گ + ھ + ر
گھر
Alphabets
The Urdu alphabet حروفِ تہجی
Meet every letter of Urdu, hear how it sounds, and learn how letters join to make words.
About Urdu
Urdu is written in the Perso-Arabic script, from right to left, in the elegant Nastaliq style (نستعلیق). It takes the Arabic letters, adds the Persian letters پ چ ژ گ, and adds letters of its own for Indian sounds such as ٹ ڈ ڑ and ں ے. Letters that share a basic shape are told apart by their dots. Most letters join the next one and so have up to four shapes – alone, at the start, in the middle and at the end of a word. Short vowels are small marks (aʿrāb) that are usually left out, so a reader learns words as wholes.
- 39
- letters حروف
- 3
- short vowel marks اعراب
- 4
- shapes per letter
- R → L
- writing direction
Vowels اعراب
Short vowels are small marks written on a letter – shown here on ب. Long vowels use the letters ا و ی ے. At the start of a word a vowel sits on alif ا. Tap a letter to hear it.
Letters حروف
Letters that share a basic shape are grouped together – dots above or below tell them apart. Tap a letter to hear it.
Alif الف
the first letter – carries a vowel at the start of a word
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 – dots inside or above
The dāl family د ڈ ذ
never joins the next letter
The re family ر ڑ ز ژ
never joins the next letter
Sīn and svād س ش ص ض
teeth and loop shapes
Ṭoe and ẓoe ط ظ
a loop with an upright stroke
ʿAin and ghain ع غ
an open curve
Fe and qāf ف ق
a small loop – one or two dots
Kāf and gāf ک گ
a tall shape – gāf has a second stroke
Lām, mīm, nūn ل م ن ں
l, m, n and the nasal nūn
Vāo, he and ye و ہ ھ ء ی ے
w/v, two kinds of h, hamza and two kinds of y
The letter ھ (do-cashmī he) makes the letter before it breathy: بھ پھ تھ ٹھ جھ چھ دھ ڈھ کھ گھ – as in گھر (ghar, house) and پھول (phūl, flower).
How letters join to make words
Urdu 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.
ک +ت +ا +ب =کتاب -
2
Some letters never join on the left
After د ر و and a few others, the next letter starts fresh.
د +و +ر =دور -
3
Short vowels are marks
Zabar, zer and pesh sit above or below a letter and are usually left out.
ک +◌ِ =کِ
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 + ن + ی
پانی
ک + ت + ا + ب
کتاب
پ + ھ + و + ل
پھول
م + ا + ں
ماں
ا + س + ک + و + ل
اسکول
ا + ر + د + و
اردو
م + ح + ب + ت
محبت
Good to know
Right to left – except numbers
Words run from right to left, but numbers keep their left-to-right order: ۱۹۴۷.
Two kinds of h
ہ is the h of ہاتھی (hāthī, elephant); ھ only makes a sound breathy: گھر (ghar), پھول (phūl).
Nastaliq
Books and newspapers print Urdu in the flowing Nastaliq style, where each word slopes gently down to the left.
Ready to type in Urdu?
Use the on-screen keyboard to write these letters, or translate your first sentence.