Polite words in Urdu
8 words in Urdu on the topic “polite words”: شکریہ — thank you, مہربانی — please, کوئی بات نہیں — you are welcome, آپ — you (polite).
8 words on the topic
- شکریہshukriyathank youLiterally "gratitude". The all-purpose polite form; turn it up a notch with bohat shukriya — thank you very much
- مہربانیmeharbanipleaseLiterally "through mercy" — from meharban, merciful. It closes a request, sitting at the end of the line exactly where please does
- کوئی بات نہیںkoy bat nahinyou are welcomeLiterally "there is nothing to talk of": baat is a word, a matter. The whole thank-you-and-don’t-mention-it exchange closes with this one phrase
- آپapyou (polite)The polite you — and to one person as well: the same solution as French vous. With aap the verb takes the they-form
- معاف کیجیےmaaf kidzhiyeexcuse meLiterally "grant forgiveness": the you-form of courtesy. Both the "sorry" before a question and the way to hail a shopkeeper
- مجھے … دیجیےmujhe … didzhiyegive meLiterally "to me … give": a command in the you-form — polite even at a street stall. Dijiye carries a breath in its middle
- ذرا انتظار کیجیےzara intizar kidzhiyewait a momentLiterally "a little waiting do": zara — just a bit — and intezar — the waiting. The polite kijiye you know from maaf kijiye
- خوش آمدیدkhush amdidyou are welcomeLiterally "welcome", but as the answer to thank you it is the same "don’t mention it": the host you stayed with will say exactly this. Next to it you already know koi baat nahin
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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.
- بہت شکریہbehot shukriyaThank you very much
- چائے، مہربانیchai, meharbaniTea, please
- شکریہ! — کوئی بات نہیںshukriya! — koy bat nahinThank you! — You are welcome
- آپ کہاں ہیں؟ap kahan hain?Where are you?
- معاف کیجیے، اسٹیشن کہاں ہے؟maaf kidzhiye, steshan kahan hai?Excuse me, where is the station?
- مجھے پانی دیجیےmujhe pani didzhiyeGive me some water
What is worth knowing about these words
شکریہ (shukriya) — thank you. Literally "gratitude". The all-purpose polite form; turn it up a notch with bohat shukriya — thank you very much.
مہربانی (meharbani) — please. Literally "through mercy" — from meharban, merciful. It closes a request, sitting at the end of the line exactly where please does.
کوئی بات نہیں (koy bat nahin) — you are welcome. Literally "there is nothing to talk of": baat is a word, a matter. The whole thank-you-and-don’t-mention-it exchange closes with this one phrase.
آپ (ap) — you (polite). The polite you — and to one person as well: the same solution as French vous. With aap the verb takes the they-form.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “thank you” in Urdu?
Literally "gratitude". The all-purpose polite form; turn it up a notch with bohat shukriya — thank you very much
- How do you say “you are welcome” in Urdu?
Literally "welcome", but as the answer to thank you it is the same "don’t mention it": the host you stayed with will say exactly this. Next to it you already know koi baat nahin
- How do you say “wait a moment” in Urdu?
Literally "a little waiting do": zara — just a bit — and intezar — the waiting. The polite kijiye you know from maaf kijiye
- How do you say “give me” in Urdu?
Literally "to me … give": a command in the you-form — polite even at a street stall. Dijiye carries a breath in its middle
- How do you say “excuse me” in Urdu?
Literally "grant forgiveness": the you-form of courtesy. Both the "sorry" before a question and the way to hail a shopkeeper
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
“Thank you”, “please” and “sorry” carry you while the rest of the words are still missing: with them even a gesture reads as a request rather than a demand.
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 “thank you” in Urdu?
«شکریہ», read “shukriya”. Literally "gratitude". The all-purpose polite form; turn it up a notch with bohat shukriya — thank you very much. It is one of 8 words in the set “polite words” — the rest are in the table above.
How many polite words do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 8 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.