Urdu

Indo-European (Indo-Aryan)231 million totalNastaliq (Perso-Arabic)

RegionPakistan/India

FamilyIndo-European (Indo-Aryan)

Speakers231 million total

ScriptNastaliq (Perso-Arabic)

TypeAbjad

About Urdu

The national language of Pakistan. Mutually intelligible with Hindi in spoken form but written in a different script. Uses the elegant Nastaliq calligraphy style. Has extensive borrowing from Persian and Arabic. Known for its poetic tradition, especially ghazals.

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