What is the best way to learn Urdu?

Why learn Urdu?

Urdu is a mellifluous young language born in north India, probably somewhere in the Punjab region, a few hundred years ago. Some experts claim that Guru Nanak - the first Sikh Guru - had a big role in the birth and development of the language.

Unsurprisingly, north Indians, specially Punjabis and people who associate themselves with the 'Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb', have a deep connection with the language. Even today, a fairly large number of people are interested in Urdu 'Shaayari', 'Ghazals', 'Qawallis' etc. which draws them to learning the language to better comprehend the literature, poetry, songs etc.

You might want to learn Urdu because of similar reasons, or because of a completely different reason - but it has to be a strong reason - it isn't particularly easy to learn a new language.

For me, the primary motivation was to be able to comprehend Sikh scriptures better. I wanted to be able to read them directly, instead of using translations/transliterations - the way Guru Nanak desired.

How difficult is it to learn Urdu?

It depends. Learning a language involves three major aspects: learning the script, learning grammar, and developing vocabulary.

Learning the Script: Urdu uses an adapted form of the Perso-Arabic script (also used for Shahmukhi). So, if you have prior exposure to Persian or Arabic it shouldn't be very difficult, otherwise, this is where most people give up. It can be extremely difficult to learn yourself...

imagine a script having multiple symbols for the same sound, and you having to use the right one based on the origin of the word.
imagine a script where the symbols morph into shapes very unlike themselves based on context. Welcome to the world of Urdu!

Learning the Grammar: If you know Hindi, Punjabi or any other Indo-Aryan languages you should be able to comprehend the grammar fairly easily. Otherwise, you might need to put in some effort to comprehend it better.
Developing Vocabulary: Again, if you know one of the Indo-Aryan languages you would be able to comprehend some words due to an overlap. But, the commonly held notion that Urdu and Hindi share 80-90% of the vocabulary is wrong. There is still a lot you need to cover. Especially, if you intend to delve into the literary arts - where a single word can completely change the meaning of everything.

Overall, it is a difficult language to learn. But slightly easier for speakers of Indo-Aryan languages.

How should I learn Urdu?

Here I share some tips based on my personal experience. I am still learning, but I have come far from where I started. And, for sure, if nothing else - I have learnt how to learn this language.

Learning the Script:

For learning the script, I would suggest you to start with the Aamozish site by Rekhta. The way they teach the script is the best I have seen - explaining the complexities at the right level of detail.
For practicing you can use Part 1 of the study material of IGNOU's certificate program in Urdu which you can download free from here.
For practicing even further, you can use the NCERT book for Class 1 which you can download from here.

Learning the Grammar:

For this the best way (not the fastest) is to go through the junior school syllabus for Urdu - the NCERT books can be downloaded free of cost from here.

Developing Vocabulary: As with any other language developing vocabulary is all about practice, practice and practice - read, read and read.

You can use the senior school syllabus for Urdu - the NCERT books can be downloaded free of cost from here.
After you are done, you can jump to Part 2 of the study material of IGNOU's certificate program in Urdu which you can download free from here.
Once you are done with the above two you can jump to literature. You can access various books in Urdu at the Rekhta site. The reason why I suggested (a) and (b) before this is because those two would help you to comprehend the advanced level complexities like grammatical intricacies much better.

In case you are getting confused, here are the steps:

Learn script from Aamozish, then practice it
Start learning the basics of grammar from junior class NCERT books
Move to developing vocabulary and advanced grammar.

You might need a dictionary, there are a numerous apps - I majorly used Google Translate and the Rekhta dictionary.

With this I hope you are ready to start learning this beautiful language!

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Hope this article was useful! Please share your reactions, including any better methods you are aware of, in comments below.

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