Odisha BSE HSC Urdu (FLU) flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Matla

The opening couplet of a ghazal, in which both lines share the same qafiya and radif. It sets the rhyme pattern that every later sher must follow in its second line.

Maqta

The final couplet of a ghazal, in which the poet inserts his takhallus (pen name). It often carries a personal or dedicatory tone and closes the poem's sequence of independent shers.

Radif

The repeated word or phrase that ends the second line of every sher in a ghazal, and both lines of the matla. It must be identical in wording and position throughout the poem.

Qafiya

The rhyming element that comes immediately before the radif in a ghazal. All shers share one qafiya pattern, while the radif stays fixed after it.

Nazm

A poem with a single continuous theme, written without the radif and qafiya requirements of the ghazal. It may be rhymed (muqarra) or free verse (azad).

Takhallus

The pen name a poet adopts and inserts into the maqta of a ghazal. Recognising the takhallus lets a reader identify the poet from the closing couplet alone.

Behr and taqti

Behr is the metre of an Urdu poem; taqti is the exercise of scanning a line into its arkan (feet) such as fa'ilun and mafa'ilun to verify the metre.

Khaka

A pen-portrait in Urdu prose that captures a real person's mannerisms, speech, and temperament through selected anecdotes, rather than listing chronological life events as a biography would.

Safarnama

An Urdu travelogue recording a journey. Strong answers separate the narrator's observations of places and people from the reflections and conclusions drawn from them.

Markazi khayal

The central idea or theme of a prose lesson, stated in one sentence and supported by two specific incidents or quotations from the text.

Afsana

The Urdu short story, typically built around a single incident, a small cast, and a turning point that reveals character or social reality.

Mazmoon

The Urdu essay, organised as introduction, body paragraphs each with one controlling idea, and a conclusion returning to the title.

Dastaan

A long narrative tale in classical Urdu prose, characterised by elaborate description, supernatural elements, and a frame narrator, distinct from the compact afsana.

Tashbih

A figure of speech comparing two things explicitly with a comparison word such as 'jaise' or 'ki tarah'. It differs from istiara, which asserts the comparison without a comparison word.

Istiara

A metaphor in which one thing is named as another without an explicit comparison word. The borrowed term carries the shared quality, as in calling a brave man a lion.

Iham

A poetic device in which a word carries two possible meanings, both of which make sense in context, creating deliberate ambiguity for the reader.

Mubaligha

Hyperbole in Urdu poetry: deliberate exaggeration for emphasis or effect, as in claiming a beloved's glance can kill. It is judged as art, not as factual error.

Ism-e-khas

A proper noun naming a specific person, place, or thing, such as 'Odisha' or 'Ghalib'. It does not take the definite article markers ordinary common nouns do.

Ism-e-masdar

A verbal noun in Urdu: a noun derived from a verb that names the action itself, such as 'likhna' (writing). It can function as a subject or object in a sentence.

Fi'l-e-mazi

The past tense verb form in Urdu, expressing completed action. It changes with the gender and number of the subject, as in 'woh gaya' versus 'woh gayi'.

Fi'l-e-amr

The imperative verb form in Urdu, used to give a command or request, as in 'jao' or 'likho'. The prohibitive form, fi'l-e-nahi, negates it with 'mat'.

Mutaddi and lazim

Mutaddi verbs are transitive and take an object; lazim verbs are intransitive and do not. Converting a sentence between the two is a standard grammar exercise.

Izafat

An Urdu construction joining two nouns with the short vowel -e-, as in 'shab-e-hijr'. The first noun modifies or governs the second and precedes it.

Muhawara

A fixed Urdu idiom whose overall meaning cannot be derived from its individual words. It must be used inside a complete sentence to demonstrate understanding.

Zarab-ul-masal

An Urdu proverb: a fixed sentence expressing a general truth or folk wisdom, used to illustrate a situation rather than to name an object or action.

Darkhwasti khat

A formal Urdu letter of application. It carries the sender's address, date, addressee and designation, a salutation, a subject line, a concise body, and a formal closing.

Tamheed

The introductory paragraph of an Urdu essay (mazmoon). It introduces the topic and orients the reader without yet presenting the detailed argument of the body.

Natija

The concluding paragraph of an Urdu essay that returns to the title, summarises the main points, and offers a final judgement or recommendation.

Report writing

An Urdu report answers the five Ws in its opening paragraph, develops detail in descending importance, and closes with attribution to a source or authority.

Unwan

The title chosen for an unseen comprehension passage. It must cover the whole passage rather than a single paragraph, and is usually kept to one or two words.

Tarjuma

Translation between Urdu and English rendered sense-for-sense. Urdu-to-English follows English subject-verb-object order; English-to-Urdu places the verb last.

Mufradat ke maani

A comprehension item asking for the meaning of a word as it is used in the given passage, not its first dictionary sense.