Despite growing up in Pakistan, my Urdu sucked for the longest time. I've added more context below if you'd like to have more context around my journey. But I'd like to jump straight into what to do to improve your Urdu. This will be helpful whether you are a beginner, a heritage speaker, a native speaker with limited capabilities. If you'd like to improve your Urdu in any way, I hope you'll find this post helpful.

But before that:

Why you should listen to me

Because I improved my Urdu from failing in my Urdu classes to writing a few short stories in Urdu. And they were good enough to make my Urdudan uncle praise one of them, one of them highly and the other ones normally. And I've learnt a few other languages. I speak French and Spanish fluently, and am en route to that with Chinese and Arabic. So, my advice can help you improve in your journey as well.

Overall thoughts

You need motivation, time, and shamelessness (aka you need to be ok with making mistakes). Read the bare minimum required for more details. Also become familiar with the concept of extensive reading. I'm partial to reading because it's the fastest way to improve, but focus on what you find enjoyable, whatever that may be (tv shows, music, live conversation, cartoons, classes, etc.).

You need to spend 3h a week, at least, to see decent results within 3 months or less. Took me 2 weeks to quadruple my reading speed in Urdu. But any amount of time, if it is consistent, will get results. How slow or how fast depends on you.

I will keep adding links to this post. If you love a particular resource or a strategy, I would love to add to this list. Please let me know via email or twitter!

Last updated December 26, 2023.

If you are a total beginner

• Learn to read and write the alphabet (Aamozish, who are also on youtube). Practice.

• Get khushkhati practice books random example and do the bare minimum, just to get used to the shapes and how to write. You can progress in this later (or right away if you are into calligraphy etc.). It's thereapeutic and relaxing. But not necessary.

• Start with a few basic courses. Youtube has some for free. Ideally, take a few live lessons. Italki has some great teachers. Pretty cheap, too. Work through a textbook. There's a few apps including Mango Languages which is paid but free through many libraries, Ling, and Mondly. UrduPod101 has an extensive (and cheap) video course.

• Start reading books as soon as you can. Find basic basic basic childrens books (NYU) and read those. Drop roman urdu first chance you get and consume Urdu content at your level. You can also use books used in schools for Urdu. The Indian board (NCERT) has online books for grades 1-12 which seem excellent.

• Find Urdu-speaking friends. Chances are, they would love love love to help you on your journey. Don't overwhelm one person, but rather have a network of friends you can ask for pronunciation advice, grammar advice, and basic chit chat.

• Get excited, your life is about to become more beautiful with more Urdu in it.

If you are a heritage speaker but can't read or write

You can understand Urdu when someone talks to you but you have difficulty in forming sentences or joining thoughts. Your grammar is weak and your pronunciation is accented.

• Learn to read and write the alphabet (Aamozish, who are also on youtube). Practice.
• Get khushkhati practice books random example. Your writing will improve very quickly.
• Ask your family to stop mocking you. Tell them their attitude is unhelpful. Also, grow a thick skin.
• Ask your family to support your learning journey. They can support you by serving as walking talking dictionaries as you read out loud. They can provide (kind) feedback on your pronunciation.
• Start reading basic Urdu books. You probably already have an excellent, if one-way, understanding of grammar and vocabulary. Build on it with basic books. Read 15 minutes a day, ideally out loud with a fluent speaker to help you never have to stop and look up a word. Reading suggestion (with links) above (NYU, NCERT, others)
• Start writing in Urdu. Write by hand and write on your computer / cell. Use voice input. Send texts in Urdu.
• Do not try to remember every word you don't know. Ask its meaning, understand the context, move on. Only make an effort to remember a word if you see it frequently.
• Once you get better, start with graded reading. Read childrens booksNYU Urdu has some decent ones. Read Naunehal. Read Imran Series. Read religious media (ideally stuff you know already e.g., stories of the Sahaba etc.).
• Start watching dramas (I liked Chupke Chupke). Mirror short pieces of dialogue.
• Start watching videos (Wild lens by Abrar is great). Mirror short pieces of dialogue.
• Start watching religious sermons in Urdu. Speakers in this context speak very slowly, clearly, and have a good sense of timing. Also, their content is relatively straightforward and repetitive.
• Do language exchanges (English/Urdu etc.). It helps when you can help others with their challenges, you become more accepting of help and able to make mistakes since you know 30 minutes later it'll be the other person embarassing themselves. Embrace the embarassment.

