Essential Urdu Dictionary: Learn Urdu with Teach Yourself

I have always had broken urdu & seem to middle up my urdu & Punjabi. This clear & concise book covers all the most used urdu temrminolgy & best thing about it It's well constructed & organised in an easy to learm fashion. I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn Urdu or would like to brush up on their urdu.

The most useful dictionary for a non-Urdu speaking English speaker I have found to date

I have many Urdu dictionary but this one is the best. It has a lot of examples so straight a way you can learn new useful sentences. Only small minus for 3 pages with body parts, time.... it is lame not enough information better if that part wouldn't be there or be bigger (more useful one)Still in my opinion for start this is the best position now.

Unfortunately as other reviews have mentioned this dictionary does have a few discrepancies with some of the words. Some of these words are either plain wrong or originate from a different language (Hindi). Overall if you are just starting out and need a reference, this will guide you well and should be used to supplement your knowledge of the language. In order to gain mastery in the subject you must not rely on one source and the book cannot be faulted. Other avenues such as publications and news should be read to supplement your learning to get a true essence from this dictionary.

I'm a French student of Urdu and I'm studying with David Matthews and Mohamed Kasim Dalvi's excellent Complete Urdu. This long awaited dictionary is the perfect tool to accompany the course and in my humble opinion, every serious Urdu learner should get it. Highly recommended!

Very useful to learn all the necessary Urdu vocabulary. A good complement to Teach Yourself Urdu.

Very useful dictoinary

Upon searching for an Urdu dictionary on Amazon, this 'book' which one would not hasten to call a dictionary came up as a suggestion and not having the option to look inside this book as you have with some books and dictionaries on Amazon a somewhat hesitant purchase was made on the basis of the few promising reviews and with the thought that anyone putting their name to what they have called a dictionary will have undertaken sufficient research and collated a somewhat robust piece of work.Without doubt, there is the issue of Hindi and Urdu being somewhat similar at a very basic level therefore lending themselves to each other however it is for this very reason that anyone compiling an Urdu or Hindi dictionary for that matter owes it to their audience to ensure that these nuances are picked up and in the very least highlighted to the reader to inform their understanding of the languages. The author here makes no such attempt.Being that i exams in 3 days time, time unfortunately disallows one from delving deep into a thorough review of this book yet wanting to ensure that those buying it to supplement their study of the language have an objective view to the reviews that lend 4 and 5 stars to it, for which reason I have taken a handful of examples of errors in this book as per below:1. p52 - Sama (Shama) = candle - this is the correct definition however on p. 80 - mombati = candle, mombati is a Hindi and not Urdu word. Shama in Hindi means to forgive2. p52. Shamsheer = sword - this is the correct definition however on p. 193 - talvar = sword, talvar is a Hindi and not Urdu word3. p88. thigh = pair - this is incorrect. Thigh in Urdu is ران4. p88. matha = forehead - this is incorrect, matha is a Hindi word, the corresponding Urdu word for forehead is پیشانیor جبین5. p156. mean = matlabi - this is an incorrect use of a word which is used appropriately in both Hindi and Urdu. If the reference to the word mean is as an adjective which seams to be the case then the appropriate word is بخیل6. p53. sanam = beloved - sanam is a Hindi and not Urdu word in this context though in it's correct context sanam means idol. the correct Urdu word for beloved is محبوب7. p122. emblem = nishaan - this is incorrect, the correct word is علامت on p155. mark = nishaan, p82. Nishan = mark - this is correct usage of the word.The back cover of this book claims the following:1. Key words to understand the news, poetry, films and songSuggestion: watch an Urdu news channel instead like GEO or Indian films like Pakeezah, Mere Huzoor, Laila Majnu or Pakistani drama serials like Humsafar, Bin Roye, Dil Lagi to appreciate the language though to appreciate the purity and essence as well as delve deep into classical Urdu watch Ertugrul a Turkish drama dubbed in Urdu, the level of Urdu spoken is far more superior than any of the above films and dramas mentioned.2. Insights into Urdu cultureSuggestion: Read Urdu poetry by the classics Iqbal, Ghalib, Meer or the more modern by Parveen ShakirThe information on the back cover suggests that the author has a PhD in Urdu and has translated various works as well as provided there expertise on curriculum, teaching and assessment materials which suggests that their knowledge of the language ought to be far more robust than that of a Urdu GCSE and A Level student.Conclusion - this is not a reference to rely on when studying Urdu especially at an academic level or to pursue a career which is reliant on the use of pure (khaalis) Urdu however, if the purpose is to learn Urdu to make basic conversation, travel in India/Pakistan, order food, buy groceries etc then this book will suffice to a certain extent as it's slim 210 pages attest to provide a reference of the language with pp.1-95 being Urdu into English and pp. 96-210 being vice versa - of a surety, Urdu vocabulary is far extensive than the boundaries of this book.This book is not for Students of Urdu pursuing learning of the language for academic purposes or to appreciate Urdu in it's purest undiluted form.