How life was in the village in Urdu
A grandson asks his grandmother how life was in the village half a century ago in Urdu. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «دادی، ان سالوں میں گاؤں کیسا تھا؟» — Grandmother, what was the village like in those years?; «یہاں سب کچھ ویسا ہی تھا، جیسا پرانے زمانے میں ہوتا تھا۔» — Everything here was old-style, as in the old times.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a grandson asks his grandmother how life was in the village half a century ago. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- دادی، ان سالوں میں گاؤں کیسا تھا؟dadi, in salon main gaon kaisa tha?Grandmother, what was the village like in those years?
- یہاں سب کچھ ویسا ہی تھا، جیسا پرانے زمانے میں ہوتا تھا۔yahan sab kuchh waisa hi tha, dzhaisa prane zamane main hota tha.Everything here was old-style, as in the old times.
- بجلی کب آئی؟bidzhli kab ai?And when was electricity laid on?
- دہائیوں بعد؛ اس سے پہلے صبح لیمپ کی روشنی ہوتی تھی۔dahaion baad; is se pehle subah limp ki roshni hoti thi.Decades later; before that there was lamplight in the mornings.
- پانی کہاں سے لاتے تھے؟pani kahan se late the?Where was the water carried from?
- کنواں تھا، روزانہ صبح سب پانی کے لیے جاتے تھے۔kunwan tha, rozana subah sab pani ke lie dzhate the.There was a well; every morning everyone went for water.
- اس عہد میں سکول تھا؟is ahd main skul tha?And in that era was there a school?
- ایک تھی، مگر راستہ طویل تھا۔ek thi, magar rasta tawil tha.There was one, but the road was long.
Lines one by one
| Urdu | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| دادی، ان سالوں میں گاؤں کیسا تھا؟ | dadi, in salon main gaon kaisa tha? | Grandmother, what was the village like in those years? |
| یہاں سب کچھ ویسا ہی تھا، جیسا پرانے زمانے میں ہوتا تھا۔ | yahan sab kuchh waisa hi tha, dzhaisa prane zamane main hota tha. | Everything here was old-style, as in the old times. |
| بجلی کب آئی؟ | bidzhli kab ai? | And when was electricity laid on? |
| دہائیوں بعد؛ اس سے پہلے صبح لیمپ کی روشنی ہوتی تھی۔ | dahaion baad; is se pehle subah limp ki roshni hoti thi. | Decades later; before that there was lamplight in the mornings. |
| پانی کہاں سے لاتے تھے؟ | pani kahan se late the? | Where was the water carried from? |
| کنواں تھا، روزانہ صبح سب پانی کے لیے جاتے تھے۔ | kunwan tha, rozana subah sab pani ke lie dzhate the. | There was a well; every morning everyone went for water. |
| اس عہد میں سکول تھا؟ | is ahd main skul tha? | And in that era was there a school? |
| ایک تھی، مگر راستہ طویل تھا۔ | ek thi, magar rasta tawil tha. | There was one, but the road was long. |
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?
“دادی، ان سالوں میں گاؤں کیسا تھا؟” (dadi, in salon main gaon kaisa tha?) — Grandmother, what was the village like in those years? 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.