کتنے
“کتنے” (kitne) — how many? in Urdu. Numeral, level A0, topic — numbers and counting. Both "how many" and "which": kitne baje? — at what hour? The question about price lives on this word. In a live sentence: “کتنے روپے؟” — How many rupees? Written with the characters ک, ت, ن, ے. One of 59 words in the set “numbers and counting” in the Urdu course.
In short
| Written in Urdu | کتنے |
| Read in Latin letters | kitne |
| Translation | how many? |
| Part of speech | numeral |
| Level | A0 |
Why it looks that way
Both "how many" and "which": kitne baje? — at what hour? The question about price lives on this word
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.
- کتنے روپے؟kitne rupe?How many rupees?
Nearby words: numbers and counting
A price, the change, a house number, the time you agreed on, the floor. Numbers are the first thing you have to catch by ear — and the first thing people say fast.
- ایکekoneThe number stands before the noun, as at home: ek chai — one tea. The same word serves "one" of any gender
- دوdotwoYou know it from dobara — again, literally "doubled". The noun after the number does not change: do roti — two flatbreads
- تینtinthreeThe nasal sign closes it: teen escapes through the nose. After any number the noun stays singular — "three flatbread" — and that is correct
- چارcharfourShort and firm. Chauthaai ghanta — a quarter of an hour: the counting of time starts from it
- پانچpanchfiveThe nasal paanch — kin of the boxing punch? Yes: the punch is "five fingers in a fist". Here it is simply five
- روپیہrupiyarupeePakistan counts its money in rupees and its small change in paise. Bazaar prices are called out loud: often there is no tag at all
- چھchhesixOne letter with a breath: ch-he. The short numbers 6–10 sound like drumbeats: chhe-saat-aath
- ساتsatsevenSaat baje — seven strokes of the hour. Clocks are counted in strokes here as in Europe — the phrase is literally "seven strikes"
- آٹھatheightOpens with the madda — a long aa — and ends with the breathy th. Listen to the end of the word: saat and aath must not be confused
- نوnaunineThe diphthong au, like the ow of "how". A short word read in two sounds merged into one
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “numbers and counting”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “how many?” in Urdu?
Both "how many" and "which": kitne baje? — at what hour? The question about price lives on this word
- How do you say “six” in Urdu?
One letter with a breath: ch-he. The short numbers 6–10 sound like drumbeats: chhe-saat-aath
- How do you say “three” in Urdu?
The nasal sign closes it: teen escapes through the nose. After any number the noun stays singular — "three flatbread" — and that is correct
- How do you say “nine” in Urdu?
The diphthong au, like the ow of "how". A short word read in two sounds merged into one
- How do you say “rupee” in Urdu?
Pakistan counts its money in rupees and its small change in paise. Bazaar prices are called out loud: often there is no tag at all
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 “how many?” in Urdu?
«کتنے», read “kitne”. In a live sentence: “کتنے روپے؟” — How many rupees? Numeral, level A0, from the set “numbers and counting”; written with the characters ک, ت, ن, ے.
How is “کتنے” written in Latin letters?
kitne. 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 "how many" and "which": kitne baje? — at what hour? The question about price lives on this word. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.