speaking to younger people, it's acceptable to use this informal form. In which
case, you will say kia tum angrezi bolte ho? to ask a young man or a boy.
or kia tum angrezi bolti ho? to ask a young woman or a girl.
Again, when asking a boy
kia tum angrezi bolte ho?
(slow)kia tum angrezi bolte ho?
and when asking a girl
kia tum angrezi bolti ho?
(slow)kia tum angrezi bolti ho?
The responses you will receive could be one of these three:
haan "Yes."
[slowly] haan.
thodi bahut "A little."
[slowly] thodi bahut
nahin "No, I don’t”
[slowly] nahin
Now let’s review one more time.
To ask a man in a formal situation if he knows English we’d say:
kia ap angrezi bolte hain?
And to ask a woman in a formal situation we’d say:
kia ap angrezi bolti hain?
To ask a man in an informal situation we’d say:
kyaa Tum angrezi bolte ho?
And to ask a woman in an informal situation:
kyaa Tum angrezi bolti ho?
Now it’s time for Afrah’s Advice.
Pakistan was once, for a long time, part of the British Empire, and so today English is one of the official languages of Pakistan. When visiting tourist areas, you are sure to meet many people who can communicate with you in English. Still, a large part of the population can't understand English, and you can never go wrong knowing the local language.
How do you say, I’m sorry, in Urdu? In the next lesson we will learn ways to apologize. It’s never too late to show your good manners with Pakistani people!
I'll see you in our next lesson!
Phir milenge!

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