Originally posted on Ms. Marvel: A comprehensive guide to the meaning of Urdu words and Pakistani cultural references

Learn Urdu with Annie - Embracing the cultural roots through language learning

Lo and behold, we have a Pakistani American superhero in Marvel! Why is that significant? More than 550,000 Pakistani Americans are living in the USA. Whether you or your family is from Pakistan or not, chances are that you would have met a Pakistani somewhere! Just like all other cultures, we Pakistanis are in some ways alike, yet somewhat different than the rest.

Ms. Marvel showed a Pakistani American family in all its colors. We have a teenager trying to understand her roots and beliefs while also trying to fit in. An elder brother who, with time, has become comfortable with a particular religious identity. A dad who gets excited at the marvels (no pun intended) of technology and wants to make life lighter and easier for his family. A mom who is the boss of the house and feels responsible for keeping the tiniest things in check. And a grandmother who sends over all her treasures for her grandchildren.

You might be thinking, are all Pakistani American families exactly like Ms. Marvel’s? Well, no. Just like any other culture, Pakistani culture is extremely diverse. All Pakistani families would have very different dynamics. But yes, there is one thing that is common for most Pakistanis: their language, Urdu.

And one thing Ms. Marvel is absolutely spot-on is that it shows how Urdu fits in our daily lives!

So as we rewatch Ms. Marvel first episode for the third time, we decided to put together this blog to help you understand the meaning and Pakistani cultural contexts of different Urdu words and phrases used in the series. We’ll also touch upon songs and music references that might interest you. Let’s go episode by episode and get closer to the Pakistani American culture little by little.

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Ms. Marvel Episode 1: Meaning of Urdu Words

Ammi

Oh, this word smells of paradise. Ammi means “Mom”. Although there are other names for Mom in Urdu, Ammi is the one we have heard the most around us. And yes, we call our moms Ammi too! Just like you saw in Ms. Marvel how the moms in Pakistani culture take responsibility for the tiniest things, we Pakistanis get very close to our Ammis. We call out to them if we get hurt, or sad, or scared, or literally anything and everything! So next time you prank a Pakistani and they shout “AMMIIIIIIIIII” don’t think that their mom is behind you! You are safe! We are just hardwired to calling out to our Ammis (plural of Ammi in Urdu: Ammiyaan).

Abbu

Abbu is Ammi’s other half, “dad”. Abbu is also one of the most common terms for dad, but others like “baba”, “abba”, and “baap” (usually used informally) are also very common. For ages, Abbus (plural of Abbu in Urdu: Abbu) were the ones who were the sole breadwinners of their families. So we Pakistanis remember our or someone else’s Abbu when we are talking (arguing) about the ownership of something of value. For instance, if you are fighting with a Pakistani American over who will take the last parking spot and they say, “Is this your abbu’s parking spot?” Don’t go and ask your dad for his ownership. We just mean that it’s not your parking spot.

Bismillah

Literally, it means “in the name of Allah”. As Pakistan’s population is predominantly Muslim, this word has become a very common part of Urdu as well as the Pakistani culture. We say “Bismillah” before starting anything, especially if it’s something important. It has become so embedded in Urdu that it is now used interchangeably with the word “shuru”, which means “to start”. If you are in a Pakistani household and dinner is being served. We might ask you to do Bismillah with the food. We don’t mean that you have to say Bismillah. We just want you to start eating.

Nananana hey hey… (Desi vocables)

Ever wondered why Bollywood movies have so many songs? It’s because music is a very important part of our lives! Our songs and melodies are designed to exhibit strong emotions. See Kamala’s expressions and connect with the music. The depiction of emotions in our songs is lit.

Choro jee

It means “leave it be”. Although it seems straightforward, but we don’t say choro jee very lightly. We say it when things are starting to get on our nerves. Whether we are irritated or we don’t want the other person to feel bad anymore. Choro jee is the final call for us. When we say it, leaving something be is not up for discussion. It’s over! We don’t want to talk about it anymore. So when your Pakistani American friend says choro jee to you, let them change the subject. Otherwise, things can become awkward.

Kameena kaheen ka

Let’s break this phrase into two parts: “Kameena” and “Kaheen ka”.

