Everyday life and routine in Urdu
12 words in Urdu on the topic “everyday life and routine”: کام — work, کام کرنا — to work, جاگنا — to wake up, اٹھنا — to get up.
12 words on the topic
- کامkamworkWork as a place and a matter at once: kaam par — at work, kaam hai — there are matters. The same word the Persians trade with
- 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
- چین لیناchin lenato restChain is the peace: to take the peace is to rest. Half an hour of chain after lunch — and the day is long again
Download the word set (CSV) · Open the printable sheet
The CSV contains spelling, reading guides, translations and links to word pages. Use the browser menu to save the printable sheet as a PDF.
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
- کام بہت ہےkam behot haiThere is a lot of work
- میں کام کرتا ہوںmain kam kerta hunI work
- بچہ صبح جلدی جاگتا ہے۔bachchha subah dzhaldi dzhagta hai.The child wakes early in the morning
- میں صبح اٹھتا ہوں۔main subah uthta hun.I get up in the morning
- میں صبح منہ دھوتا ہوں۔main subah munh dhota hun.I wash up in the morning
- وہ کنگھی کر کے سکول جاتا ہے۔wo kanghi kar ke skul dzhata hai.He combs his hair and goes to school
What is worth knowing about these words
کام (kam) — work. 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.
کام کرنا (kam karna) — to work. Literally "to do work": a noun plus the service verb karna. Half the verbs here are built this way: phone karna — to make a call.
جاگنا (dzhagna) — to wake up. The eyes "open" — the same awakening. Jaagna is already not asleep, but not yet out of bed.
اٹھنا (uthna) — to get up. Out of bed, off a chair, up and away — one verb. Utho! — get up! — is how they wake you.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — 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 wake up” in Urdu?
The eyes "open" — the same awakening. Jaagna is already not asleep, but not yet out of bed
- How do you say “to sit down” in Urdu?
The familiar baithna — to sit — sits down with jaana: sat and stayed sitting. Baith jao — sit down, guest
- How do you say “to wash up” in Urdu?
Literally "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
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Work, home, rest, errands. The words the answer to “how are things?” is made of.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- 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.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “work” in Urdu?
«کام», read “kam”. 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. It is one of 12 words in the set “everyday life and routine” — the rest are in the table above.
How many everyday words do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 12 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.