UPMSP High School Urdu key terms

The branch of Urdu literature written in prose, covering essays, short stories, biographical sketches and didactic pieces. In the UPMSP syllabus it refers to the prescribed prose lessons studied for comprehension and explanation.

A lesson or prescribed chapter from the textbook. Candidates must know its central idea, characters or arguments, and the meaning of difficult words appearing in it.

The central idea or main theme of a prose lesson or poem. Questions often ask candidates to state it briefly in their own words after reading the text.

Explanation of a literary passage, giving its literal meaning plus the underlying thought, imagery and style. It is a standard long-answer requirement in prose and poetry sections.

Urdu poetry written in rhymed or unrhymed verse on a single sustained theme, such as a poem on nature, patriotism or moral instruction. It is distinguished from the ghazal by its unity of subject.

A poem of couplets sharing a refrain and rhyme, in which each couplet may express a separate thought. Prescribed ghazals are studied for meaning and for the poet's craft.

A single couplet of Urdu poetry made of two lines, the second of which usually carries the point. It is the basic unit for explanation and appreciation questions.

Another word for a couplet, literally a house of two lines. The term is used especially when counting the length of a ghazal or qasida.

The word or short phrase repeated at the end of the second line of every couplet in a ghazal, after the qafiya. It gives the poem its recurring sound.

The rhyming word that comes immediately before the radeef in a ghazal couplet. All couplets must share the same qafiya pattern.

The opening couplet of a ghazal, in which both lines end with the qafiya and radeef. Later couplets carry the rhyme only in the second line.

The closing couplet of a ghazal, often containing the poet's pen name. It conventionally marks the end of the poem and sometimes offers a personal address.

The pen name a poet adopts and inserts into the last couplet of a ghazal. Recognising it helps identify the author of a prescribed poem.

A poet, the composer of verse in Urdu. The syllabus expects candidates to know the names, periods and notable works of prescribed poets.

A prose writer, author of essays, stories or sketches. Candidates should be able to match prescribed prose writers with their lessons and styles.

The rules of Urdu grammar, covering parts of speech, gender, number, case and sentence structure. Grammar questions test recognition and correct application of these rules.

Grammatical analysis of a sentence, labelling each word by its part of speech and showing how the words combine to make sense. It is a standard grammar exercise.

A sentence, a complete unit of words expressing a full thought. Grammar exercises ask candidates to identify sentence types and correct faulty constructions.

A noun, the word naming a person, place, thing or idea. Urdu grammar further divides nouns by gender, number and whether they are proper or common.

A verb, the word expressing an action or state. Urdu verbs change form for tense, person, gender and number, so agreement with the subject must be checked.

An adjective, a word describing a noun, such as good, large or beautiful. In Urdu it normally precedes the noun it qualifies and agrees with it in gender and number.

A pronoun, a word standing in place of a noun, such as main, tum, woh or hum. Correct pronoun choice depends on person, number and level of formality.

An idiom, a fixed phrase whose meaning cannot be worked out from its individual words. Candidates must use prescribed idioms in sentences of their own.

A proverb, a short traditional saying that carries a general truth or moral. It differs from an idiom because it stands as a complete sentence with advice or observation.

Singular and plural forms of a noun or verb. Urdu plurals are formed in several ways, and the verb must agree with the subject in number.

Masculine and feminine gender in Urdu. Every noun has a gender, which controls adjective and verb endings, so gender errors are common in composition.

A topic or subject set for an essay or composition. Candidates must read the topic carefully and keep every paragraph relevant to it.

An essay written on a given topic, usually with an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion. Clear organisation and correct Urdu are as important as content.

An application, a formal written request addressed to an authority such as a principal or officer. It follows a fixed layout: addressee, subject, body, request and signature.

A letter, either personal or formal, written to convey news, thanks or a request. Prescribed letter questions test layout, salutation and appropriate register.

Translation of a passage from Urdu into Hindi or English, or the reverse. The aim is faithful meaning in natural target language, not word-for-word rendering.

A passage of connected prose used for reading comprehension or translation. Candidates read it, then answer questions or render it into another language.

The title or heading of a passage, lesson or essay. A good title is short and points to the main idea of the text that follows.

Correct spelling of Urdu words, including the right use of dots, short vowels and hamza. Spelling errors are penalised in composition and dictation.

The letters of the Urdu alphabet, written in the modified Perso-Arabic script from right to left. Candidates should know letter shapes and their joined and unjoined forms.

The cursive calligraphic style in which Urdu is normally written and printed. Its letters join in flowing, sloped strokes, unlike the stiffer naskh style used for Arabic.

A synonym, a word with the same or nearly the same meaning as another, such as khushi and aanand. Synonym questions test vocabulary range.

An antonym, a word opposite in meaning to another, such as din and raat. Antonym questions are common in the vocabulary section.