This guide adapts rules and examples from Microsoft’s Localization Style Guide for Urdu (originally written for software/UI localization). The underlying linguistic rules apply universally — to legal contracts, medical documents, marketing copy, and any Urdu translation work. Restructured and reformatted as a general Urdu translator reference by ChatsControl.

Urdu Translation Style Guide — Voice, Word Choice & Common Pitfalls (Legal, Medical, Marketing, IT)¶

TL;DR¶

• Address Urdu readers with آپ (aap, respectful you, plural verb form) across all consumer content; avoid singular informal تو / تم unless explicit casual context.
• Replace overly classical/Persian-influenced vocabulary with modern Urdu: کیجیے → کریں (verb endings); تشریف لے جائیے → جائیں (go); تشریف نصب فرمائیے → انسٹال کریں (install); طبع نازک پر گراں نہ گزرے → آپ کو برا نہ لگے (if you don’t mind).
• Use small dash ۔ (Urdu period) at end of sentences, not English full stop; Urdu comma ، (not Latin comma); read right-to-left (RTL) — placeholder positions need RTL-aware handling.
• Avoid gendered pronouns and gendered verb endings in generic references — use respectful آپ (which doesn’t carry gender) or plural forms; mixing masculine/feminine inflection consistently is one of the hardest Urdu translation skills.
• Product names stay in Latin script untranslated (Microsoft, Windows, Azure); commonly used acronyms (RAM, ANSI) follow Latin in Urdu sentence with native Urdu translation in parentheses on first use (مَیم); measurement units (KB, MB, GB) stay in Latin without translation.

Register and tone for Urdu translation¶

Modern Urdu readers expect a register that is clear, friendly, and concise across consumer-facing content. The general style should resemble everyday conversation, not the formal classical Urdu (with Persian and Arabic loans) often used for technical and commercial content.

Three guiding principles:

• Warm and relaxed. Natural, less formal, grounded in honest conversation.
• Crisp and clear. Written for scanning first, reading second. Simplicity above all.
• Ready to help. Anticipate user needs and offer the right information at the right moment.

General guidelines:

• Write short, easy-to-read sentences.
• Avoid passive voice — difficult to read and understand quickly.
• Be pleasant; ensure explanations appear individualized and enjoyable.
• Avoid slang; be careful with colloquialisms — reassuring/conversational is fine, but stay professional.

Brand and product names¶

• Avoid overuse of company/brand or product names (or logos).
• Refer to Microsoft names correctly when you use them — don’t wing it.
• Avoid the corporate “we” (Microsoft announces…, We’re proud to introduce…, We want you to know). Keep focus on “you” — the reader.

Why this matters: Classical Urdu with heavy Persian-Arabic vocabulary signals bureaucratic distance to modern readers. In marketing copy it kills engagement. In patient-facing medical materials it reduces comprehension and compliance. In software UI it creates friction. In consumer-facing legal documents (terms of service, privacy notices) plain Urdu is increasingly expected. Sworn legal translation and traditional documents retain formal register.

Word choice: shortened forms and everyday Urdu¶

Urdu doesn’t have a productive abbreviation/acronym-forming trend. Short word forms common in English (app, info) are not used in Urdu. English abbreviations or acronyms are mostly transliterated, or the Urdu equivalents of the full words are provided:

Use approved terminology for key terms, technical terms, and product names.

Words and phrases to avoid in Urdu¶

Classical/Persian-influenced vocabulary should be replaced with modern conversational forms:

Why this matters: These classical forms appear in legal templates and government documents out of institutional habit but feel stiff and bureaucratic in modern consumer products, patient-facing medical materials, brand-led marketing, and user-friendly software. The replacement column reads as everyday natural Urdu.

Sample voice usage¶

Addressing the user to take action¶

Promoting a feature¶

Providing how-to guidelines¶

Explanatory text and providing support¶

Inclusive language¶

Use plain language. Be mindful of politically disputed cities and countries. Represent diverse perspectives. Don’t generalize or stereotype. Don’t use profane or derogatory terms.

Avoid gender bias¶

Use gender-neutral alternatives. Avoid compounds containing gender-specific terms (مذکر، مؤنث).