If you want to go into the translations, the word Kameena originates from Farsi which means “lowlife”. But don’t go into the translations. Most people who speak Urdu also don’t know what kameena exactly means. We just call anyone bothersome “kameena” in an informal setting. Fun fact, this poetic title is not limited to just people. We also call non-sentient things kameena if they bother us! So in your workplace, if the internet is not working, you might hear a Pakistani guy exclaim, “The internet is doing kameena-pun (the act of being kameena).” We just mean that the internet is bothering us.

Let’s move to “Kaheen ka”. If translated literally, it would mean “of anywhere”. So, kameena kaheen ka would mean “lowest of lowlifes anywhere”. BUT LIKE WE SAID, DON’T GO INTO THE TRANSLATIONS! We take these insults very lightly. We Pakistanis use Kaheen ka to make the insult more emotionally complete. If someone tells a single lie about us, we won’t call them “Jhoota” (meaning liar). Something would feel missing. We’ll call them “Jhoota kaheen ka”. That doesn’t mean that they are the worst liar in the whole world. It’s just that we feel better when we call them that.

Chalo

Chalo means “let’s go”. This word, you can take literally. But like all others, there is a lot more to this word than just its literal meaning. Here’s a fun fact about Urdu: In this poetic language, there are a lot of repetitions. It just feels complete that way. Sometimes, with Chalo, you’ll hear “Chalen”, which means the same thing: “let’s go”. But when we say chalo chalen our sentence just seems more complete.

Chalo is also used interchangeably with “Okay”. So when you hear a Pakistani say, “Chalo, let’s eat”. They mean, “okay, let’s eat”. They don’t want you to actually go somewhere else to eat. For this word, you may also hear “Chalo okay”. Now, this is just another example of repetition in Urdu. We are emphasizing okay by saying it twice. Once in Urdu and once in English! Pure bilingualism!

Beta

Take the word “child” and combine it with all the elderly warmth you can imagine. That’s how you get the word “beta”. For us, Pakistani ex-pats, hearing this word from an older person gives a happy feeling that reminds us of our home country, where we were surrounded by our families and loved ones.

But, all is not rosy for this word. If you say Beta to someone at the same age level as you or someone older, it would be considered derogatory. It would mean you are undermining their authority/ intelligence/decision and whatnot. So, only call someone beta when they are younger than you.

Wanna learn more about Urdu? Click here!

Naani

Naani is our ammi’s ammi: maternal grandmother. It also extends to Naani’s sisters and female cousins. All of them would be our Naani. And just cuz we are talking about it. The significant other of Naani is Naana, Ammi’s abbu: maternal grandfather. You’ll also find many cute variations of these words in the Pakistani American community. Still, mostly, people would understand what you mean when you ask them about their Naani or Naana, even if they call them something else.

Baat Pakki

Baat Pakki refers to a very important event in a desi person’s life. It’s when your and your spouse-to-be’s parents make the decision of your marriage. It’s one of the most important events in a couple’s life because, in most cases, the parents take the final decision of who you will marry. This event is the first significant milestone for a to-be-married couple, and all family joins in the celebrations. This is why you saw Naani sending stuff from thousands of kilometers away to participate in this special occasion for Aamir.

Ko Ko Korina (Song)

Ko Ko Korina is a Pakistani song from 1966 by Ahmed Rushdi. It was Pakistan’s first pop song. Even after more than half a century, whenever this song comes up, we Pakistanis greet it with huge smiles on our faces. It’s almost impossible to not sing along to its catchy music. There have been many renditions of this song, one recomposed by the song’s original composer, Sohail Rana. But we love the original! Listen to the song below and tell us how hard it is to not have this song fill up your mind!

Haaey (When Kamala wears a lot of bangles and rings)

We can argue that Haaey is probably among the most versatile words in Urdu to communicate emotions. We say haaey in shock, complaint, and pain. The length of haaey is directly proportional to the intensity of pain. Haaey is also combined with several other words to communicate other feelings.

When combined with “Aaey”, we say aaey haaey when either we really LOVE something or we are extremely disgusted by it. I know it sounds confusing, but if you just see the face of the person saying, “aaey haaey”, it’ll be crystal clear if it’s awe or disgust.

When combined with “haw”, we use haw haaey to show that something is simply unbelievable. Typically used in gossip, using this word will help you communicate your inner-most feelings of envious disbelief.

Don’t confuse it with the English “Hi”, Urdu haaey is many things but never a greeting. If someone looks at you and says, “haaey this person again?” They are not so happy to see you.

