Urdu

U1R1D2U1
UK/ˈʊəˌduː/UK/ˈɜːˌduː/US/ˈʊəɹduː/

proper noun

Modern Standard Urdu, an Indo-Aryan language with native speakers mainly in Pakistan and North India. It is a standardized and Persianized version of Hindustani.

Similar
MoorsHindustaniRekhtaHindviDehlaviLahoriLashkariHindi
OriginHindustani ← Urdu اُرْدُو ← Hindi उर्दू →
Less commonScrabble 5
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. Modern Standard Urdu, an Indo-Aryan language with native speakers mainly in Pakistan and North India. It is a standardized and Persianized version of Hindustani.

    ‘Urdu was born in the barracks a few hundred years ago, and was spoken by soldiers. It gets its grammar from Hindi, and vocabulary from Persian.’

    2023, Santanu Bhattacharya, One Small Voice, Fig Tree, page 78

    Synonyms: Moors, Hindustani, Rekhta, Hindvi, Dehlavi, Lahori, Lashkari, Hindi

adjectiveUrdu (not comparable)
  1. not comparableOf or relating to the Urdu language.

    Synonyms: Lashkari

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounModern Standard Urdu, an Indo-Aryan language with native speakers mainly in Pakistan and North India. It is a standardized and Persianized version of Hindustani.

Similar
MoorsHindustaniRekhtaHindviDehlaviLahoriLashkariHindi

adjectiveOf or relating to the Urdu language.

Similar
Lashkari

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe official literary language of Pakistan, closely related to Hindi; widely used in India (mostly by Muslims); written in Arabic script

Similar
Urdu language
Broader
HindustaniHindoostaniHindostani
Also see
lashkari

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Turkic*ordu“army, camp”
  2. Classical Persianاُرْدُو
  3. Hindiउर्दू
  4. Urduاُرْدُو
  5. Hindustani
  6. EnglishUrdu

Borrowed from Hindustani (see Urdu اُرْدُو (urdū) and Hindi उर्दू (urdū)), from Classical Persian اُرْدُو (urdū), from Proto-Turkic *ordu (“army, camp”) ( > Azerbaijani ordu, Turkish ordu, Turkmen oorda). Doublet of horde and orda.

More words from Hindustani, Urdu, Hindi

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic اَلْأُرْدِيَّة, أُرْدُو
  • اَلْأُرْدِيَّة (al-ʔurdiyya)the Indo-Iranian language
  • أُرْدُو (ʔurdū)the Indo-Iranian language
  • أُرْدِيّ (ʔurdiyy)relative to the Urdu language
Basque urdu
  • urduthe Indo-Iranian language
Bengali উর্দু
  • উর্দু (urdu)the Indo-Iranian language
Bulgarian у́рду
  • у́рду (úrdu)the Indo-Iranian language
Catalan urdú, urdú
  • urdúthe Indo-Iranian language
  • urdúrelative to the Urdu language
Chinese Mandarin 烏爾都語 /乌尔都语
  • 烏爾都語 /乌尔都语 (Wū'ěrdūyǔ)the Indo-Iranian language
Czech urdština, urdsky
  • urdštinathe Indo-Iranian language
  • urdskythe Indo-Iranian language
  • urdskýrelative to the Urdu language
Danish urdu
  • urduthe Indo-Iranian language
Dutch Urdu
  • Urduthe Indo-Iranian language
Esperanto urduo
  • urduothe Indo-Iranian language
Finnish urdu
  • urduthe Indo-Iranian language
French ourdou, ourdou
  • ourdouthe Indo-Iranian language
  • ourdourelative to the Urdu language
  • ourdouerelative to the Urdu language
German Urdu
  • Urduthe Indo-Iranian language
Greek Ούρντου
  • Ούρντου (Oúrntou)the Indo-Iranian language
Hindi उर्दू, उर्दू
  • उर्दू (urdū)the Indo-Iranian language
  • उर्दू (urdū)relative to the Urdu language
  • उर्दु (urdu)relative to the Urdu language
  • उरदू (urdū)relative to the Urdu language
Icelandic úrdú
  • úrdúthe Indo-Iranian language
Japanese ウルドゥー語
  • ウルドゥー語 (urudū-go)the Indo-Iranian language
Korean 우르두어
  • 우르두어 (ureudueo)the Indo-Iranian language
Malay bahasa Urdu, Urdu
  • bahasa Urduthe Indo-Iranian language
  • Urduthe Indo-Iranian language
  • Urdurelative to the Urdu language
Norwegian Bokmål urdu
  • urduthe Indo-Iranian language
Persian اردو
  • اردو (ordu)relative to the Urdu language
Polish urdu
  • urduthe Indo-Iranian language
Portuguese urdu
  • urduthe Indo-Iranian language
Russian у́рду
  • у́рду (úrdu)the Indo-Iranian language
Slovak urdčina, urdský
  • urdčinathe Indo-Iranian language
  • urdskýrelative to the Urdu language
Spanish urdu
  • urduthe Indo-Iranian language
Swahili Kiurdu
  • Kiurduthe Indo-Iranian language
Swedish urdu
  • urduthe Indo-Iranian language
Tamil உருது, உருது
  • உருது (urutu)the Indo-Iranian language
  • உருது (urutu)relative to the Urdu language
Thai ภาษาอูรดู
  • ภาษาอูรดู (paa-săa uu-rá-duu)the Indo-Iranian language
Turkish Urduca
  • Urducathe Indo-Iranian language
Ukrainian у́рду
  • у́рду (úrdu)the Indo-Iranian language
Urdu اُرْدُو زَبان, اُرْدُو
  • اُرْدُو زَبان (urdū zabān)the Indo-Iranian language
  • اُرْدُو (urdū)the Indo-Iranian language
  • اردو (urdū)relative to the Urdu language
Vietnamese tiếng Urdu
  • tiếng Urduthe Indo-Iranian language
Welsh Wrdw
  • Wrdwthe Indo-Iranian language

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

RuudDuru
Cite this entry
APA

Urdu. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Urdu

MLA

“Urdu.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Urdu. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Urdu,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Urdu.

Source: Urdu on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.