گ + ه + ر
گهر
Alphabets
The Sindhi alphabet الف ب
Meet every letter of Sindhi, hear how it sounds, and learn how letters join to make words.
About Sindhi
Sindhi is written in the Arabic-Sindhi script, from right to left. It adds many letters to the Arabic alphabet for Indian sounds: aspirated letters such as ڀ ٿ ڦ, retroflex letters ٽ ڊ ڙ ڻ, and implosive letters ٻ ڄ ڏ ڳ. Most letters join the next one and change shape. Short vowels are small marks that are usually left out.
- 52
- letters اکر
- 4
- implosive consonants
- 3
- short vowel marks
- R → L
- writing direction
Vowels آواز
Short vowels are small marks on a letter – shown here on ب – and are usually left out. Long vowels are written with ا و ي.
Letters اکر
Letters that share a basic shape are grouped together – dots above or below tell them apart. Tap a letter to hear it.
Alif الف
carries a vowel at the start of a word
The be family ب ٻ ڀ ت ٿ ٽ ٺ ث پ
one boat shape – dots tell them apart
The jīm family ج ڄ ڃ چ ڇ ح خ
a hook shape
The dāl family د ڌ ڏ ڊ ڍ ذ
never joins the next letter
The re family ر ڙ ز ژ
never joins the next letter
Sīn and svād س ش ص ض
teeth and loop shapes
Ṭoe, ʿain ط ظ ع غ
loops and open curves
Fe and qāf ف ڦ ق
a small loop with dots
The kāf family ڪ ک گ ڳ ڱ
tall shapes
Lām, mīm, nūn ل م ن ڻ
l, m and two n sounds
Vāo, he, ye و ه ء ي
w/v, h, hamzo and y
Two more letters are written with two signs: جھ (jhe) and گھ (ghe), and ۾ is a special letter for the word "in".
How letters join to make words
Sindhi 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, so their shape changes.
ڪ +ت +ا +ب =ڪتاب -
2
Some letters never join on the left
After ا د ر و the next letter starts fresh.
د +و +ر =دور -
3
Dots change the letter
ب with one dot below is "b"; with two dots below, ٻ, it is the implosive "ḇ" – as in ٻار (child).
ٻ +ا +ر =ٻار
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
پ + ا + ڻ + ي
پاڻي
ڪ + ت + ا + ب
ڪتاب
ڳ + و + ٺ
ڳوٺ
س + ن + ڌ
سنڌ
Good to know
Right to left
Sindhi runs from right to left; numbers keep their left-to-right order.
Count the dots
Sindhi letters can carry up to four dots: ٿ (the), ڦ (phe).
Implosives
ٻ ڄ ڏ ڳ are said while drawing air in – a sound Hindi and Urdu do not have.
Ready to type in Sindhi?
Use the on-screen keyboard to write these letters, or translate your first sentence.