Learn Urdu Through Topics You Actually Care About

LingoBear creates short Urdu passages on topics you choose. Tap any word for an instant English translation and build your vocabulary as you read. Indo-Aryan language, written right-to-left in the Nastaliq style of the Perso-Arabic alphabet (39 letters), Persian and Arabic loanwords, ~230M speakers including L2.

Tap any word for instant translation

Every word in your Urdu reading passage is clickable. Get English translations and grammar help as you read flowing Nastaliq script.

Read about topics you choose

Type any topic and LingoBear generates a fresh Urdu reading passage — from Mirza Ghalib's ghazals to Karachi traffic stories.

Are Urdu and Hindi the same language?

Spoken Urdu and Hindi — together called Hindustani — share an Indo-Aryan grammar and core vocabulary, so casual conversation is mutually intelligible. The differences are mostly in script (Perso-Arabic Nastaliq vs Devanagari), high-register vocabulary (Persian and Arabic for Urdu, Sanskrit for Hindi), and cultural usage. Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and one of India's scheduled languages.

What's distinctive about Urdu's writing system?

Urdu is written right-to-left in a calligraphic version of the Perso-Arabic alphabet called Nastaliq, slanted from top-right to bottom-left. The alphabet has 39 base letters including Indic-specific retroflexes (ٹ, ڈ, ڑ) and aspirated consonants made with دو چشمی ہے (ھ). Short vowels are unwritten in everyday text. Computer Nastaliq fonts like Jameel Noori Nastaleeq have made digital publishing widespread since the 2000s.