Jee – the suffix (you might have missed this one in the episode)

Jee is the suffix of respect in Urdu. Pakistanis add jee in front of other words to add respect and love to those words. Ammi/amma becomes Ammi jee/amma jee. Abbu becomes abbu jee. We sometimes also add jee to random words to add respect or formality to those words. Haan (yes) becomes haan jee. Chalo becomes chalo jee, sunen (listen) becomes sunen jee. The last one is very common between spouses, so it has a romantic vibe to it.

Kaisi hain?

It means “How are you?” directed to a female. Questions in Urdu are different for different genders. For a male, this would become Kaisay hain? These are more formal versions of how are you, but they are not reserved just for elders. We also use them when talking to someone younger than us to show love and respect for them.

Meray kapray tayyaar hain?

It means, “Are my clothes ready?” My, clothes, and ready translate to mere, kapray, and tayyaar respectively. So see, the sentence structure in Urdu is very similar to English. The difference in Urdu is that the helping verb (“hain” in this sentence) always comes at the end of the sentence.

As-salaam-u-alaikum & Walaikum salaam

This is an Islamic greeting. It means “peace be upon you”. Since Pakistan’s population is predominantly Muslim, this greeting is very much embedded in Urdu. Sometimes, you’ll see a shorter version of this greeting, like Salaam or Salaam alaikum, and Walaikum in reply. The sentiment remains the same for both.

Gora boy

This is a very impolite way of referring to a white boy. Post colonialism, people from the subcontinent held onto their negative sentiments about the conquering British. These sentiments are passed on a little bit to the current older generation. It is typically mentioned when the feeling towards that particular person is negative.

Butti kholo

It means “turn on the lights”. “Butti” means light, and “kholo” means turn on. Kholo is also one of many versatile words in Urdu. In addition to “turn on”, it also means “open”. The context of the sentence usually communicates which of these meanings is being used. If your Pakistani American friend says, “Door kholo”, they want you to open the door. If they say, “TV kholo”, they mean turn the TV on, not take the whole thing apart.

Bhaee Waah

Waah in Urdu means “wow”. But we feel that sometimes, just saying wow is not enough. So we add bhaee to make it extreme. Bhaee waah means “a massive WOW!”. Bhaee is added to other words as well to make them more intense and sometimes give them a tone of finality.

Let’s say you ask your Pakistani friend if they want to cook, and they say naheen bhaeee (naheen means “no”). It means they don’t want to cook at all and they don’t want you to ask them again. Let’s say you ask them if they want to eat, and they say haan bhaee ( haan means “yes”). It means that they definitely want to eat and don’t want you to ask them again. They are very sure about it.

Sometimes, when we Pakistanis have a lot of emotions to share but we don’t know how exactly to communicate them, say only bhaee. This is typically used when we are irritated and finding it hard to communicate that irritation. Just like haaey, the length of lone bhaee would be directly proportional to the intensity of irritation.

Haan bolo

Haan means “yes”, and bolo means “speak”. However, haan in response to calling someone over is simply an acknowledgment in response. Just like when you call someone, and they say, “Yes, what’s up?”, they don’t literally mean yes, but are just acknowledging that they heard you.

Rokna

Rokna means to stop or pause someone or something (someone or something other than yourself). Its pronunciation is very slightly different from the rukna, which has a “u” sound. When someone says rukna, they are asking you to stop. If you and your Pakistani friend are leaving the house and their parents say to you, rokna, you should stop your friend. If they say, rukna, just stop yourself and wait (they might give you a lot of food!).

As-tagh-fir-ullah

It is also an Islamic prayer, which means “I seek forgiveness from Allah”. In Pakistani culture, it is synonymous with saying that something is bad. That bad thing doesn’t necessarily have to be against Islam. For instance, if our room is a mess, our ammi will say, “Astaghfirullah, your room is such a mess!”

Chai

For a Pakistani, chai is the elixir of life. It is a South Asian variation of milk tea. In the Pakistani community, there is no particular time to drink tea. It’s usually a must-have in the morning and evening. Many people also drink chai after meals (in addition to the morning and evening chai). It’s a guaranteed way to start a good relationship. If you want to make Pakistani American friends, take a thermos of good chai and start offering people free chai. You’ll be super popular in no time!

Jin (Djinn)

These Jins are a more mysterious version of the “Genie” in English. You’ll find that many Pakistani Americans believe in Jins, regardless of their religion. We believe that Jins are another enigmatic species, just like humans. So just like we have good and bad humans, there are good and bad Jins. But since we don’t know much about them, we are generally afraid of them.

