Moving the furniture in Urdu
Two people move the furniture and argue what goes where in Urdu. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «الماری کو دوسری دیوار کی طرف سرکانا ہوگا۔» — The cupboard will have to be moved to the other wall; «پہلے ڈبے زمین پر کھڑے کر دو اور ذرا ہٹ جاؤ۔» — First set the boxes on the floor and shift along.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two people move the furniture and argue what goes where. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- الماری کو دوسری دیوار کی طرف سرکانا ہوگا۔almari ko dusri dewar ki tarab sarkana hoga.The cupboard will have to be moved to the other wall.
- پہلے ڈبے زمین پر کھڑے کر دو اور ذرا ہٹ جاؤ۔pehle dabe zamin per khare kar do aur zara hat dzhao.First set the boxes on the floor and shift along.
- اب اسے ذرا بائیں سرکاؤ، دیوار سے چپکا ہوا۔ab use zara bain sarkao, dewar se chipka hua.Now slide it a little left, flush against the wall.
- احتیاط سے، شیشہ نازک ہے، گر جائے گا۔ahtiat se, shisha nazuk hai, gir dzhaie ga.Careful — the glass is fragile, it will fall.
- تصویر اوپر کی طرف لٹکا دوں؟taswir upar ki tarab latka dun?Hang the picture above?
- پہلے باقی سامان ترتیب سے رکھو، پھر دیکھیں۔pehle baqi saman tarteb se rkho, phir dekhen.First arrange the rest of the things in order, then we shall see.
- ٹھیک ہے، سب کچھ الگ الگ رکھوں گا۔thik hai, sab kuchh alag alag rkhun ga.Good, I shall lay everything out separately.
- آخر میں چائے پیتے ہیں، کام پورا ہو گیا۔akhir main chai pitte hain, kam pura ho gaya.At the end we drink tea — the affair is complete.
Lines one by one
| Urdu | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| الماری کو دوسری دیوار کی طرف سرکانا ہوگا۔ | almari ko dusri dewar ki tarab sarkana hoga. | The cupboard will have to be moved to the other wall. |
| پہلے ڈبے زمین پر کھڑے کر دو اور ذرا ہٹ جاؤ۔ | pehle dabe zamin per khare kar do aur zara hat dzhao. | First set the boxes on the floor and shift along. |
| اب اسے ذرا بائیں سرکاؤ، دیوار سے چپکا ہوا۔ | ab use zara bain sarkao, dewar se chipka hua. | Now slide it a little left, flush against the wall. |
| احتیاط سے، شیشہ نازک ہے، گر جائے گا۔ | ahtiat se, shisha nazuk hai, gir dzhaie ga. | Careful — the glass is fragile, it will fall. |
| تصویر اوپر کی طرف لٹکا دوں؟ | taswir upar ki tarab latka dun? | Hang the picture above? |
| پہلے باقی سامان ترتیب سے رکھو، پھر دیکھیں۔ | pehle baqi saman tarteb se rkho, phir dekhen. | First arrange the rest of the things in order, then we shall see. |
| ٹھیک ہے، سب کچھ الگ الگ رکھوں گا۔ | thik hai, sab kuchh alag alag rkhun ga. | Good, I shall lay everything out separately. |
| آخر میں چائے پیتے ہیں، کام پورا ہو گیا۔ | akhir main chai pitte hain, kam pura ho gaya. | At the end we drink tea — the affair is complete. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Urdu in this situation?
“الماری کو دوسری دیوار کی طرف سرکانا ہوگا۔” (almari ko dusri dewar ki tarab sarkana hoga.) — The cupboard will have to be moved to the other wall. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.