Urdu-English/English-Urdu Dictionary & Phrasebook (Hippocrene Dictionary and Phrasebook)

I grew up in city of Lucknow in India where Urdu is well spoken but I never got a chance to speak or learn Urdu script. My interest peaked when I started watching old Hindi movies, and listening to Pakistani songs then I realized how wonderful Urdu language is and with this dictionary I can learn and appreciate Urdu in English. It is very convenient but it very basic I'll go for an advanced version after I master this. I plan to give it as gift to Pakistanis who are born in US and haven't got the accent right or not yet discovered the romantic nature of Urdu. Anita Nalliah

I have had many Hindu friends in the past, and I'm now trying to learn the Urdu language. Actually, the common form or speech of each is apparently identical. With 50 million people using this language at home, it is an important one. The problem is with their silly alphabets. Devagari for Hindi, Perso-Arabic for Urdu, I found them impossible. But many folks in both northern India and in Pakistan are now using "Roman Urdu" to communicate with one another on the Internet. And this pocket dictionary gives the words written in that.

Great way to speak practical Urdu: For chat/ phonetic phrases: Without having to also learn their alphabet (Similar to Arabic): A great place to explore speaking basic Urdu; For those who speak English and don't understand their complicated alphabet of letters/characters. HIGHLY RECCOMEND!

Not enough vocabulary is listed here---wold have preferred a few more 'slang/common' usage as well. It is helpful in its simplicity

Looks attractive but of no use. It does not have the basic URDU WORDS. I had to simply stack it on the shelf.

This is a very solid book for people who don't have the time or patience to figure out Urdu script! Covers a lot of essential material. Not sure what is going on with this other reviewer because he seems to have given a positive review but only 1 star? In any case, this probably works better than the lonely planet one if you are just interested in getting by with spoken Urdu and don't have a current need for learning other languages.

If this was your first introduction to this very wonderful language, you won't learn the script writings but it's an excellent introduction to the basic language and pronunciation.I love it..

This is very helpful but if I can say one critical thing is the fact that it doesn't have all the words in the dictionary so like depending on what your trying to say or a question that someone is asking you, you will not know how to respond. It is missing some of the alphabets in the dictionary.

Very good

Can be a little hard to navigate but when used with and Urdu/English speaker, can be used to construct full sentences and for conversation.

Book's OK but would have preferred it had the urdu word written alongside the english translation. This is what I expected from a dictionary type book. The romanised phonics don't make a great deal of sense and then you realise that the author is american.... If Amazon showed a screenshot of one of pages then I wouldn't have purchased it. You can't beat an old fashioned bookshop sometimes!

Excellent, the of the phrasebook/dictionary is very convenient and easy to carry in a bag etc. Very simple and easy to understand.