ک + ت + ا + ب
کتاب
Alphabets
The Kashmiri alphabet حروف
Meet every letter of Kashmiri, hear how it sounds, and learn how letters join to make words.
About Kashmiri
Kashmiri is written in the Perso-Arabic script from right to left, with the letters of Urdu. To show its rich set of vowels, Kashmiri adds special vowel letters and signs such as ٲ, ۄ, ۆ, ێ and the mark ٕ. Most letters join the next one and change shape.
- 36+
- letters
- 16
- vowel sounds
- R → L
- writing direction
- 3
- scripts used
Vowels حروفِ علت
Kashmiri writes its vowels with marks and extra letters – shown here on ب.
Letters حروف
Letters that share a basic shape are grouped together – dots above or below tell them apart. Tap a letter to hear it.
The be family ب پ ت ٹ ث
one boat shape – dots below or above
The jīm family ج چ ح خ
a hook shape
Dāl and re د ڈ ذ ر ڑ ز ژ
never join the next letter
Sīn to ghain س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ
teeth, loops and curves
Fe to nūn ف ق ک گ ل م ن
loops and tall shapes
Vāo, he, ye و ہ ھ ی ے
w, two kinds of h and two kinds of y
Kashmiri ژ is said "ts", not "zh" as in Urdu, and the mark ؠ shows a "y"-coloured consonant.
How letters join to make words
Kashmiri is written from right to left and most letters join the next one. Three simple rules cover almost everything.
-
1
Letters join the next one
Inside a word most letters link to the next.
ک +ت +ا +ب =کتاب -
2
Some letters never join on the left
After د ر و the next letter starts fresh.
د +و +ر =دور -
3
Vowel marks
Kashmiri adds marks for its own vowels.
ک +ٲ =کٲ
Four shapes of a letter
Alone
ب
On its own.
Start
بـ
At the beginning of a word.
Middle
ـبـ
Joined on both sides.
End
ـب
At the end of a word.
Build real words
آ + ب
آب
گ + ا + م
گام
Ready to type in Kashmiri?
Use the on-screen keyboard to write these letters, or translate your first sentence.