کام
“کام” (kam) — work in Urdu. Noun, level A0, topic — everyday life and routine. Work as a place and a matter at once: kaam par — at work, kaam hai — there are matters. The same word the Persians trade with. In a live sentence: “کام بہت ہے” — There is a lot of work. Written with the characters ک, ا, م. One of 12 words in the set “everyday life and routine” in the Urdu course.
In short
| Written in Urdu | کام |
| Read in Latin letters | kam |
| Translation | work |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A0 |
Why it looks that way
Work as a place and a matter at once: kaam par — at work, kaam hai — there are matters. The same word the Persians trade with
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.
- کام بہت ہےkam behot haiThere is a lot of work
Nearby words: everyday life and routine
Work, home, rest, errands. The words the answer to “how are things?” is made of.
- کام کرناkam karnato workLiterally "to do work": a noun plus the service verb karna. Half the verbs here are built this way: phone karna — to make a call
- جاگناdzhagnato wake upThe eyes "open" — the same awakening. Jaagna is already not asleep, but not yet out of bed
- اٹھناuthnato get upOut of bed, off a chair, up and away — one verb. Utho! — get up! — is how they wake you
- منہ دھوناmunh dhonato wash upLiterally "to wash the face": munh is the face, dhona the familiar "to wash". The water is the familiar paani — half the phrase is already assembled
- کنگھی کرناkanghi karnato comb one’s hairThe comb — kanghi — is already familiar: to draw it through the hair is the whole affair. One comb serves the whole house
- شیو کرناshew karnato shaveAn international word written in the local script: shave is the razor’s work, shave karna the doing. The second half is the familiar "do"
- کپڑے پہنناkapre pehnato get dressedLiterally "to put on clothes": kapre — clothes — and pehnna — to put on — are both known. To dress warm is garam kapre pehnna
- کپڑے اتارناkapre atarnato undressUtaarna — to take down: clothes, a picture from the wall, boots. The opposite of pehnna: that one put on, this one took off
- بیٹھ جاناbaith dzhanato sit downThe familiar baithna — to sit — sits down with jaana: sat and stayed sitting. Baith jao — sit down, guest
- لیٹ جاناlet dzhanato lie downThe familiar letna — to lie — lies down with jaana: lay and stayed lying. Both a nap for an hour and bed for the night
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “everyday life and routine”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “work” in Urdu?
Work as a place and a matter at once: kaam par — at work, kaam hai — there are matters. The same word the Persians trade with
- How do you say “to get dressed” in Urdu?
Literally "to put on clothes": kapre — clothes — and pehnna — to put on — are both known. To dress warm is garam kapre pehnna
- How do you say “to get up” in Urdu?
Out of bed, off a chair, up and away — one verb. Utho! — get up! — is how they wake you
- How do you say “to lie down” in Urdu?
The familiar letna — to lie — lies down with jaana: lay and stayed lying. Both a nap for an hour and bed for the night
- How do you say “to shave” in Urdu?
An international word written in the local script: shave is the razor’s work, shave karna the doing. The second half is the familiar "do"
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 “work” in Urdu?
«کام», read “kam”. In a live sentence: “کام بہت ہے” — There is a lot of work. Noun, level A0, from the set “everyday life and routine”; written with the characters ک, ا, م.
How is “کام” written in Latin letters?
kam. 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?
Work as a place and a matter at once: kaam par — at work, kaam hai — there are matters. The same word the Persians trade with. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.