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English to Punjabi translator

English to Punjabi (Gurmukhi) translation for family, college and visa letters

Paste your English and choose who the Punjabi is for. Formal writes ਤੁਸੀਂ, the respectful 'you' for elders, teachers, officials and anyone you would call ji. Informal is for friends and younger cousins, though in a letter to Nani or Nana the translator keeps ਤੁਸੀਂ anyway, which is what most grandchildren write. The output is in Gurmukhi, the script of Punjabi in India. For readers in Pakistan, choose Punjabi (Shahmukhi) in the language picker instead: it is a separate option that writes Punjabi in Perso-Arabic letters, right to left.

The two samples below are a Canadian college letter about a study permit and a message to grandparents from Brampton, printed exactly as they came back. The second shows the first thing to check in any English to Punjabi translation: the verb has to know whether the writer is a man or a woman, and here the translator left both options in with a slash.

Is Punjabi written in Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi?

Both. Punjabi in India is written in Gurmukhi, a left-to-right script. Punjabi in Pakistan is written in Shahmukhi, a Perso-Arabic script that runs right to left, like Urdu. This page translates English into Gurmukhi. For a reader in Pakistani Punjab, choose Punjabi (Shahmukhi) in the language picker; most people read only one of the two scripts.

Real English to Punjabi translations from this page

Each one was run through the translator above and printed exactly as it came back, with a note on what to look for.

A college letter about a study permit

English48 words

Dear student, your offer of admission for the January intake has been confirmed. Please pay the first semester tuition fee before 15 November so that we can issue the letter you need for your study permit application. If you have any questions, please write to the international office.

Punjabi · Formal53 words

ਪਿਆਰੇ ਵਿਦਿਆਰਥੀ ਜੀ, ਜਨਵਰੀ ਸੈਸ਼ਨ ਲਈ ਤੁਹਾਡਾ ਦਾਖ਼ਲਾ ਪ੍ਰਸਤਾਵ ਪੱਕਾ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ। ਕਿਰਪਾ ਕਰਕੇ 15 ਨਵੰਬਰ ਤੋਂ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਪਹਿਲੇ ਸਮੈਸਟਰ ਦੀ ਟਿਊਸ਼ਨ ਫੀਸ ਅਦਾ ਕਰ ਦਿਓ, ਤਾਂ ਜੋ ਅਸੀਂ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਸਟਡੀ ਪਰਮਿਟ ਦੀ ਅਰਜ਼ੀ ਲਈ ਲੋੜੀਂਦਾ ਪੱਤਰ ਜਾਰੀ ਕਰ ਸਕੀਏ। ਜੇ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਕੋਈ ਸਵਾਲ ਹਨ, ਤਾਂ ਕਿਰਪਾ ਕਰਕੇ ਅੰਤਰਰਾਸ਼ਟਰੀ ਦਫ਼ਤਰ ਨੂੰ ਲਿਖੋ।

Translated by this tool on 30 September 2026 and printed unedited.

The letter is polite and clear. ਤੁਹਾਡਾ and ਤੁਹਾਡੇ carry the respectful 'your', the requests use the ਤੁਸੀਂ forms ਅਦਾ ਕਰ ਦਿਓ and ਲਿਖੋ with ਕਿਰਪਾ ਕਰਕੇ for please, and ਤਾਂ ਜੋ ਅਸੀਂ ... ਜਾਰੀ ਕਰ ਸਕੀਏ is the right shape for 'so that we can issue'.
Study permit stayed as ਸਟਡੀ ਪਰਮਿਟ, the name students actually use for the Canadian document. 'January intake' became ਜਨਵਰੀ ਸੈਸ਼ਨ, which is understood; if the student's other paperwork says intake, select the word and press Keep before translating so it stays as written.
ਦਾਖ਼ਲਾ ਪ੍ਰਸਤਾਵ for 'offer of admission' is formal and a little heavy, since ਪ੍ਰਸਤਾਵ is the word for a proposal. Many students simply say ਆਫ਼ਰ ਲੈਟਰ, and ਦਾਖ਼ਲੇ ਦੀ ਪੇਸ਼ਕਸ਼ is a plainer Punjabi way to say it. This is a style choice, not an error.
The spelling follows Gurmukhi conventions: the dot under ਖ਼ in ਦਾਖ਼ਲਾ, ਜ਼ in ਅਰਜ਼ੀ and ਫ਼ in ਦਫ਼ਤਰ, the doubling sign in ਪੱਕਾ, and the danda । at each full stop. ਫੀਸ appears without its dot although ਦਫ਼ਤਰ has one; both spellings of fee are common, so it is not a mistake.

