Urdu Thesaurus Features

Features and Usage Guide

The following information will help users understand the arrangement and organization of the Urdu Thesaurus, and its different features.

What is a Thesaurus?
Synonym Set
Synonyms and their Alphabetical Arrangement
Synonyms and their Arrangement by Meaning
A Temporary Shortcoming
Urdu Thesaurus Database

What is a Thesaurus?

In a language more than one word can convey the same meaning. For example, the meaning of the word طاقت can be explained by three other words, بل، زور، قوت. A word which has the same meaning, or a similar or comparable meaning as another word, is called its synonym. The three words, بل، زور، قوت, are the synonyms of the word طاقت. In a language, a word could also have more than one meaning. For example, the word طاقت has one meaning as قوت and another meaning as مجال. The word طاقت is used in both senses. A Thesaurus is a collection of words in which the synonyms of a word are organized according to their different meanings. For example:

طاقت

۱: بل، زور، قوت

٢: تاب، قدرت ، مجال

In the above example, the synonyms of the word طاقت are shown arranged in its two meanings.

Synonym Set

The list of a word’s synonyms is called a Synonym Set. For example:

طاقت

۱: بل، زور، قوت

٢: تاب، قدرت ، مجال

In the above example, the list of words from بل to قوت in meaning number one is a Synonym Set. In the same manner, the list of words from تاب to مجال in meaning number two is also a Synonym Set.

Synonyms and their Alphabetical Arrangement

The synonyms are listed alphabetically in the Urdu Thesaurus. This means that words which are closer in meaning, or more widely used as a word’s synonym, may not appear at the head of a synonym set. For example:

طاقت

۱: بل، زور، قوت

In the above example, the word قوت which is closer in meaning to the word طاقت is listed, alphabetically, at number three, whereas the words بل and زور are listed at numbers one and two, respectively. In the future improvements made to the Urdu Thesaurus, the word closest in meaning, and in common usage as a word’s synonym, will be highlighted.

Synonyms and their Arrangement by Meaning

1. In the Urdu Thesaurus, while the synonym sets are listed by meaning, the synonym set containing words most commonly associated with a word’s meaning, or most widely used as its synonyms, may not be displayed in the top row. For example:

مشکل

۱: تشویش، فکر

۲: دشواری، دقت

In the above example, the words دشواری and دقت are most commonly used synonyms of the word مشکل, but are given in the second synonym set. In future versions the more commonly used synonyms will be better presented.

2. In the Urdu Thesaurus users may notice such synonym sets that reflect the same meaning. It is on account of an editorial decision that in its searches the Urdu Thesaurus should present the greatest number of synonyms for a word, reflecting every shade of a word’s meaning. Under this rule, the words in Urdu Thesaurus were linked together in such a manner that whenever a word occurred as a synonym of another word, that word and its synonym sets were also listed as ‘possible synonyms’ of the first word.
For example:

حواس

١: اوسان، بدھ، دھیان، سدھ، سدھ بدھ، ہوش، ہوش و حواس

٢: احساسات، حاسے

٣: ادراک، اوسان، سمجھ، شعور، عقل، فہم، ہوش

٤:خبر، اوسان، بُدھ، سدھ، ہوش

٥: دماغ، اوسان، ہوش، ہوش و حواس

In the above example, the Urdu Thesaurus database searched for the word حواس and found the words خبر, اوسان, and دماغ as its synonyms. The Urdu Thesaurus linked together the synonym sets of the words خبر, اوسان, and دماغ, as well, to the synonyms sets of the word حواس. In the final results displayed in the search, the words خبر, اوسان, and دماغ were highlighted, and the alphabetical arrangement of synonyms began thereafter. By following this rule the database creates synonym sets that do not follow a clear separation of meaning, becoming, at times, comparable and analogous, but through it a greater number of synonyms were obtained, making the selection of a suitable word easier. With the planned future addition of the ‘Meaning’ and ‘Parts of Speech’ categories to the words, this selection will become even easier to make. With the exception of the above rule, please inform us of any instances where synonyms are not listed in alphabetical order due to human error or a glitch in coding, so that we can make the necessary corrections.

A Temporary Shortcoming

On the Urdu Thesaurus web interface and app, some words appear in different forms. It is on account of words derived from various sources being typed ‘as found’ both written with diacritical marks, and without these marks. In consequence, the interface shows the different forms in which the same word has been typed in different data fields. For example:

بلا توقف، بِلا توقف‎، بلا توقُّف

Similarly, some words were typed during data entry ‘as found’ in their variant orthographic forms. For example:

طاقت ور، طاقتور

The words found in the Urdu Thesaurus in all of their variant forms are searchable, and this shortcoming will be addressed, and the repetitions eliminated, when the diacritical marks and orthographic standardization is put in place for the data. The inconvenience caused to the user in the meanwhile is nevertheless regretted, and we would be grateful if you could point out such cases to us via the mobile app or through the website.

Urdu Thesaurus Database

The Urdu Thesaurus’s current beta version offers approximately 50% data for synonyms. More data will be added in the future. The Urdu Thesaurus can be used via its web interface or the Android app. You can now type in Urdu using an English keyboard on the Urdu Thesaurus website SEACRH box. However, if you use an Urdu keyboard, for accurate search results it is highly recommended that you use the free downloadable CLE keyboard for the web interface and app. Please contact us in the event of any problems accessing our website or using the mobile app.