Rescheduling the meeting in Urdu
A phone call between two colleagues on Monday morning in Urdu. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «صبح بخیر! میں کل کی ملاقات کے بارے میں فون کر رہا ہوں۔» — Good morning! I am calling about tomorrow’s meeting; «جی، کہیے۔ وقت ہے۔» — Yes, go ahead. There is time.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a phone call between two colleagues on Monday morning. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- صبح بخیر! میں کل کی ملاقات کے بارے میں فون کر رہا ہوں۔sub bekhair! main kal ki mulaqat ke bare main fon kar reha hunGood morning! I am calling about tomorrow’s meeting.
- جی، کہیے۔ وقت ہے۔dzhi, kahie. waqt haiYes, go ahead. There is time.
- کیا آپ مہربانی کریں گے، ملاقات ملتوی کر دیں؟kya ap meharbani karen ge, mulaqat multawi kar den?Could you reschedule the meeting?
- بات یہ ہے کہ کل دفتر میں ہوں۔bat ye hai ke kal daftar main hunThe thing is, tomorrow I am at the office.
- تو دوپہر کے بعد؟ پانچ بجے سے پہلے نہیں۔to dopeher ke bad? panch badzhe se pehle nahinThen after midday? Not before five.
- ٹھیک ہے، وقت طے کر لیتے ہیں — چار بجے۔thik hai, waqt tae kar lete hain — char badzheGood, we agree on a time — at four.
Lines one by one
| Urdu | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| صبح بخیر! میں کل کی ملاقات کے بارے میں فون کر رہا ہوں۔ | sub bekhair! main kal ki mulaqat ke bare main fon kar reha hun | Good morning! I am calling about tomorrow’s meeting. |
| جی، کہیے۔ وقت ہے۔ | dzhi, kahie. waqt hai | Yes, go ahead. There is time. |
| کیا آپ مہربانی کریں گے، ملاقات ملتوی کر دیں؟ | kya ap meharbani karen ge, mulaqat multawi kar den? | Could you reschedule the meeting? |
| بات یہ ہے کہ کل دفتر میں ہوں۔ | bat ye hai ke kal daftar main hun | The thing is, tomorrow I am at the office. |
| تو دوپہر کے بعد؟ پانچ بجے سے پہلے نہیں۔ | to dopeher ke bad? panch badzhe se pehle nahin | Then after midday? Not before five. |
| ٹھیک ہے، وقت طے کر لیتے ہیں — چار بجے۔ | thik hai, waqt tae kar lete hain — char badzhe | Good, we agree on a time — at four. |
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?
“صبح بخیر! میں کل کی ملاقات کے بارے میں فون کر رہا ہوں۔” (sub bekhair! main kal ki mulaqat ke bare main fon kar reha hun) — Good morning! I am calling about tomorrow’s meeting. 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.