Where to throw the rubbish in Urdu
A new resident asks a neighbour what to do with the yard’s rubbish in Urdu. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «معاف کیجیے، یہ کچرے کا ڈھیر کہاں رکھوں؟» — Excuse me, where do I put this pile of rubbish?; «رکھیے نہیں، الگ کرنا شروع کیجیے۔» — Do not set it down — begin sorting.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a new resident asks a neighbour what to do with the yard’s rubbish. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- معاف کیجیے، یہ کچرے کا ڈھیر کہاں رکھوں؟maaf kidzhiye, ye kuchre ka dher kahan rekhkhun?Excuse me, where do I put this pile of rubbish?
- رکھیے نہیں، الگ کرنا شروع کیجیے۔rekhkhie nahin, alag karna shuru kidzhiye.Do not set it down — begin sorting.
- کاغذ بھی الگ، کوڑا بھی الگ؟kaghaz bhi alag, kora bhi alag?And paper separately, and rubbish separately?
- جی ہاں، کاغذ الگ رکھیں، ردی والا اسے خرید لے گا۔dzhi han, kaghaz alag rekhkhen, radi wala ise kharid le ga.Yes; set the paper aside — the recyclables collector will buy it.
- کچرا پھر کہاں جائے گا؟kuchra phir kahan dzhae ga?And where will the rubbish go then?
- کوڑے کا ڈھیر شہر سے دور ہے، وہاں جاتا ہے۔kore ka dher sheher se dur hai, wahan dzhata hai.The dump is far from the city — that is where it goes.
- کیا یہ سب واقعی مدد کرتا ہے؟kya ye sab waqaii madad kerta hai?And does it truly help?
- ہم سب اپنا کردار ادا کریں تو شہر صاف رہے گا۔hum sab apna kardar ada karen to sheher saaf rehe ga.If we all do our part, the city will stay clean.
Lines one by one
| Urdu | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| معاف کیجیے، یہ کچرے کا ڈھیر کہاں رکھوں؟ | maaf kidzhiye, ye kuchre ka dher kahan rekhkhun? | Excuse me, where do I put this pile of rubbish? |
| رکھیے نہیں، الگ کرنا شروع کیجیے۔ | rekhkhie nahin, alag karna shuru kidzhiye. | Do not set it down — begin sorting. |
| کاغذ بھی الگ، کوڑا بھی الگ؟ | kaghaz bhi alag, kora bhi alag? | And paper separately, and rubbish separately? |
| جی ہاں، کاغذ الگ رکھیں، ردی والا اسے خرید لے گا۔ | dzhi han, kaghaz alag rekhkhen, radi wala ise kharid le ga. | Yes; set the paper aside — the recyclables collector will buy it. |
| کچرا پھر کہاں جائے گا؟ | kuchra phir kahan dzhae ga? | And where will the rubbish go then? |
| کوڑے کا ڈھیر شہر سے دور ہے، وہاں جاتا ہے۔ | kore ka dher sheher se dur hai, wahan dzhata hai. | The dump is far from the city — that is where it goes. |
| کیا یہ سب واقعی مدد کرتا ہے؟ | kya ye sab waqaii madad kerta hai? | And does it truly help? |
| ہم سب اپنا کردار ادا کریں تو شہر صاف رہے گا۔ | hum sab apna kardar ada karen to sheher saaf rehe ga. | If we all do our part, the city will stay clean. |
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?
“معاف کیجیے، یہ کچرے کا ڈھیر کہاں رکھوں؟” (maaf kidzhiye, ye kuchre ka dher kahan rekhkhun?) — Excuse me, where do I put this pile of rubbish? 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.