When presenting generalization, use plural noun forms (افراد, گول, طلباء).

Don’t use gendered pronouns (مرد, عورت, لڑکا, لڑکی) in generic references. Instead:

• Rewrite to use second or third person (آپ or کوئی).
• Rewrite with plural noun and pronoun.
• Refer to person’s role (قاری reader, گاہک customer, کلائنٹ client).
• Use شخص (person) or proper neutral noun.

Accessibility¶

Focus on people, not disabilities. Don’t use words that imply pity (ٹوٹے ہوئے اعضاء / اندھا / بہرا / لنگڑا / تکلیف دہ / بیمار). Don’t mention a disability unless relevant.

Keep paragraphs short. Spell out words like اور، مزید، اور کے بارے میں. Screen readers misread special characters like &, +, ~.

Language-specific standards¶

Acronyms¶

Acronyms are not common in Urdu. Western acronyms are sometimes transliterated (OPEC → اوپیک).

Microsoft style: If acronym is not well-known or difficult to understand in English, keep it as-is in Latin followed by Urdu translation in parentheses on first use (RAM followed by ریم in parens). This introduces the term and gives users time to learn it.

Measurement acronyms (b for Bit, B for Byte, KB, MB, GB) stay as-is without parenthetical translation:

Leave a non-breaking space (Ctrl+Shift+Space) between number and measurement.

Unlocalized acronyms. Some acronyms remain in English when (1) well-established as English standard, or (2) transliteration would produce an unacceptable Urdu word. For documentation, present in English with full spelling: ANSI (American National Standards Institute). In UI dialogs/menus where space is constrained, use English acronym only.

Adjectives¶

General wording rules. Adjectives are also considered nouns.

Possessive adjectives. English uses them frequently; Urdu handles them generally:

Conjunctions¶

Use conjunctions to convey informal conversational tone:

Gender¶

Urdu has two grammatical genders — masculine مذکر and feminine مؤنث. Adjectives, verbs, and nouns inflect for gender.

General rule (with exceptions): nouns ending in “aa” (آ) are usually masculine; nouns ending in “ee” (ی) are usually feminine.

Urdu is a creole borrowing from Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and English — plenty of exceptions exist:

Localizing colloquialism, idioms, and metaphors¶

Don’t replace source colloquialism with Urdu one unless perfect natural fit. Translate intended meaning when integral. Omit if possible without affecting meaning.

Nouns¶

When integrating English loanwords into Urdu noun classes, consider:

• Motivation: Does the English word have formally motivated features for integration?
• Analogy: Is there an equivalent Urdu term whose class could be used?
• Frequency: What class is the term used in technical documentation?

English loanword plurals:

Inflection. Nouns in Urdu are not inflected and are never pluralized after a plural number. Example: book–software–tools.

Plural formation. Singulars are also used as plural. Common plural forms: تات, یاں, وں — e.g., اخبارات, اخباریں, اخباروں.

Prepositions¶

Pay attention to correct preposition use. Don’t omit prepositions or change word order under English influence.

Pronouns¶

Standard Urdu pronouns:

• وہ (vo) — he/she/it (also “they” as respectful singular)
• تو (tu) — singular informal you
• تم (tum) — familiar you
• آپ (aap) — respectful you (and respectful “they”)
• میں (main) — I
• ہم (hum) — we

Punctuation¶

Small dash ۔ (Urdu period). Used at end of sentences. Urdu does not use the English full stop (.):

• پاس ورڈ داخل کریں مسل کھولنے کے لیے۔

Bulleted lists. Used like in English. Place bullet symbol (•) at start of line followed by space or tab, then Urdu sentence.

Comma ، (Urdu comma, U+060C). Used to separate words, bring pauses:

• احمد، محمود، قاسم

Colon (:). Used to show following list or names in order:

• مندرجہ ذیل کریں:

Don’t use colons in middle of sentence when verb is still to come at end:

Dashes and hyphens — three types:

• En dash (–). Used as minus sign with number: -359 → ۳۵۹-. Also used in number ranges; in Urdu, ات (to) is preferred over en dash. 8 am–6 pm → 8 ب.د تا 6 ق.د (not 8 ب.د-6 ق.د).
• Em dash. NOT applicable in Urdu.

