دفتر
“دفتر” (dafter) — office in Urdu. Noun, level A1, topic — buildings and premises. Both the office and the ledger-notebook: the office here is kin to papers. Office, agency and reception — all daftar. In a live sentence: “دفتر قریب ہے” — The office is close. Written with the characters د, ف, ت, ر. One of 25 words in the set “buildings and premises” in the Urdu course.
In short
| Written in Urdu | دفتر |
| Read in Latin letters | dafter |
| Translation | office |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
Both the office and the ledger-notebook: the office here is kin to papers. Office, agency and reception — all daftar
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- دفتر قریب ہےdafter qarib haiThe office is close
Nearby words: buildings and premises
Where to go and what is done there. These words are read off a sign more often than they are spoken.
- پاکستانPakistanPakistanThe country of the course: the name reads "land of the pure". Its language is the one you are learning, official alongside the neighbor’s
- لاہورLahorLahoreThe heart of the course: the city whose dialect fills the films and the bazaars. A Lahori is its person, and the tea there is a science of its own
- ریسٹورانٹrestorantrestaurantAn international word written in the local script. The cheap eatery is khaane ki dukaan, "a shop of food" — the same dukaan as the shop
- چوکchoksquareA crossroads, a square where roads meet. Chowk Ghanta Ghar with its clock tower is the heart of old Lahore
- بازارbazarmarketThe very bazaar English has known for centuries: the covered rows of Lahore are a city within the city, with mosques, tea-houses and lanes of their own
- اسٹیشنsteshanstationOne word for the railway station and the bus stop: bus station is the bus one. An international word written in the local script
- دکانdukanshopA stall, a kiosk, a workshop — any place of trade. One eats in a dukaan too: khaane ki dukaan — the eatery
- کراچیKarachiKarachiThe port city and the biggest in the country: people come to it from everywhere for work. Karachi’s speech is softer than Lahore’s — the city cousin of the same voice
- کاؤنٹرkauntercounterAn international word written in the local script: the shop counter and the cashier’s window are one counter. There is no separate street stall — the trader sits behind his own
- کریانہ اسٹورkirana storgrocery storeKirana is the dry goods: rice, flour, spices. Such a shop stands at every corner, and the owner knows the customers by name
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “buildings and premises”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “office” in Urdu?
Both the office and the ledger-notebook: the office here is kin to papers. Office, agency and reception — all daftar
- How do you say “shop” in Urdu?
A stall, a kiosk, a workshop — any place of trade. One eats in a dukaan too: khaane ki dukaan — the eatery
- How do you say “restaurant” in Urdu?
An international word written in the local script. The cheap eatery is khaane ki dukaan, "a shop of food" — the same dukaan as the shop
- How do you say “grocery store” in Urdu?
Kirana is the dry goods: rice, flour, spices. Such a shop stands at every corner, and the owner knows the customers by name
- How do you say “station” in Urdu?
One word for the railway station and the bus stop: bus station is the bus one. An international word written in the local script
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “office” in Urdu?
«دفتر», read “dafter”. In a live sentence: “دفتر قریب ہے” — The office is close. Noun, level A1, from the set “buildings and premises”; written with the characters د, ف, ت, ر.
How is “دفتر” written in Latin letters?
dafter. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Both the office and the ledger-notebook: the office here is kin to papers. Office, agency and reception — all daftar. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.