A message to grandparents from Canada

English41 words

Sat Sri Akal Nani ji! It has started snowing here in Brampton, so cold! I am studying hard and working at the store on weekends. Tell Nana ji I will video call on Sunday evening. I miss your parathe very much.

Punjabi · Informal53 words

ਸਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ ਨਾਨੀ ਜੀ! ਇੱਥੇ ਬ੍ਰੈਂਪਟਨ ਵਿੱਚ ਬਰਫ਼ ਪੈਣੀ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਹੋ ਗਈ ਹੈ, ਬਹੁਤ ਠੰਢ ਹੈ! ਮੈਂ ਮਨ ਲਾ ਕੇ ਪੜ੍ਹਾਈ ਕਰ ਰਿਹਾ/ਰਹੀ ਹਾਂ ਅਤੇ ਵੀਕਐਂਡਾਂ ’ਤੇ ਸਟੋਰ ਵਿੱਚ ਕੰਮ ਕਰਦਾ/ਕਰਦੀ ਹਾਂ। ਨਾਨਾ ਜੀ ਨੂੰ ਦੱਸ ਦਿਓ ਕਿ ਮੈਂ ਐਤਵਾਰ ਸ਼ਾਮ ਨੂੰ ਵੀਡੀਓ ਕਾਲ ਕਰਾਂਗਾ/ਕਰਾਂਗੀ। ਮੈਨੂੰ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਪਰਾਠੇ ਬਹੁਤ ਯਾਦ ਆਉਂਦੇ ਹਨ।

Translated by this tool on 30 September 2026 and printed unedited.

The translator did not know whether a grandson or a granddaughter wrote this, so it left three slash pairs: ਰਿਹਾ/ਰਹੀ, ਕਰਦਾ/ਕਰਦੀ and ਕਰਾਂਗਾ/ਕਰਾਂਗੀ. Pick one before sending: a young man keeps ਰਿਹਾ, ਕਰਦਾ and ਕਰਾਂਗਾ, a young woman keeps ਰਹੀ, ਕਰਦੀ and ਕਰਾਂਗੀ, and the other half of each pair is deleted.
The register is Informal, but Nani ji is still addressed with ਤੁਸੀਂ forms, ਦੱਸ ਦਿਓ and ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਪਰਾਠੇ. That is what most grandchildren would write; the informal feel comes from the short, warm sentences instead.
The Punjabi reads naturally. ਬਰਫ਼ ਪੈਣੀ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਹੋ ਗਈ ਹੈ is the ordinary way to say it has started snowing, 'studying hard' became the idiomatic ਮਨ ਲਾ ਕੇ ਪੜ੍ਹਾਈ, and ਮੈਨੂੰ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਪਰਾਠੇ ਬਹੁਤ ਯਾਦ ਆਉਂਦੇ ਹਨ uses the Punjabi pattern for 'I miss', literally 'your parathe come to my memory'.
ਵੀਕਐਂਡਾਂ ’ਤੇ puts a Punjabi plural ending on the English weekend and uses ’ਤੇ, the short form of ਉੱਤੇ, which is how Punjabi abroad mixes English into speech. The greeting ਸਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ is also often spelled ਸਤਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ, with the ਿ vowel sign; either will be read without comment.

Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi: choose the script before you translate

Punjabi is one spoken language written in two scripts. In India it is written in Gurmukhi, which runs left to right and has its own letters, related to Devanagari but different from it. In Pakistan it is written in Shahmukhi, a form of the Perso-Arabic script that runs right to left and looks much like Urdu.

A reader of one script usually cannot read the other, so this is the first decision in any English to Punjabi translation. This page and its samples are Gurmukhi. For family or customers in Lahore, Faisalabad or elsewhere in Pakistani Punjab, open the language picker and choose Punjabi (Shahmukhi), which is listed as a separate language.

	Gurmukhi	Shahmukhi
Direction	Left to right	Right to left
Read in	Indian Punjab and families from there abroad	Pakistani Punjab and families from there abroad
The word Punjabi	ਪੰਜਾਬੀ	پنجابی
In the picker	Punjabi (Gurmukhi)	Punjabi (Shahmukhi)

Vocabulary tends to shift with the script as well. Formal Punjabi in Shahmukhi draws more on Persian and Urdu words, and formal Punjabi in Gurmukhi more on Hindi and Sanskrit ones, so switching scripts is more than changing the letters.