Haraam

Haraam refers to all things that are forbidden in Islam. If your Pakistani Muslim friend says something is haraam, don’t try to convince them otherwise. Either we’ll say a very long bhaeee or if we do it, we’ll feel guilty about it later on!

Bara Hulk aur Choti Hulk

It means big Hulk and little Hulk. In Urdu the adjectives change as per the subject’s gender. Masculine adjectives (for males) usually end in “aa” sound. Feminine adjectives (for females) usually end in “ee” sound. Notice that Ammi used bara (ending in “aa”) for Abbu, and choti (ending in “ee”) for Kamala.

Bachi

Bachi means daughter or female child. This is rarely used, typically only when parents talk to their daughter. Typically, it’s not advised to use this just for someone else. In those cases, use the warmth of “beta”.

Shalwaar Kameez

This is the national dress of Pakistan, worn by both males and females. Unlike popular belief, Shalwaar Kameez have as many different styles as you can imagine. The intensity of colors and brightness of Pakistani Shalwaar Kameez depends on the occasion and the person’s taste. Not to mention, it’s super comfy! Try it some time!

Bus

This is one of the most powerful words in Urdu language. Bus means “enough”. Here is a fun fact: The lower the volume when saying bus, the more grave the situation is. So don’t think that if someone is saying bus in a low voice, that means you can keep going. They really would have had enough and could burst out any moment. In Ms. Marvel, Notice how low the volume of Ammi was when she said “Bus Kamala”. That. Was. Intense.

Ye lo jee aap

Aaah, the respect in this sentence. Ye means “this”, “lo” means take, jee is the respect suffix, and aap means a very respectful “You”. It translates to “take this please” in Urdu. Notice how jee is used here to introduce respect to a very simple interaction.

Kia ker rahay ho?

It means, “What are you doing?” This one is fairly straightforward, although we loved the tone and Kamala’s expression when she saw her abbu dancing and being romantic with ammi. Ammi abbu ka chupa pyaar hai jee! (It’s mom and dad’s secret love!)

Ms. Marvel Episode 2: Meaning of Urdu Words

Allahu Akber

Allahu Akber an Arabic phrase meaning “Allah is the greatest”. In Urdu, this whole phrase is called “tukbeer”. Essentially, it is the Muslim call used in Salah (prayers), moments of joy or marvel, in the beginning of a great endeavor (marriage), and in many other religious and life events. It’s an expression of gratitude and a show of humbleness to Allah.

Jalebi Baby Song

Jalebi Baby is the new hit party song played in South Asian events and is sung by the South Asian singers. For language buffs, Jalebi is a type of deep-fried dessert in Pakistan.

A mashup of Bollywood’s famous “Jalebi Baai” and Justin Bieber’s “Yummy”, Tesher’s song produced massive waves all across North America. It’s truly a song that fits all party vibes.

Baazigar

Baazigar means “a true player”. Sometimes, also referred to someone who is so skilled that they appear to be magicians in their craft. In Ms. Marvel, Baazigar is the reference to an old Bollywood movie of Shahrukh Khan in which he takes revenge of…. Sorry not giving anymore spoilers . You can enjoy watching the movie here.

Pro Tip: Use this all-time famous dialogue from Baazigar to sound super cool in front of your Pakistani friends and to instantly win their hearts

Haar ker jeetnay waalay ko baazigar kehtay hain! (A true player is the one who wins even after he loses.)

DDLJ

This is short for “Dil Waalay Dulhaniya Lay Jaa.en gay”. A cult classic from Bollywood. This is a movie that all the romantics love to quote. Its dialogues are still as freshly remembered as when the movie was released. Especially,

Jaa Simran, jee lay apni zindagi! (Go Simran (name), live your life!)

This dialogue was so powerful that even Simran, the heroine, was also taken aback and stayed mesmerized even though she literally had a running train to catch.

Eid

Eid is the most major festival for Muslims. And again, as Pakistan has a vast Muslim majority, Eid is celebrated with as much vigor as Christmas in the Western countries. The word Eid literally means “festival”. There are two main Eids for Muslims: Eid-ul-Fiter is the Festival of breaking of the fast, and Eid-ul-Azha is the festival of the sacrifice. These are also the literal translations of both words.

Many Pakistani Americans also call Eid-ul-Fiter, the Choti Eid, which means little Eid. In this festival, Muslims give money to the poor, dress up, meet our friends and family, and eat a lot of desserts.