Ellipsis. Follow English; no set rules; rarely used in Urdu.

Period. As decimal separator: Urdu uses hamza ء with Urdu digits, period (.) with English digits in Urdu text:

Quotation marks. As in English source. Example: قائد اعظم نے ایک پیغام دیا۔ “ایمان، اتحاد، تنظیم۔”

Parentheses. No space between parentheses and inner text:

Sentence fragments¶

Convey conversational tone. Use when possible:

Verbs¶

Use simple tenses for clarity. Avoid future tense unless really happening in future. Use simple past for events already happened. Be consistent in translating verbs in error messages.

Continuous operations in English (gerund) should be translated into Urdu.

Localization considerations¶

Applications, products, and features¶

Product/application names usually trademarked and rarely translated. Feature names may also be trademarked (IntelliSense).

Version numbers. Always contain a period: Version 4.2 → ورژن 4.2. The period should not be replaced with a dash in Urdu.

Translation of version strings. Copyright info must always be translated. Check Microsoft Terminology for correct Urdu translations of “All rights reserved” and “Microsoft Corporation”.

Error messages¶

Use natural-sounding, empathetic, non-robotic style.

Standardize standard phrases (use present tense in translations):

Placeholders. %d, %ld, %u, %lu mean numbers; %c means letter; %s means string. Same procedure as English may be followed for Urdu.

Keys¶

Key names appearing on keyboard should not be translated:

Keyboard shortcuts¶

Try to avoid characters produced with more than one keystroke (Shift + key) as shortcuts: ء، ژ، آ. Characters with downstrokes (g, j, y, p, q) are not first choice — used only when other characters unavailable. Extended characters not allowed as shortcuts.

Shortcut keys (selected)¶

Standard Urdu command translations:

• Help window F1 → مدد دریچہ
• Cancel Esc → منسوخ
• Alt+Tab Switch to next primary application → اگلی ابتدائی ایپلیکیشن پر سوئچ
• Alt+F4 Close active application window → فعال ایپلیکیشن ونڈو بند کریں
• Ctrl+N File New → نئی فائل
• Ctrl+O File Open → فائل کھولیں
• Ctrl+S File Save → فائل محفوظ
• Ctrl+P File Print → فائل چھاپیں
• Ctrl+Z Edit Undo → ترمیم کالعدم
• Ctrl+X Edit Cut → ترمیم کاٹیں
• Ctrl+C Edit Copy → ترمیم کاپی کریں
• Ctrl+V Edit Paste → ترمیم پیسٹ کریں
• Ctrl+F Edit Find → ترمیم ڈھونڈیں
• Ctrl+I Italic → اٹالک
• Ctrl+G Bold → جلی
• Ctrl+U Underlined → کشیدہ خط / حرف کشیدہ خط

Voice video considerations¶

For voice-over: English terms and product names left unlocalized are pronounced as English. In Urdu, English words are always pronounced with US English accent — maintain consistency, don’t use UK accents.

URLs: drop http://, read the rest entirely. www pronounced as WWW. The dot can be omitted or read out (English way).

Use a tone matching the audience — informal/playful for products/games, formal/factual for technical content.

Reference materials: authoritative Urdu sources¶

Reference material:

1. National Urdu English Dictionary by Dr. Jamil Jalibi, Muqtadira Qaumi Zaban, Islamabad.
2. Glossary of Common Words by Microsoft.
3. Electronic Dictionary of Localization of Computer Applications — A Standard tool, National Language Authority, 2004, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Normative references:

1. اردو املا و رموز اوقاف (Urdu Spelling and Punctuation), Muqtadira Qaumi Zaban, Islamabad.
2. نئی اردو قواعد (New Urdu Grammar) by Dr. Ismat Javed, Taraqqi Urdu Bureau, New Delhi.

Informative references:

1. اصطلاحات سازی (Terminology Creation) by Dr. Atash Durrani, Anjuman Sharqia Ilmiya, Islamabad, 2nd ed. 1994.
2. Oxford Urdu Dictionary at ur.oxforddictionaries.com.