ਤੂੰ, ਤੁਸੀਂ and ਜੀ

Punjabi has a familiar ਤੂੰ and a respectful ਤੁਸੀਂ, which is also the plural. ਤੂੰ is for friends, younger siblings and children, and in some families for a mother; ਤੁਸੀਂ is for elders, teachers, officials and anyone you do not know. Adding ਜੀ after a name or a relationship word, as in ਨਾਨੀ ਜੀ and ਨਾਨਾ ਜੀ, raises the respect further.

Each form has its own verb endings, so switching means rewriting the verbs, not just the pronoun:

English	Respectful (ਤੁਸੀਂ)	Familiar (ਤੂੰ)
Tell Nana ji.	ਨਾਨਾ ਜੀ ਨੂੰ ਦੱਸ ਦਿਓ।	ਨਾਨਾ ਜੀ ਨੂੰ ਦੱਸ ਦੇ।
Write to us.	ਸਾਨੂੰ ਲਿਖੋ।	ਸਾਨੂੰ ਲਿਖ।
Come here.	ਇੱਥੇ ਆਓ।	ਇੱਥੇ ਆ।
your letter	ਤੁਹਾਡੀ ਚਿੱਠੀ	ਤੇਰੀ ਚਿੱਠੀ
Where are you going?	ਤੁਸੀਂ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਜਾ ਰਹੇ ਹੋ?	ਤੂੰ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਜਾ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈਂ?

The grandparents message was set to Informal and still used ਤੁਸੀਂ for Nani ji. That was the right call: Informal changes the tone of the wording, but grandchildren rarely write to grandparents as ਤੂੰ.

The slash forms: ਰਿਹਾ/ਰਹੀ and other gendered verbs

Punjabi verbs change with the gender of the subject in the present, the past and the future. 'I am studying' is ਮੈਂ ਪੜ੍ਹ ਰਿਹਾ ਹਾਂ from a man and ਮੈਂ ਪੜ੍ਹ ਰਹੀ ਹਾਂ from a woman; 'I will call' is ਕਰਾਂਗਾ or ਕਰਾਂਗੀ. English says none of this, so when a message is about the writer the translator has to guess.

In the Brampton message it did not guess. It wrote both forms with a slash, which is safe but cannot be sent as it is. Choose the column that matches the writer and delete the other half of each pair:

In the output	A man writes	A woman writes
ਕਰ ਰਿਹਾ/ਰਹੀ ਹਾਂ	ਕਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਹਾਂ	ਕਰ ਰਹੀ ਹਾਂ
ਕਰਦਾ/ਕਰਦੀ ਹਾਂ	ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ	ਕਰਦੀ ਹਾਂ
ਕਰਾਂਗਾ/ਕਰਾਂਗੀ	ਕਰਾਂਗਾ	ਕਰਾਂਗੀ

In another message the translator may pick one form instead of offering both. If you are a woman writing about yourself, check the verbs that describe you for endings in ਰਿਹਾ, -ਦਾ and -ਗਾ; if you are writing to a woman, check the verbs that describe her.

Gurmukhi spelling marks to check

Gurmukhi has a few marks that change a word's sound and that are easy to lose when text is copied or edited by hand. The two samples use all of them correctly, so they are a useful reference.

Mark	What it does	From the samples
ੱ (addak)	Doubles the next consonant	ਪੱਕਾ, ਦੱਸ, ਵਿੱਚ
Dot below the letter	Marks Persian and English sounds: ਖ਼, ਜ਼, ਫ਼	ਦਾਖ਼ਲਾ, ਅਰਜ਼ੀ, ਦਫ਼ਤਰ
ੰ and ਂ (tippi, bindi)	Nasal sound	ਨਵੰਬਰ, ਪਹਿਲਾਂ, ਹਾਂ
। (danda)	Full stop	End of every sentence

The dot below is often dropped in everyday typing, so ਫੀਸ and ਫ਼ੀਸ both appear, as they do in the college letter. A missing addak is more serious: ਪਕਾ (cook) and ਪੱਕਾ (firm, confirmed) are different words.

Hindi words in Gurmukhi letters

Punjabi and Hindi share a lot of vocabulary, but the small grammar words are different, and a Hindi one written in Gurmukhi stands out at once to a Punjabi reader. Both samples get these right, with ਵਿੱਚ, ਨੂੰ, ਤੋਂ and ਅਤੇ throughout; use the table to check longer or more technical texts.