Similarly, we call Eid-ul-Azha, the bari Eid, which means big Eid. This is when, we sacrifice animals, give 1/3 of the meat to the poor, 1/3 to our friends, neighbors, and relatives, and keep the remaining 1/3 for ourselves. You can imagine that in this Eid, we eat a lot of meat!

On Eids, you can wish your Muslim friends, Eid Mubarak, which means “have a blessed Eid”!

Haraam dot Kamran

We Pakistanis thrive on such cute taunts! Haraam means something that’s forbidden in Islam. Since Kamran was searching for haraam things on the internet, Amir comically named him Haraam dot Kamran.

Karachi

Karachi is the metropolitan capital of Pakistan. It is the most populous, most economically active, and the most diverse city in the country. If a person is from Karachi, it does not mean that they have a specific personality. They would be a mix of a lot of different cultures that they get exposed to in the city. People from all over Pakistan come to Karachi to find work, which makes the city one of the most colorful and fun places to live in. And if you love food and you want to try everything Pakistan has to offer, Karachi is the place to go. You’ll find cuisines from all corners of Pakistan there. As a biased Karachiite, it is truly the best place to live in Pakistan Karachi to Pakistan is the same as New York City is to the United States of America.

Evil Eye

The concept of evil eye is very prevalent among Pakistanis. In its most basic sense, the evil eye is the metaphysical harm caused by bad thoughts of someone who is envious with you. Although, there are a lot of Pakistani Americans who do not believe in this concept, you’ll find that many have a very strong belief in it. To prevent evil eye, Muslims say Ma Sha Allah, which we believe automatically makes the evil eye null and void.

Zamzam

Zamzam is the holy water for Muslims. It comes from a well in Mekkah, Saudi Arabia that is highly regarded among Muslims. It is said to have cure for a lot of things. Many people keep it in their house as a blessing and as a cure for physical and metaphysical illnesses.

Ayat ul Kursi

Ayat ul Kursi literally means “the throne verse”. It is a verse in the Holy Quran that is recited by Muslims to get blessings, keep evil away from them, and give them calmth. This verse talks about the power of Allah as the One who sustains and protects everyone. It gives them peace to think about how the God is going to take care of them.

Masjid

More commonly called “Mosque” in English, Masjid is a place of worship for Muslims.

You might be curious, how an Urdu, Arabic, and Farsi word Masjid became Mosque in English. Well, Mosque is actually derived from the Spanish word Mezquita. As Islam spread to Europe, Spanish language borrowed the word Masjid from Arabic. Since Spanish doesn’t have a “J” sound, it replaced “J” in Masjid with a “k” sound represented with “qc”, which later evolved into “Q”. Now, how did the “T” at the end replaced the “D”. You’d notice how Italians pronounce Muhammad as “Mehmet”. That’s what the Romans always did when they borrowed words from other languages that have “D”.

Sorry if you were not interested in the etymology of the word “Mosque” but that’s how it came in it’s current form.

Halal (Halaal) gap

Halal (or halaal) is the opposite of Haram (or haraam). It means everything that’s allowed in Islam. For most of the Muslims, it is important to keep a little physical distance between the opposite genders. They would seriously mind if you engage in Huggies and touchy touchy. So make sure that they are comfortable with it if you want to get close. Otherwise, bro, keep the halal gap.

Mini Harami girls

Harami is someone who does haram (things that are not allowed in Islam). Mini harami girls would be those who are doing something that’s at the borderline of haram but not totally haram. So they would still be safe. But just by a tiny bit.

Ms. Marvel Episode 3: Meaning of Urdu Words

Betho

You might go to a Pakistani friend’s house and they will say betho na. Betho means to sit down or take a seat. Pakistanis are very hospitable and if they offer you a seat, you better be sure that there’s more to come. After being seated, you might be served with delicious sweets or a cup of piping hot tea. Betho has all the warmth of welcoming someone into one’s home. It speaks of hospitality and apnaaiyut (a familial sense of closeness; is the closest I can manage to translate it but there is still a lot lost in translation).

Shabaash

Imagine you passed an exam with flying colors or broke your mom’s favorite teacup, it’s very likely that will hear shabaash both times! Curious to know why? Please allow me to explain!

