Buying a projector in Urdu
A technology shop; the buyer measures the room and loads the seller with words in Urdu. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «معاف کیجیے، پروجیکٹر کتنی کا ہے؟» — Excuse me, how much is the projector?; «یہ ہلکا سا پروجیکٹر ہے، سات ہزار روپے۔» — Here is a light projector — seven thousand rupees.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a technology shop; the buyer measures the room and loads the seller with words. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- معاف کیجیے، پروجیکٹر کتنی کا ہے؟maaf kidzhiye, prodzhektor kitni ka hai?Excuse me, how much is the projector?
- یہ ہلکا سا پروجیکٹر ہے، سات ہزار روپے۔ye halka sa prodzhektor hai, sat hazar rupe.Here is a light projector — seven thousand rupees.
- کمرہ پانچ میٹر لمبا ہے، فاصلہ زیادہ ہے۔kamra panch mitar lamba hai, fasila ziyada hai.The room is five metres in length — the distance is great.
- پھر یہ والا ٹھیک رہے گا، تصویر بڑی بناتا ہے۔phir ye wala thik rehe ga, taswir bari banata hai.Then this one will do — it makes the picture big.
- کیا یہ فون سے جوڑا جا سکتا ہے؟kya ye fon se dzhora dzha sakta hai?Can it connect to the phone?
- جی ہاں، تار سے بھی، خودبخود بھی۔dzhi han, tar se bhi, khudbakhud bhi.Yes — by wire too, and by itself.
Lines one by one
| Urdu | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| معاف کیجیے، پروجیکٹر کتنی کا ہے؟ | maaf kidzhiye, prodzhektor kitni ka hai? | Excuse me, how much is the projector? |
| یہ ہلکا سا پروجیکٹر ہے، سات ہزار روپے۔ | ye halka sa prodzhektor hai, sat hazar rupe. | Here is a light projector — seven thousand rupees. |
| کمرہ پانچ میٹر لمبا ہے، فاصلہ زیادہ ہے۔ | kamra panch mitar lamba hai, fasila ziyada hai. | The room is five metres in length — the distance is great. |
| پھر یہ والا ٹھیک رہے گا، تصویر بڑی بناتا ہے۔ | phir ye wala thik rehe ga, taswir bari banata hai. | Then this one will do — it makes the picture big. |
| کیا یہ فون سے جوڑا جا سکتا ہے؟ | kya ye fon se dzhora dzha sakta hai? | Can it connect to the phone? |
| جی ہاں، تار سے بھی، خودبخود بھی۔ | dzhi han, tar se bhi, khudbakhud bhi. | Yes — by wire too, and by itself. |
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، پروجیکٹر کتنی کا ہے؟” (maaf kidzhiye, prodzhektor kitni ka hai?) — Excuse me, how much is the projector? 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.