English	Hindi, in Gurmukhi (replace)	Punjabi
in	ਮੇਂ	ਵਿੱਚ
to	ਕੋ	ਨੂੰ
of	ਕਾ / ਕੀ	ਦਾ / ਦੀ
from	ਸੇ	ਤੋਂ
and	ਔਰ	ਅਤੇ / ਤੇ
I am	ਮੈਂ ... ਹੂੰ	ਮੈਂ ... ਹਾਂ

College and visa letters keep a good deal of English, and that is normal: ਸਮੈਸਟਰ, ਟਿਊਸ਼ਨ ਫੀਸ and ਸਟਡੀ ਪਰਮਿਟ are what students say. For the name of an office, a programme or a form, press Keep so it matches the English documents the student will be holding.

Mistakes to check before you send

Sending the slash forms

ਰਿਹਾ/ਰਹੀ and the others are choices, not finished text. Delete one half of every pair before the message goes out.

Gurmukhi for a reader in Pakistan

Most readers in Pakistani Punjab read Shahmukhi, not Gurmukhi. Choose Punjabi (Shahmukhi) in the picker and translate again.

ਤੂੰ to an elder

A letter in the familiar form to a teacher, an office or your parents' friends reads as rude. Set Formal, and check that requests end in -ਓ, as in ਦਿਓ and ਲਿਖੋ.

Official names translated

'International office' became ਅੰਤਰਰਾਸ਼ਟਰੀ ਦਫ਼ਤਰ. For a named office, programme or form, press Keep so the reader can match it to the English paperwork.

Lost addaks and dots

Hand edits often drop ੱ and the dot below. ਪਕਾ for ਪੱਕਾ changes the word, so reread any line you retyped.

Hindi grammar words

ਮੇਂ, ਕੋ or ਸੇ in a Punjabi sentence is Hindi. Replace them with ਵਿੱਚ, ਨੂੰ and ਤੋਂ.

Affidavits, birth and marriage certificates, and anything going into a visa or study permit file that must be certified should go to a qualified Punjabi translator; this tool suits letters home, college emails and understanding a Punjabi document.

English to Punjabi translation questions

How do I translate English to Punjabi in Shahmukhi?

Open the language picker and choose Punjabi (Shahmukhi) as the target. It is a separate option from Punjabi (Gurmukhi), which this page uses. Shahmukhi runs right to left like Urdu and is what most readers in Pakistani Punjab expect.

Why does my Punjabi translation say ਰਿਹਾ/ਰਹੀ?

Punjabi verbs show the writer's gender and the English did not say whether you are a man or a woman, so the translator wrote both. Keep ਰਿਹਾ, ਕਰਦਾ and ਕਰਾਂਗਾ if you are a man, ਰਹੀ, ਕਰਦੀ and ਕਰਾਂਗੀ if you are a woman, and delete the rest.

How do I write 'you' politely in Punjabi?

Use ਤੁਸੀਂ with the matching verb forms (ਆਓ, ਦੱਸ ਦਿਓ, ਲਿਖੋ) and add ਜੀ after names and titles, as in ਨਾਨੀ ਜੀ. ਤੂੰ with ਆ, ਦੱਸ ਦੇ and ਲਿਖ is for friends and younger family.

Is it ਸਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ or ਸਤਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ?

Both are written. ਸਤਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ, with the ਿ vowel sign, is the traditional spelling; ਸਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ, which the translator produced, is common in everyday messages. Either is fine in a letter to family.

Can Hindi speakers read Punjabi in Gurmukhi?

Not without learning the script. Gurmukhi and Devanagari are related but use different letters, so a Hindi reader who has not learned Gurmukhi cannot read it, even though much of the vocabulary would be familiar when spoken aloud.

Should I translate words like study permit and semester?

Usually not. ਸਟਡੀ ਪਰਮਿਟ, ਸਮੈਸਟਰ and ਟਿਊਸ਼ਨ ਫੀਸ, as in the college letter, are what students and families say. Press Keep on any term you want left in English letters exactly as typed.

Can I translate a Punjabi reply back into English?

Yes. Press the swap button so Punjabi is the source, then paste the reply or upload it as a .docx, .pdf or .txt file. A Gurmukhi message from Nani ji copied out of WhatsApp pastes in as ordinary text. To test your own Punjabi before sending, press 'Use as source' and see whether the English that comes back still says who is writing.

Written and checked by the AI Writing Assistant team. Last reviewed 30 September 2026.