Shabaash is Urdu equivalent of ‘good’ or ‘well done’. You might use it to praise someone on their effort or let them know of your appreciation. However, it is used sarcastically as well which explains the teacup mishap. Just like you would use ‘good going’ or ‘great’ (perhaps accompanied with an exasperated eyeroll) in English, shabaash is exactly that word and can be used in both situations.

Noor

In the episode, you might have caught the phrase “Noor dimension”, the dimension where Kamala’s great-grandmother and her companions came from. In Urdu, noor means ‘light’. Noor has a more eloquent and poetic connotation, where one might use it to describe moonlight or ‘the light of one’s eyes’.

You may have heard of the fabled Koh-i-Noor diamond. Koh-i-Noor can be translated to the “mountain of light” or the legendary Pakistani singer Madam Noor Jahan, whose name literally means ‘light of the universe’.

Junoon

This one was explained by Kamala’s abbu himself. Junoon is passion and excitement and fervor. It is used to elicit an intense feeling, perhaps about a sport or even about one’s loved ones. Junoon can also be used to depict a feeling that might lead you to madness.

Junoon is also the name of a famous Pakistani band and if you have or would ever delve into the world of Pakistani music or cricket, you are sure to have heard the song ‘Jazba-e-Junoon’ (the feeling of passion). If you haven’t, no worries. Listen and enjoy to this upbeat classic and feel your spirits rising!

Mujnoon

Mujnoon is a person who has Junoon or is passionate. Mujnoon might sound familiar to you, does Layla and Mujnoon ring a bell? Layla and Mujnoon is the desi version of Romeo and Juliet. Poor Mujnoon might have had a different name but his passionate love for Layla left him to be forever remembered as Mujnoon! In Pakistani context too, a romantic couple is referred to as Layla Mujnoon or Layla Mujnoon ki jori meaning the couple of Layla and Mujnoon.

Ajnabi

Before the Clandestines introduced themselves to Kamala, they were ajnabi to her. And that is what they were to much of the world, different from humans, living in hiding. In Urdu, ajnabi is used for someone or something that is unknown, foreign, or a stranger. But not only Urdu, it also has the same meaning in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Somalian.

Mehndi

If you’ve ever been to a Pakistani wedding or any Eid festival, chances are you must have heard the word mehndi quite often. You’d also have heard mehndi in the many Bollywood songs! Mehndi is the heart and soul of getting ready in any desi event and there are whole events and traditions dedicated to the application of mehndi, henna paint in English. The context mehndi was used is both of the application of mehndi, where women of all ages get together to get their hands and feet decorated with this paint, with a particular scent that reminds one of wedding shenanigans and other parties; and also mehndi is an increasingly popular event in South Asian weddings, where girls get their mehndi done (of course) and afterwards everyone joins in for meticulously choreographed dance sequences, lots of dhol (drums), music, food, drinks and much much more! So if you’re ever invited to a “Mehndi event”, I would recommend to not miss it. You will have the time of your life!

Ms. Marvel Episode 4: Meaning of Urdu Words

Being born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, this episode has our heart. Ms. Marvel did justice in representing the streets of Karachi in its true sense. From the variety of transportation in the streets such as rickshaw, buses, and chin-chi in their true essence, for example, the chin-chin won’t go faster to the busy streets of the city. Saying that we enjoyed it would be an understatement for how much we loved watching it! Now in Canada (and Hadia in Germany), we were only craving that Karachi style biryani that Kamala and her cousins were enjoying by the beach hahaha.

Pichli baar

Pichli baar means “previously on” or “last time”. This phrase is used to refer to “last time” where the suffix “baar” refers to the number of times. For instance, we say, “kitni baar?” to ask “how many times”? Here, the word kitni means how many or how much. Next time, you want to remind someone of the previous meeting and refer to how much fun it was meeting last time, use this phrase, “pichli baar, it was so fun”. Or, you liked something from the last time but maybe not so much this time, you say, “pichli baar, acha tha” meaning “it was good last time”. You’d sound almost like a native, I bet. 

Plane Announcement in Urdu in Pakistan: Musaafir, tawujja fermaayen! Main aap ka kaptaan bol raha hoon. Pundra minute mein Karachi kay Jinnah international Airport per uternay waalay hain. Baraaye meherbaani, apnay hifaazati bundh ko mazbooti say baandhay rakhiyay.

This is a pro-Urdu sentence and before diving into what it means, recall the last time you were on a plane. What announcements did you hear? Let’s get to this one now. 

