Learn Punjabi
Punjabi is written in the Gurmukhi script and spoken by more than a hundred million people, mainly in the Punjab region of India and in communities worldwide. This course walks you from the script and sounds through grammar to real phrases for food, travel, and transport — all in Eastern (Indian) Punjabi.
Start here
Your recommended route through the course.
- START What Is Punjabi? A Friendly Introduction Begin with the big picture — what Punjabi is, and how this course is organized.
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STEP 1 Script and sounds How Gurmukhi works, and the sounds English speakers mishear.
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STEP 2 Grammar core Word order, pronouns and respect levels.
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STEP 3 Verbs and time Stems, markers and agreement — verbs that change form, politely.
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STEP 4 Questions and negation Saying no with nahīṁ and asking real questions.
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STEP 5 Nouns, gender and postpositions masculine/feminine, and the little words that follow nouns.
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STEP 6 Vocabulary Core Punjabi words
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STEP 7 Conversation Useful everyday phrases
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STEP 8 Numbers and time Numbers, rupee prices, telling time and dates.
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STEP 9 Food and restaurants Ordering food and drinks in Punjab
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STEP 10 Travel Airport, hotel, directions and emergencies
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STEP 11 Transport Buses, trains, taxis and rickshaws
Browse by topic
START
What is Punjabi?
Script & sounds
Gurmukhi letters, vowels and consonants, aspiration and tone.
- The Gurmukhi Script: Letters, Vowels, and Signs How Gurmukhi works: the 35-letter akhar chart, inherent vowels, vowel signs (matras), nasalization marks, the addak, subjoined letters, and digits.
- Punjabi Pronunciation: Vowels, Aspiration, and Tone The sounds English speakers get wrong in Punjabi: vowel length, aspirated consonants, retroflex vs. dental, nasalized vowels, doubled consonants — and the famous Punjabi tone.
Grammar
Sentence structure, pronouns and respect, verbs and time.
- Basic Punjabi Grammar: Word Order, Gender, and Agreement The core sentence patterns of Punjabi: SOV word order, the copula hai/han, adjective agreement, masculine and feminine nouns, possession, and demonstratives.
- Pronouns and Respect: Choosing the Right 'You' Punjabi pronouns: maiṁ, tūṁ vs tusīṁ, uh/ih, asīṁ — plus the respect particle jī and how to be politely safe in any conversation.
- Punjabi Verbs and Talking About Time How Punjabi verbs work: the -ṇā infinitive, habitual and progressive forms, past and future, agreement with the subject, and the time words that anchor a sentence.
Sentences
Negation, questions, and nouns with postpositions.
- Questions and Negation in Punjabi How to say no, ask yes/no questions, and use who/what/where/when/why/how — with natural Punjabi word order, not English calques.
- Nouns, Gender, and Postpositions Punjabi nouns: masculine vs. feminine endings, plurals, the oblique form you need before postpositions, and the little words that do the job of English prepositions.
Words, conversation & numbers
Core vocabulary, greetings, numbers, money, and time.
- 100+ Essential Punjabi Words A starter vocabulary of over a hundred Punjabi words — people, greetings, places, food and drink, money, transport, time, verbs, adjectives, question words, and particles.
- 80+ Everyday Punjabi Phrases A working set of Punjabi phrases: greetings, introductions, polite expressions, asking for things, agreeing, feelings, and practical lines for daily life.
- Numbers, Money, Time, and Dates in Punjabi Punjabi numbers from zero to a lakh, how prices work in rupees, telling time, the days of the week, and reading a date.
Travel & food
Restaurants, getting around, and traveling in Punjab.
- Food and Restaurants: Eating in Punjabi Punjabi food vocabulary and restaurant phrases: roti, dal, paneer, lassi, ordering politely, vegetarian requests, spice levels, and paying the bill.
- Travel Punjabi: Airports, Hotels, and Finding Your Way Travel phrases in Punjabi: airport and hotel vocabulary, passport and reservation talk, bathrooms, Wi-Fi, directions, the pharmacy, emergencies, tickets, and destinations.
- Transport Punjabi: Buses, Trains, Taxis, and Rickshaws Getting around in Punjabi: buses, trains, taxis, auto rickshaws, stations and stops, tickets, directions, departure and arrival times, and polite requests to drivers.