Things to know about Urdu
Urdu is the national language of Pakistan. It is a member of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family, and is very closely related to Hindi.
If your Urdu lessons require you to type Urdu characters, follow the instructions immediately below to do so. If your lessons use transliterated Urdu, see the Using Transliterated Urdu Lessons section further down.
Using Urdu Lessons
Urdu is written in a flowing script that runs from right to left, the opposite of English. Most Urdu letters connect to the letters preceding and following them, just as in English cursive writing. Therefore, letters often change shape depending on their placement within a word. Urdu is usually written using only consonants and long vowels, although there are small marks which can be used above or below letters to indicate short vowels.
To type Urdu characters:
- Position your cursor somewhere where you can type, and verify that the virtual keyboard layout is set to Urdu.
- Locate the character you want on the virtual keyboard, then click on it or press the corresponding key on your physical keyboard. The virtual keyboard shows the stand-alone form of each letter, but the characters will automatically change form to connect to one another as you type. Some punctuation marks, such as the question mark, are available by pressing the Shift key. Certain additional characters are available by clicking
beside the virtual keyboard. See Typing special scripts for details.
Using Transliterated Urdu Lessons
Some Urdu lessons in this application may be transliterated - written with the letters of the Latin alphabet, from left to right. Transliterated lessons can help you master vocabulary and pronunciation before tackling a new writing system.
You do not have to type actual Urdu characters in transliterated Urdu lessons. You can type the transliterations in any activity or assessment that requires typed answers. Transliterated Urdu does not require any special characters. However, be aware that capital and lowercase letters are used to represent different Urdu characters. For that reason, you may see capital letters in the middle of words, and you will notice that the first word in a transliterated Urdu sentence is not always capitalized. You do not have to match the capitalization when you type answers.