Guide 4 of 6 · 5 min read
Making Urdu and bilingual test papers
Urdu is written from right to left, in a flowing script that needs the right fonts and the right kind of text. This guide covers the points that most often go wrong.
Right to left, and why it matters
English runs from left to right. Urdu runs from right to left, so the whole page should mirror: the question number sits on the right, the text starts at the right edge and the marks go to the left.
When a paper is in Urdu, set the paper's language to Urdu instead of fixing each line by hand. Then the numbers, the options and the lines all follow the right direction. In Paper Desk you can choose English, Urdu, or both languages for a paper.
Mixed lines, with Urdu words and English words or numbers together, can look jumbled if they are not marked correctly. If a line looks wrong, check that the Urdu part is real Urdu text and that spaces are where you expect them.
Nastaliq, the style readers expect
Most Urdu books and papers use the Nastaliq style, in which words slope downward from right to left. A plain Naskh font is readable, but many teachers and students find Nastaliq the natural look for Urdu text.
Nastaliq letters stack above and below the line, so Nastaliq text needs more line height than English text. A line spacing that looks right for English may squash Urdu. When a paper has both, give the Urdu lines room.
Paper Desk shows Urdu text in Nastaliq, so you do not need to install a font on your computer. The result you see in the preview is what prints.
Pasting Unicode Urdu
Modern Urdu text is stored as Unicode. This is the kind of text you get when you type in a browser, a phone, a word processor with an Urdu keyboard, or a website that offers Urdu text. It can be copied from one program and pasted into another.
To paste Urdu into your paper:
- Copy the Urdu text from your document, web page or message.
- Paste it into the question box.
- Look at the preview. The letters should join and read correctly.
If you type directly, use an Urdu keyboard on your computer or phone. On Windows you can add an Urdu keyboard in the language settings.
Text from InPage
Many Urdu questions were typed years ago in InPage. InPage keeps text in its own format, and text copied out of it is often not Unicode. When you paste it elsewhere you may see squares, broken letters, or English letters and symbols instead of Urdu.
What to try:
- Check whether your version of InPage can export or copy as Unicode text, and use that.
- Export the page as a PDF or a picture if you only need it to appear on the paper as it is. A picture will print, but it cannot be edited as text.
- If you have only a few lines, retype them with an Urdu keyboard. It is slow but gives clean results.
Always look at the preview after pasting. If the Urdu looks wrong there, it will look wrong on paper.
Bilingual: side by side or stacked
A bilingual paper shows the same question in two languages. There are two common arrangements.
- Side by side: English in one column and Urdu in the other, so each question is read across. This suits short questions and options. It uses width, so long passages become narrow.
- Stacked: the English question, then the Urdu question under it. This suits long questions and passages. It uses more height.
Side by side keeps the paper shorter for MCQs; stacked is easier to read for longer text. Paper Desk can show both languages side by side, so you paste both versions of a question and the layout is built for you. Keep both versions complete: if the English asks for two reasons, so should the Urdu.
Check the paper before it goes to print
Urdu needs a slower proofread than English, because small errors change meaning. Read the preview of every Urdu line. Look for letters that failed to join, dots in the wrong place, and punctuation that has jumped to the wrong end of the line. The Urdu question mark and comma face the opposite way from the English ones, so make sure they look right.
If you have a colleague who reads Urdu well, ask them to look over the paper. A second pair of eyes catches mistakes you have stopped seeing. Then print one page and check that it looks the same on paper.
Urdu digits and numbers
Urdu digits (۱ ۲ ۳) are used in many Urdu books, while Western digits (1 2 3) are common in exams, especially in mathematics and science. Choose one style for the whole paper so numbers look consistent. Paper Desk uses Western digits by default and has a switch for Urdu digits.
Take care with mathematics. Equations are normally written left to right even inside an Urdu paper. Check that fractions, signs and units read correctly in the preview.
Ready to try it? Open the paper maker, and read how to use for the language steps. If you print the paper, read printing and saving your paper first.