# Urdu: I need to talk to you



## ihsaan

Hi,

If I want to say, "I need to talk to you", would it be correct to write:

Mujhe aap se baat (f.) karn*i* hai.


The reason I´m wondering is that if I wanted to say: "I have to sleep.", I think I would have to write the verb in infinitive ("Mujhe so*na* hai."), however, it seems that if there are any words in between, the verb gets either an a/i (depending on the word in between). Is this correct?

For example: Mujhe khana *(m.)* khan*a *hai.


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## Qureshpor

ihsaan said:


> Hi,
> 
> If I want to say, "I need to talk to you", would it be correct to write:
> 
> Mujhe aap se baat (f.) karn*i* hai.
> 
> The reason I´m wondering is that if I wanted to say: "I have to sleep.", I think I would have to write the verb in infinitive ("Mujhe so*na* hai."), however, it seems that if there are any words in between, the verb gets either an a/i (depending on the word in between). Is this correct?
> 
> For example: Mujhe khana *(m.)* khan*a *hai.


The "karnii" form is usually associated with the "Delhi School of Urdu" whilst "karnaa" is linked to the "Lucknow School". You will find that there is an overlap in this and this could be due to personal choice of the poet to suit his purpose.

*"mujhe baat karnii hai"

*This, as I have indicated above is the Delhi style. In addition, Hindi speakers would use this format as well as Punjabi speakers. This usage is identical to the way this is expressed in Punjabi. (maiN gall *karnii* e)

So, if one were to follow this usage, one would say..

mujhe khaanaa khaanaa hai

mujhe ghar jaanaa hai

mujhe kaam DhuuNDnaa hai

.....

mujhe roTii khaanii hai

mujhe baat karnii hai

mujhe laRaa'ii laRnii hai

................

In the second set of examples with feminine nouns, the Lucknow school users would say "khaanaa hai, karnaa hai, laRnaa hai"

So, your sentence could be..

mujhe aap se baat karnii hai

mujhe aap se baat karnaa hai

Take your pick!

Examples from poetry..

baat karnii mujhe mushkil kabhii aisii to nah thii
jaisii ab hai terii maHfil kabhii aisii to nah thii

Bahadur Shah Zafar

xvaab meN vuh aane kaa kyoN kare ab va3dah
ya3nii kab judaa'ii meN mujhe niiNd *aanii* hai

Naasix Faizabadi (Lucknow School)

(Apologies, I could n't think of anything to illustrate the Lucknow usage in poetry)

Please note:

maiN *xat-likhnaa* chaahtaa/chaahtii huuN

maiN *chiTThii likhnaa* chaahtaa/chaahtii huuN

xat is masculine and chiTThii is feminine.

And your sentence would now be..

maiN aap se baat-karnaa chaahtaa/chaahtii huuN.


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## ihsaan

What an excellent and thorough answer. This clarifies a lot! Thank you. I think I'll go with the Lucknow school


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## Qureshpor

ihsaan said:


> What an excellent and thorough answer. This clarifies a lot! Thank you. I think I'll go with the Lucknow school


You are most welcome! As to your choice, Faylasoof SaaHib would be most pleased!

By the way, you could also say...as in a song..

mujhe kuchh kahnaa hai


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## ihsaan

Hehe. 

By the way: could I use guftaguu karnaa the same way? (I.e. with the same meaning) Or would that sound strange?


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## Qureshpor

ihsaan said:


> Hehe.
> 
> By the way: could I use guftaguu karnaa the same way? (I.e. with the same meaning) Or would that sound strange?


Not strange. Formal certainly! It is more "conversation" than "talk" but once again context would be important.


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## ihsaan

Ok, then it's probably best to avoid using it in normal conversation.


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## mastermind1212

ihsaan said:


> Hi,
> 
> If I want to say, "I need to talk to you", would it be correct to write:
> 
> Mujhe aap se baat (f.) karn*i* hai.
> 
> 
> The reason I´m wondering is that if I wanted to say: "I have to sleep.", I think I would have to write the verb in infinitive ("Mujhe so*na* hai."), however, it seems that if there are any words in between, the verb gets either an a/i (depending on the word in between). Is this correct?
> 
> For example: Mujhe khana *(m.)* khan*a *hai.



YES this is correct.


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## ihsaan

Does anyone know how the prevalence of the "Delhi School of Urdu" and "Lucknow School" way of speaking relates to the regional differences in Pakistan?

It seems that in regions like Punjaab, for example in Lahore, one would say "mujhe namaz paRhni hai", but what about places like Karachi and Islamabad?


