Urdu language facts: Pakistan's national language
Urdu is Pakistan's national language, written right to left in the Nastaliq style. Facts about where it came from and how it is used.
Urdu is Pakistan's national language.
Urdu facts
- Status: named the national language in Article 251 of the Constitution of Pakistan
- Script: Perso-Arabic, written right to left, usually in the flowing Nastaliq style
- Words: borrowed from Persian, Arabic, Turkish and local languages
- Name: from a Turkic word linked to "army" or "camp"
- Spoken Urdu and Hindi: very similar in everyday speech, but written in different scripts
Other languages
Pakistan is multilingual. Punjabi is the most widely spoken first language, followed by Pashto, Sindhi, Saraiki, Balochi and others. English is also used officially.
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