Read and Write Urdu Script: Teach Yourself

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.

I am learning Urdu as a complete beginner (disclaimer: I can speak Punjabi adequately so am familiar with a lot of the words). I have always wanted to learn it, so thought lockdown would be a good opportunity to do so. So far I am finding this book really good; I can tell it has been written by a teacher. I must say that I am using this alongside the Teach Yourself Complete Urdu book too and dip in and out of both. I started by memorising the entire alphabet properly which is covered in the introduction section before moving on. What I like about the book is that each chapter is short and covers how to use a set of 4 characters from the alphabet; you then build on what you've learned in the chapters that follow. There is a separate chapter for vowel sounds. The explanations are really clear and there are good exercises to test yourself at the end of each chapter (I have found them to be challenging which is good for me personally as I want to push myself). I am only a third of the way through the book right now, but plan to finish it in the next few months as I am going through it quite methodically, making notes and flashcards. This is a short book (only about 120 pages), but I think it is enough to get a total novice started adequately. Also, unlike the Complete Urdu series, the urdu script is actually legible in this book. I must say that I am not finding learning Urdu easy; it is challenging to have to think and write from right to left. However, this book is definitely making it easier because it isn't too overwhelming and things are broken down into bitesize chunks. I try to spend at least 30 mins a day doing something to aide my learning (e.g. reading words, practicing writing the alphabet/basic words) and have found this is helping me progress quicker. Once you memorise the alphabet, you need to understand how to put it together to make words- the latter is the challenging bit!

Nice and easy to read!

VERY VERY GOOD

If you're like me and have a visual impairment the print quality of these Teach Yourself is not helpful but they are cheap(ish).

so nice, I love it so much

I am from India and saw this book on a shelf in a bookstore in Bangalore. I was always interested in learning the Urdu script but never knew how to. I bought the book and within 10 days I had learnt the script. After that it was merely a matter of practising reading and writing. It has been 11 years since then and I have read dozens of Urdu books and feel comfortable with the language to such and extent that I can call it my second mother tongue.

Being a native Hindi speaker and aware of the similarities between the two languages, I was keen to find a book that taught the Nasta'likh script used to write Urdu minus other information on grammar, conversation, etc. This book is truly well worth it (and very reasonably priced too!). After an enthusiastic start, I wondered if it would have been better had the different series of the Urdu alphabet been clubbed together as I'd seen in other books. However, in retrospect, the approach taken by this author was quite clever. Some alphabets were/are naturally difficult to master but this layout doesn't give you the feeling you're going no where. And that is because almost every subsequent chapter contains letters that a previous chapter has already done the ground work for. This made it easier to progress without feeling like putting down the book for "later." I do agree, however, that a larger font might be useful for future editions. But regardless of that tiny (constructive) criticism, I'd definitely recommend buying a copy of this book if you fancy learning the Urdu script! It truly gives you enough grounding to begin to read newspapers, signboards, etc. (at a snail's place at first!) before heading on to more challenging projects.

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

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.

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.