Facts about Urdu!

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Some English words have origins in Urdu

There are many English words that are actually Urdu words. Pajama, Cheetah, Jungle, Chutney, Tandoori, Khaki, Loot, Veranda, and the list continues. Anoushay wrote an interesting blog on English words that originated from South Asia. Give it a read here to find more interesting things!

But that is not all, there are many English words that are variations originated from Urdu. Wanna see some examples?

“Bandana” comes from the Urdu word “Baandhna”, which means to tie.

“Typhoon” is from the Urdu word “Toofan”, which means a storm.

“Bangalow” is a variation of Urdu word “Bangla”, which means a house.

“Chit” is a shortened version of Urdu word “Chit’thi”, which means a letter.

Even “Shampoo” originated from the an old Urdu word “Champoo”, which means to rub.

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It will be interesting to know that former Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh cannot read Hindi. All the speeches he had given in Hindi were written in Urdu so that he could read them. Although he could speak Hindi, he did not learn how to read it. If any speech was in Hindi, he needed time to practice it. There are reports that the first speech he gave in Hindi needed three days of practice.

In numerous videos of his speeches where he was speaking in Hindi, once can notice that the speech was in fact written in Urdu so that he can read it.

Dr Singh was proficient in Urdu and hence his speeches in Hindi were written in Urdu script.

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