Phrases that save you in Urdu
18 words in Urdu on the topic “phrases that save you”: مجھے سمجھ نہیں آئی — I don’t understand, دوبارہ — again, آہستہ — slower, آپ انگریزی بولتے ہیں؟ — do you speak English?
18 words on the topic
- مجھے سمجھ نہیں آئیmujhe samajh nahin aiI don’t understandLiterally "to me understanding did not come": even "I didn’t get it" is said through "me". Samajh ends with a breath — samajh, not samaj
- دوبارہdobaraagainLiterally "doubled" — from do, two. On its own it is "once more"; the request rides on a gesture and the word together: dobara, meharbani
- آہستہahistaslowerAahista — quietly, slowly, gently. The most useful word of the first week, right after "I don’t understand"
- آپ انگریزی بولتے ہیں؟ap angrezi bolte hain?do you speak English?Literally "you English speak-is?": the verb closes the line again. Languages take no preposition: main Urdu bolta hoon — I speak Urdu
- مددmadadhelp!Literally "help!". Madad is both the noun and the cry: meri madad kijiye — help me
- میں راستہ بھول گیاmain rasta bhul gayaI am lostLiterally "I forgotten went": two verbs in a row, both at the end. A woman says bhool gayi — the same sense, the other gender
- چھتریchhatriumbrellaThe umbrella works against the sun here too: the heat outranks the rain. The rickshaw and the tea-house keep a spare — a guest must not get wet
- کام نہیں کرتاkam nahin kertadoes not workLiterally "does no work": the lift, the fridge and a person all "do not do" — the context splits them. The negation nahin stands before the verb
- 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
- میں نہیں کھول سکتاmain nahin khol saktaI cannot open itThis language puts "can" after the verb: khol sakta — "to-open able". A woman says khol sakti — the gender again in the ending
- ایمبولینسembulansambulanceAn international word written in the local script. It is called with the verb "to call" — the same one that calls the repairman
- مجھے ڈاکٹر چاہیےmujhe doktor chahiyeI need a doctorThe same "to me is-needed" as at the tea-house: mujhe — to me — chaahiye — needed. The personal "I" is not wanted at all
- خبردارkhabardarcareful!Literally "know the news!": the street cry of warning. Children hear it more than anyone — at the sign and at the road
- خطرناکkhatarnakdangerousFrom khatra — danger: the dangerous is "the danger-bearing". The signs at the building site and by the water say exactly this word
- پولیس کو بلائیںpolis ko bulaiencall the policeLiterally "the police call": the same calling as the repairman’s. The single help number here is 15 — better remembered
- میں پاسپورٹ کھو بیٹھاmain pasport kho baithaI have lost my passportLiterally "I having-lost sat": lost and stayed sitting — the loss has already happened. A woman says the same with her own ending
- مجھے تکلیف ہےmujhe taklif haiI feel unwellTakleef is suffering, hardship: "to me there is suffering" — said of pain and of indisposition alike. A polite word; it is not put into a wail
- مت چھوئیےmat chhuiyedo not touchMat is the forbidding particle: set before the verb, it forbids. Chhuiye is the polite "touch", and together — do not touch
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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.
- معاف کیجیے، مجھے سمجھ نہیں آئیmaaf kidzhiye, mujhe samajh nahin aiExcuse me, I don’t understand
- دوبارہ، مہربانیdobara, meharbaniAgain, please
- آہستہ، مہربانیahista, meharbaniSlower, please
- آپ انگریزی بولتے ہیں؟ — تھوڑا۔ap angrezi bolte hain? — thora.Do you speak English? — A little.
- مدد! مدد!madad! madad!Help! Help!
- معاف کیجیے، میں راستہ بھول گیاmaaf kidzhiye, main rasta bhul gayaExcuse me, I am lost
What is worth knowing about these words
مجھے سمجھ نہیں آئی (mujhe samajh nahin ai) — I don’t understand. Literally "to me understanding did not come": even "I didn’t get it" is said through "me". Samajh ends with a breath — samajh, not samaj.
دوبارہ (dobara) — again. Literally "doubled" — from do, two. On its own it is "once more"; the request rides on a gesture and the word together: dobara, meharbani.
آہستہ (ahista) — slower. Aahista — quietly, slowly, gently. The most useful word of the first week, right after "I don’t understand".
آپ انگریزی بولتے ہیں؟ (ap angrezi bolte hain?) — do you speak English? Literally "you English speak-is?": the verb closes the line again. Languages take no preposition: main Urdu bolta hoon — I speak Urdu.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “I don’t understand” in Urdu?
Literally "to me understanding did not come": even "I didn’t get it" is said through "me". Samajh ends with a breath — samajh, not samaj
- How do you say “does not work” in Urdu?
Literally "does no work": the lift, the fridge and a person all "do not do" — the context splits them. The negation nahin stands before the verb
- How do you say “call the police” in Urdu?
Literally "the police call": the same calling as the repairman’s. The single help number here is 15 — better remembered
- How do you say “do you speak English?” in Urdu?
Literally "you English speak-is?": the verb closes the line again. Languages take no preposition: main Urdu bolta hoon — I speak Urdu
- How do you say “ambulance” in Urdu?
An international word written in the local script. It is called with the verb "to call" — the same one that calls the repairman
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
“I don't understand”, “say that again”, “slower, please”, “help”. They are learned first for a reason: they bring back a conversation that has already gone wrong.
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 “I don’t understand” in Urdu?
«مجھے سمجھ نہیں آئی», read “mujhe samajh nahin ai”. Literally "to me understanding did not come": even "I didn’t get it" is said through "me". Samajh ends with a breath — samajh, not samaj. It is one of 18 words in the set “phrases that save you” — the rest are in the table above.
How many emergency phrases do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 18 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.