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Asking for a room, a key and a price, and the reason an Urdu question ends with the word an English one starts with.

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What you'll cover

دکان میں 🛍️

You already know one thing about how Urdu builds a sentence: the little words come **after** the noun, not before it. ہوٹل میں (hotel mein) is *hotel in*. This module gives you the rest of that idea, and the vocabulary to buy something with it. Every word is shown three ways: the **Urdu script**, a **transliteration** in brackets to help you say it, and the **English**.

Key words 🗂️

Five words a traveller needs, plus two you can already read: **ٹکٹ (ticket)** and **بازار (bazaar)** mean exactly what they sound like, so they are worth knowing but not worth testing.

Match each word to its meaning

  • پیسے (paise)
  • کمرہ (kamra)
  • چابی (chaabi)
  • دکان (dukaan)
  • money
  • room
  • key
  • shop

The word that comes last 🔚

**ہے (hai)** is the Urdu for "is", and it goes at the **end** of the sentence. English asks *Where **is** the key?* and puts its verb near the front. Urdu asks **چابی کہاں ہے؟ (chaabi kahan hai?)**, which is, word for word, *key where is?* That is the same idea you already met with ہوٹل میں. The little words follow the noun, and ہے follows everything. **Urdu ends where English begins.**

What is being asked? 🔑

At the hotel desk you say: چابی کہاں ہے؟ (chaabi kahan hai?) What have you asked?

  • Where is the key?
  • This is the key
  • I would like a key
  • Whose key is this?

The rule 📝

The Urdu word for "is" is _____, and it goes at the _____ of the sentence. So "Where is the key?" becomes _____, which word for word is _____. Little words like میں (mein) also come _____ the noun rather than in front of it.

ہے (hai) end چابی کہاں ہے؟ key where is? after start before کہاں (kahan)

The same sentence, back to front ↔️

Read each pair across. The Urdu is not a jumbled English sentence; it is a consistent order, and once you expect ہے at the end you can hear where a sentence stops.

Build the sentence 🧱

An interactive activity.

Which are right? ✅

Select the TWO that follow Urdu word order.

  • کمرہ خالی ہے۔ for "The room is free."
  • دکان میں for "in the shop"
  • ہے کمرہ خالی۔ for "The room is free."
  • میں دکان for "in the shop"

ہوٹل میں 🧭

An interactive activity.

The summary 🖊️

Money is _____ and a shop is _____. A room that is not taken is _____. To ask where something is you use _____ and finish the sentence with ہے. The whole habit to build is that Urdu puts its "is" at the _____ of the sentence.

پیسے (paise) دکان (dukaan) خالی (khaali) کہاں (kahan) end چابی (chaabi) کمرہ (kamra) start

Your turn ✍️

An interactive activity.