Language code: ur

Technical information about ISO 639 language code ur

The table below provides technical details for the Urdu language, designated by the ur code from the ISO 639-1 standard.

Code

ur

Name

Official

Urdu

Native

اردو

Family
Indo-Aryan
Text direction

Right-to-Left

Language varieties
Dakhini (Deccani Urdu)Dhakaiya UrduKhariboli (Standard Urdu)Modern Vernacular UrduRekhta
Related languages
HindiHindustaniPunjabiSaraiki
Key facts
Written in the flowing Nastaliq calligraphic styleShares core grammar with Hindi but differs mainly in script and higher-register vocabularyClassical Urdu poetry favors forms such as the ghazal, qasida and marsiyaVocabulary is rich in Persian, Arabic and some Turkic loanwordsSystematic grammars and dictionaries were first produced at Fort William College in the early 19th century
Sample phrase

سلام، آپ کیسے ہیں؟

Character encodings

UTF-8, UTF-16, UTF-32

Supported in Localizely

Urdu belongs to the Indo-European language family, specifically to the Indo-Aryan subgroup. It is the national language and one of the official languages of Pakistan. In India, Urdu is an official language in Jammu and Kashmir, the National Capital Territory of Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand, and holds a significant presence in Telangana and West Bengal. It is primarily written using the Perso-Arabic script. It is estimated that there are between 200 and 240 million speakers worldwide.

Language presence globally

Speakers

*The graph shows a rough estimate of Urdu speakers in countries where it is an official or minority language.

Related locale codes

ur-IN Urdu (India)

ur-PK Urdu (Pakistan)

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