Read and write Urdu script (Teach Yourself)

This book is a gem if you’re serious about learning Urdu script. The layout is approachable, the pacing is manageable, and I love how it builds your confidence with small wins—suddenly you realize you can recognize whole words, not just letters. I’ve been practicing a little each day, and I’m amazed at how quickly it clicked. Pair it with some audio or YouTube pronunciation help, and you’ll be unstoppable. For anyone wanting a friendly, structured entry into Urdu writing, this is a fantastic resource.

Having prior experience in reading and writing Hindi and Punjabi, I found this book on learning the Urdu script to be more accessible, as I could infer some of the words, which in turn expedited my learning process. Working through all the exercises in the book proved to be immensely beneficial, as they reinforced my memory and deepened my understanding of the script. The author's approach to organizing chapters by clustering characters greatly simplified the learning experience, making it easier to grasp the nuances of the Urdu script. I was able to complete the book in about a month, mainly by allocating time to it on weekends, which demonstrates that it is possible to master the Urdu script in a relatively short period. Overall, the author has done an outstanding job in creating an efficient and effective guide for learning the Urdu script. Highly recommended!

Very good book to study, I open it up when I want to learn how to write the script. Although it would of been better if the book was longer and went in detail how to write the script in more steps, as well as activities. The steps given are short. Still a great book for reference

This very slim primer is clearly and simply written, with direction-enhanced diagrams to illustrate how to write each and every alphabet component of Urdu. Bad lifetime writing habits can be avoided by adhering to the instructions in this primer. The expositions on grammar are minimal; the spelling, reading and writing examples are terse but fairly comprehensive; incessant reference to this slim "volume" in the incipience can save many headaches later! The Romanisation of Urdu letters is elegant, simple and unencumbered. Using this volume, I was able to cover all 11 units in almost eleven consecutive days! The Nastaliq print font used is clear and there are surprisingly no printing mistakes or spelling errors. Having bought this book in one month, I was able to read the Urdu Bible and other Urdu literature within the same month with no unreasonable difficulty. Of course, a conversancy with spoken Hindi, Urdu or Hindustani is immeasurably helpful when deciphering the pronunciation of Urdu words, especially since Urdu is renowned for its eccentric paucity of vowel symbols, both short and long! But one learns to read and write Urdu, not to quibble about its shortcomings, but to revel in the sweetness and romance of the language which, undoubtedly, has not escaped the interest of Bollywood producers and song writers! (Note that the songs of the Hindi cinema are liberally sprinkled with Urdu words of rhyme and beauty!) Oh, what a literary revival it would be if Urdu, the lingua franca of the Mughal camp and Ghalib, were taught again in South Asian secondary schools and elsewhere. C'est la vie!

The book is so very well methodically arranged and logically explained. Have been able to learn the characters in barely a months time. Next step is to learn to join the characters. A little challenge but it is coming through. I would indeed recommend it to a beginner or even if you are familiar with the language. If you put your heart and soul in you can learn anything. Urdu is a very beautiful language with a very rich literature. Thanks.

There's not many things I've found to learn Urdu in a easy way that makes sense but, so far i'm on unit 4 of the book and I'd like to say it really does enforce the things you need to know in a very well organized book. I recommend to memorize the alphabet before one goes into this book. The book by itself is great, but honestly pairs well with the "Essential Urdu dictionary".

What a wonderful introduction to Urdu! I used it to prepare for my introductory course. When my instructor (a native speaker) spotted it, he gave it very high praise. Now if only I could find a dictionary that matched the quality of this book.

I loved the idea of a book entirely dedicated to the writing system of a particular language Unfortunately, this book shares TY general preference for printing on a low quality paper which results in dots, blots and low contrast of the print Second, I didn't find author's explanations particularly helpful. In any case I didn't find it easier to follow than the intro chapters on writing in "Teach yourself Urdu" by David Matthews. On the positive side: font larger than the minuscule deployed by TY elsewhere, and examples are the live urdu signs, film posters or ads

La maglietta è proprio quella che ho visto portare da tanti in occasione dei mondiali di calcio. E' ben fatta e onsegnata nel breve tempo previsto. Ottimo

The book is fascinating! Though I had learnt Urdu script long ago, this is the first time I have been able to understand the meaning of each dot and principles of joining the letters. Thank you.

Very thorough. I’m excited to learn

Very good for learning the script. Of course you have to keep focussed to not forget what you've learned. That's the difficult part for me. The book is perfect though. sehr gut zum Urdu Script schreiben und lesen lernen. Natürlich muss man dabei bleiben damit nichts vom Erlernten vergessen wird, Das ist der schwere Teil für mich. Das Buch ist aber perfect.

This is a very well written book! I learned so much about how to read urdu. Even though you can read arabic script urdu can be hard to handle :) - But this book is very different from other books I have read. I can highly recommend it to everybody who is studying urdu.