Translation: Arabic to Hindi/Urdu and back
Translation here is a grammar test in disguise. You are marked on accuracy of meaning, natural sentence structure in the target language, and correct case endings when you write Arabic.
Arabic to Hindi/Urdu
- Arabic puts the verb first; Hindi and Urdu put it last. Reorder rather than translate word by word.
- Idafah reverses: كتابُ الولد = the boy's book, लड़के की किताब.
- The relative الذي/التي is usually carried by जो/جو with a correlative वह/وہ.
- Arabic pronouns suffixed to verbs must be made explicit.
Hindi/Urdu to Arabic
- Use jumlah fi'liyyah for narrative and ismiyyah for definitions.
- Match gender and number; the verb precedes the fa'il and stays singular before a non-human plural.
- Use إنّ for emphasis and كان with the khabar for past continuous.
Worked example
الكتابُ الذي قرأتُهُ مفيدٌ. Hindi: जो किताब मैंने पढ़ी, वह उपयोगी है। Urdu: جو کتاب میں نے پڑھی وہ مفید ہے۔ Reasoning: the relative clause الذي قرأتُهُ modifies الكتاب and stays after it in Arabic, while Hindi and Urdu split it into a correlative pair. The suffix ـهُ in قرأتُهُ is the resumptive pronoun and must appear in the target.
Traps
Translating ال as the every time; dropping suffixed pronouns; wrong gender agreement; leaving the Arabic verb first in a Hindi sentence.