If you are a Pakistani who has studied in English-medium schools all your life and have weak Urdu capabilities

You probably (hopefully) don't have an accent but have a relatively limited vocabulary. You can honestly improve in a very short period of time since your grammar and pronunciation is probably excellent.

• (if your writing sucks) Get khushkhati practice books and do a few. Your writing will improve very quickly.
• Read more in Urdu. Read Naunehal (3-4 issues) and improve your reading speed. Read Imran series. Read Shafiq-ur-Rehman's short stories. Read newspapers. Read religious media (it's generally simple and repetitive).
• Start writing in Urdu (both type and handwrite). Keep a diary. Blog about your day. Write detailed essays. Summarize what you've read. Write about niche topics that you know a lot about e.g., the Liberation of Berlin, the rise and fall of the Delhi Sultanate, the Indus Water Treaty, the recurring theme of water with Hz. Musa, etc. Read it out loud to your parents. Share in Urdu forums.
• Start engaging only in Urdu on certain days. Send texts in Urdu. Send emails in Urdu. Use Android etc. for voice input.

If you can write, read Urdu ok but you want to go deeper

Your Urdu is pretty good, you can express yourself well in general contexts, you understand difficult vocabulary within context, but have difficulties in niche subject areas.

• Read more in Urdu. Read opinion columnists. Read more complicated books than your typical fare. Read Mushtaq Ahmed Yufusfi. Read Khutoot-e-Ghalib. Read Raja Gidh. Read Manto. Keep reading.
• Read Urdu poetry. Start with the easier ones. Ahmed Faraz is easier than Iqbal.
• Write more in Urdu. Write opinion columns. Write short stories. Experiment with themes, motifs, and structures.
• Produce media content in Urdu.

Communities and resources

• Reddit Urdu
• Reddit user u/Snoo_10182's resource guide

My story

I grew up in Pakistan and went to an English-medium school. My Urdu is thankfully accentless, but honestly, my Urdu capabilities were very very limited for the longest time. I would regularly fail my Urdu exams in grade school. Stupid younger me thought that was smart - Urdu was dumb, English was where it was at.

And my English became excellent. And I was repeatedly told how smart I was, how excellent my vocabulary was, and what an excellent future awaited me. And my poor Urdu was just laughed off, or just gently mocked. This gentle mockery paled in comparison to the hell visited upon those who made mistakes in English. There was even talk of a fine jar in place to collect the penalties if you even used Urdu in the school. Or you may get scarlet letter'd (recent story Urdu English).

But back to my Urdu. It sucked. It took me forever to read a page in Urdu. In approximately the same time, I'd have finished a chapter or two in English. And as my English improved, Urdu's appeal became fainter and fainter.

I'm not sure how, but sometime in grade 9 I just... changed. I just woke up. I heard some ghazals that touched my soul. I got goosebumps as the imam recited Shikwa Jawab e Shikwa in a khutba. I cursed my past self for ignoring my family's suggestions, for blithely tossing aside my sister's trove of Urdu books, for arrogantly thinking if I just spoke English I'd be a global citizen and that's all I need to be.

I began to see the beauty in our speech, in our langauge, in our stories. And it truly is beautiful! And it is mine. Mine in a way that English, or French, or Spanish, or Chinese, or whatever, can never be. It's mine. It's where I came from. It's how I swear. It's how I joke. It's how I talk to God. It's how my mom put me to sleep. It's how I connect with my family, with my history, with my country, with my heritage. It's me.

So I improved it. You can, too. Inshallah.