Musaafir means a traveler or in this case, a passenger, which means referring to all those taking this plane to fly to Karachi. If you want to know more, musaafir originates from the word safer (read: suffer) meaning a journey, and so the word musaafir literally translates to a person who is on a journey. Beautiful, isn’t it?

Tawujja fermaayen means “please pay attention”. It’s a formal way to ask someone to listen to you. Since Urdu has its roots from the Pakistani culture, the language inherits different ways of communication in formal and informal settings. The word tawujja means “attention”.

Main aap ka kaptaan bol raha hoon. This sentence translates to “I am your captain speaking”. Main means I. Aap ka kaptaan means “your captain”. Please note that kaptaan has a soft sound of “t” as opposed to the sound of “t” used in the regular English word captain. Well, we have got both soft and regular “t” sounds in Urdu. Bol raha hoon means “am speaking” where the word bol raha directly translates to speaking, and hoon meaning “am” is a helping verb in Urdu which comes at the end of the sentence. The sentence structure in Urdu is different and the verb/helping verb comes at the end of the sentence.

Wanna learn to speak Urdu? Click here!

Pundra minute mein means “in 15 minutes”. In Urdu, we do not have prepositions. Instead, as you learn Urdu, you’d notice that the prepositions become the postpositions and they would be positioned at the end of the word/phrase. Just like that, mein meaning “in” is positioned after the pundra minute.

Karachi kay Jinnah International Airport per uternay waalay hain translates to “about to reach the Jinnah International Airport of Karachi”. Looking into the sentence, Karachi kay Jinnah International Airport means “Jinnah International Airport of Karachi” where kay translates to “of”. The word per translates to “at” and is used as a postposition (as mentioned above). The last part of this sentence is the verb i.e., uternay waalay hain which means, “about to land”. Uterna means to land or to get down or to get off or to climb down. Here, hain is the helping verb “are”. While we are at this, it’d be nice to know that Jinnah International Airport is the largest international airport in Pakistan, and the only airport in Karachi. If you’re looking to travel to Pakistan, this airport would be your gateway to Pakistan.

Baraaye meherbaani is a formal way to say “please” in Urdu. 

Try and imagine yourself on an airplane while landing. What things come to your mind? Apart from the sigh of relief on reaching your destination, landings mean safety checks. Apnay hifaazati bandh translates to “your safety seat belts”. Hifaazati derives from the root ‘hifz’, which means to safekeep or preserve. This root word along with physical safekeeping of persons can also be used to mean to ‘preserve in memory’. Poetic, isn’t it?

Mazbooti literally translates to strength but it also means tightly, in which context it is used here. Baandh li jiyay means ‘to tie’ in a formal and respectful manner. 

The whole sentence means to “Please keep your safety seatbelts on”.

Taayi / Chaacha / Chaachi:

Taayi is an aunt in Urdu. Wait, wait, wait! It’s not that simple. Did you also hear the words chaacha and chaachi in that same scene? Let me explain! Since Urdu is born from the collectivistic culture, efforts and time has been spent in identifying each of the unique beautiful relations and naming them separately. So, taaya (adding for you), taayi, chaacha, and chaachi are all the relations from my dad’s side. My dad’s older brother is my taaya while my dad’s younger brother is my chaacha. Their wives, respectively, are taayi and chaachi. You recall your own taaya taayi or chaacha chaachi? How many do you have?

Churi:

Churi is a bangle in Urdu, commonly used for a glass bangle or a smaller bangle, the kind that Naani was wearing when she came to pick Kamala and Muneeba at the airport. The plural becomes churiyaan, and sometimes also called churis (like Kamala said).

Sirf keh rahi hoon:

This means “just saying” or “I am just saying”. The word sirf means “just” or “only”. If I want to say “I’m just saying”, I’d say this exact same sentence Sirf keh rahi hoon”. If I want to say “I’m saying”, just say keh rahi hoon which translates to “I’m saying”. 

Chalo aao:

The word chalo is one of the most versatile words in Urdu. Chalo is said to someone to ask them to come with you, like in the series where Naani is asking Muneeba to come with her. Chalo is said at the start of the sentence to invite them to do something, such as chalo khaalo meaning “let’s eat”. Chalo is also said as an okay, such as, chalo, ab main jaati hoon (okay, I’ll go now). Here, the person is not asking you to come with you or do something with you, they just mean it as an okay. The word aao means (you) come and is said to someone younger or in an informal setting. Together, chalo aao means, come with me.

Aao under chaltay hain:

As mentioned above, aao