FAQ¶

How should I address users in Urdu translation?¶

Use آپ (aap, the respectful plural-you form) with corresponding plural verb endings (کریں, کیجیے). آپ is the universal default for software UI, marketing, medical patient materials, business correspondence, and consumer-facing legal documents. The singular informal تو (tu) and the familiar تم (tum) are reserved for explicit casual contexts — children’s content, certain games, intimate marketing tone with younger audience. The respectful plural verb ending کریں (kareṇ) is preferred over the overly polite کیجیے (kee-jee-yay) which sounds formal-classical.

Which classical/Persian-influenced Urdu words should I replace?¶

Replace overly classical vocabulary with modern conversational Urdu: کیجیے → کریں (verb endings); تشریف لے جائیے → جائیں (go); تشریف نصب فرمائیے → انسٹال کریں / نصب کریں (install); طبع نازک پر گراں نہ گزرے → آپ کو برا نہ لگے (if you don’t mind); ملاحظہ فرمائیے → نوٹ (note); متفع ہوں → استعمال کریں (make use); پند و نصائح پر عمل کیجیے → نصیحت پر عمل کریں (follow advice); گراں قدر معلومات → اہم معلومات (important information); بدرجہ اتم → بہت زیادہ (too much). These classical forms appear in legal templates and government documents but feel bureaucratic and distant in modern consumer products.

What are the Urdu punctuation rules that differ from English?¶

Use the small dash ۔ (called “choti dash” in Urdu, U+06D4) as the sentence-ending mark — not the English period (.). Use the Urdu comma ، (U+060C) — not the Latin comma. Decimal separator in Urdu numerals is the hamza ء; with English digits in Urdu text, use period. Question mark in Urdu is ؟ (U+061F, reversed from English). Quotation marks follow English style ” “. No space between parentheses and inner text. Urdu reads right-to-left — placeholder positions in error messages need RTL-aware handling for correct grammatical inflection.

How are gender and pronouns handled in Urdu?¶

Urdu has two genders (مذکر masculine, مؤنث feminine) marked on nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Avoid gendered pronouns (مرد, عورت, لڑکا, لڑکی) in generic references. Use آپ (gender-neutral respectful you) — it doesn’t carry gender on the addressee but verb forms with آپ are plural so they work for any gender. For generic third person, use respectful وہ (vo, neutral form, used with plural verbs as a respect marker). Use neutral nouns for roles: قاری (reader), گاہک (customer), کلائنٹ (client). When writing about a real person, use whichever pronoun the person prefers. Match verb gender to noun gender consistently — mixing is one of the hardest Urdu translation skills.

How are English loanwords and product names handled in Urdu?¶

Microsoft product names stay in Latin script untranslated, embedded directly in Urdu text: Microsoft, Windows, Office, Azure. Acronyms readable as English words are kept in Latin (ANSI) or transliterated when well-known in Urdu (OPEC → اوپیک). On first use of a less-known acronym, follow with Urdu translation in parentheses (RAM followed by ریم in parens). For commonly understood acronyms (CD, DVD, USB), don’t translate or spell out. Measurement units (KB, MB, GB, b, B) stay in Latin without parenthetical translation — they’re recognized as-is and look awkward translated. Urdu doesn’t shorten words English-style (no “app” or “info” shortenings).

When should I deviate from literal translation in Urdu?¶

When literal translation produces stiff classical Urdu that violates modern conversational register. Required in sworn legal translation and certified documents where literal accuracy is mandated. Strongly advised in marketing, healthcare patient materials, and software UI — replace classical Persian-derived vocabulary with everyday Urdu, restructure word order to verb-final SOV, convert third-person/gendered references to respectful آپ, and split long English sentences into shorter Urdu ones. Use short sentences, avoid passive voice where possible — these are explicit Microsoft voice guidelines that apply across consumer content.

Sources¶

• Microsoft Localization Style Guides hub
• National Language Authority of Pakistan (Muqtadira Qaumi Zaban)
• Oxford Urdu Dictionary
• Microsoft Terminology — Globalization