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## Qureshpor

It really depends on the speaker's background and not whether it is Lahore, Islamabad or Karachi. Lucknow background speakers (and those following their speech pattern) would tend to say...

mujhe namaaz paRhnaa hai.

Delhi background/influenced speakers would say..

mujhe namaaz paRhnii hai.

There are several threads devoted to the "-ii/-aa" variation.


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## ihsaan

Yes, I understood that from your previous excellent explanation, but I guess what I was trying to ask is which of the two is most commonly used in those areas of Pakistan. I´m sure one must be more commonly used than the other? I will look into the other threads as well and see if they might go into further detail. Thank you for mentioning that. What picked my curiosity again, was that a person from Lahore corrected me today due to me speaking according to the Lucknow school, saying that "nobody says/talks like that" (referring specifically to the usage of karna versus karni in situations where the object of the sentence was a feminine word).


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## Qureshpor

I can't provide you any accurate statistics but I would suggest that in the Punjab "karnii" form is likely to be the dominant style in terms of numbers. In Karachi, you will no doubt find whole areas using "karnii" and others using "karnaa.

I would n't worry about the person who has "corrected you". If you feel comfortable using the "karnaa" form, stick to it. He/she is wrong when he/she tells you that "no body speaks like that". There are millions of people who would speak like this!


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## ihsaan

Ah, how interesting! Thank you for your uplifting reply.


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## Qureshpor

Here are three threads to give you heads up!

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2218814&highlight=karnii

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1398107&highlight=karnii

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=888829&highlight=mujhe+jaanaa+hai


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## ihsaan

Much obliged!


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## Alfaaz

ihsaan, the following thread might also be relevant to your question above: Urdu-Hindi: lena, karna, etc. masculine forms.


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## ihsaan

How kind of you, thank you. (I think it would be a good idea to have a sticky thread with a main post sorting links pertaining to the same/similar questions, under specific topics.  This would make finding information about certain grammatical points easier.)


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## Faylasoof

ihsaan said:


> Hi,
> 
> If I want to say, "I need to talk to you", would it be correct to write:
> 
> Mujhe aap se baat (f.) karn*i* hai.
> 
> 
> The reason I´m wondering is that if I wanted to say: "I have to sleep.", I think I would have to write the verb in infinitive ("Mujhe so*na* hai."), however, it seems that if there are any words in between, the verb gets either an a/i (depending on the word in between). Is this correct?
> 
> For example: Mujhe khana *(m.)* khan*a *hai.


  This is correct too: Mujhe aap se baat karn*aa* hai.


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## ihsaan

Yes, that is how I would usually say it;  My initial post was written due to being confused by people insisting that it was (karni). Not to prolong that discussion any further, but I again spoke to someone from Lahoor today who had never heard of the Lucknow version of saying this (karna) at all. I spoke to two others today from Karachi who insisted that "karni" was what was generally used there as well. It seems that perhaps the usage of "karni" might be more prevalent in most areas of Pakistan...


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## Faylasoof

ihsaan said:


> Yes, that is how I would usually say it;  My initial post was written due to being confused by people insisting that it was (karni). Not to prolong that discussion any further, but I again spoke to someone from Lahoor today who had never heard of the Lucknow version of saying this (karna) at all. I spoke to two others today from Karachi who insisted that "karni" was what was generally used there as well. It seems that perhaps the usage of "karni" might be more prevalent in most areas of Pakistan...


 _janaab-e-waalaa_, all these people who are saying this are blissfully unaware of the flexibility of our language. Best not to get into what would be nothing but a waste of time. Besides, I've heard and seen (in print: books / newspapers etc.) both versions coming out of Pakistan! Both have a long and established history in Urdu.


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## ihsaan

No doubt, and I was not trying to dispute that, Faylasoof SaaHib. I was merely pointing out that the usage of one seems to be more prevalent than the other in Pakistan (in colloquial speech, not books/newspapers), but my guess is only just that...a guess. Thanks to this forum, at least I now know that both versions can safely and correctly be used.


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## marrish

Faylasoof said:


> _janaab-e-waalaa_, all these people who are saying this are blissfully unaware of the flexibility of our language. Best not to get into what would be nothing but a waste of time. Besides, I've heard and seen (in print: books / newspapers etc.) both versions coming out of Pakistan! Both have a long and established history in Urdu.


Full agreement from my side. If someone is interested one can listen to 'Urdu Poetry Readings of Jaun Elia!' around 1:11 where he says:

لیکن ہاں مجھے ایک بات کہنا ہے۔ _lekin haaN mujhe ek baat kahn*aa* hai۔۔_


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