B. The alphabet
The Urdu alphabet is derived from the Arabic alphabet (technically called an abjad), with additions and modifications made over time to accommodate the sounds of Persian and Hindi-Urdu. The letters are grouped into series that share the same basic shape, each of which is named after the first letter in that group: alif, be, jīm, dāl, and so forth (hence ابجد abjad). Like other alphabets tracing their ancestry to the ancient Phoenician script—including Greek, Hebrew, Cyrillic, and the Latin alphabet used for English—the order of the letters is essentially arbitrary and based purely on historical tradition and not sound. However, there are similarities in the alphabetical order of each of these scripts: alif / alpha / aleph / A, be / beta / bet / B, and so on. For a delightful disquisition on these and related topics, see Michael Beard’s The Arabic Alphabet: A Guided Tour.
Familiarity with the order of the Urdu alphabet is useful in various contexts, most of all when consulting dictionaries. Below we have given all the letters in their standard order, as well as the diacritics that we’ve covered in this book. Each letter is accompanied by its name, sound, and Devanagari equivalent. We’ve also given each letter’s numerical value and formal transliteration in two widely used systems, those of the Journal of Urdu Studies (JUS) and Library of Congress (LOC). These are useful to scholars who want to precisely specify both the sound and spelling of Urdu words. Doing so makes it possible to distinguish, for instance, حال ḥāl ‘condition’ from ہال hāl ‘shaking,’ and also from حل ḥal ‘solution’ and ہل hal ‘plow.’
Letter or diacritic | Name | Sound or function | Hindi | JUS | LOC | Value | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ا | alif | a i u ā | अ इ उ आ | a i u ā | a i u ā | 1 | Sound depends on diacritics and context. |
ب | be | b | ब | b | b | 2 | |
پ | pe | p | प | p | p | 2 | |
ت | te | t | त | t | t | 400 | |
ٹ | ṭe | ṭ | ट | ṭ | ṭ | 400 | Primarily appears in words of Indic and English origin. |
ث | se | s | स | ṡ | ss̱ | 500 | Primarily appears in words of Arabic origin. |
ج | jīm | j | ज | j | j | 3 | |
چ | che | ch | च | ch | c | 3 | |
ح | baṛī he | h | ह | ḥ | ḥ | 8 | Primarily appears in words of Arabic origin. |
خ | ḳhe | ḳh | ख़ | ḳh | ḵẖ | 600 | Primarily appears in words of Arabic and Persian origin. |
د | dāl | d | द | d | d | 4 | |
ڈ | ḍāl | ḍ | ड | ḍ | ḍ | 4 | Primarily appears in words of Indic and English origin. |
ذ | zāl | z | ज़ | ż | ẕ | 700 | Primarily appears in words of Arabic origin. |
ر | re | r | र | r | r | 200 | |
ڑ | ṛe | ṛ | ड़ | ṛ | ṛ | 200 | Primarily appears in words of Indic origin. |
ز | ze | z | ज़ | z | z | 7 | |
ژ | zhe | zh | ॹ | zh | zh | 7 | Primarily appears in words of Persian origin. |
س | sīn | s | स | s | s | 60 | |
ش | shīn | sh | श | sh | sh | 300 | |
ص | swād | s | स | ṣ | ṣ | 90 | Primarily appears in words of Arabic origin. |
ض | zwād | z | ज़ | ẓ | ẓ | 800 | Primarily appears in words of Arabic origin. |
ط | to’e | t | त | t̤t̤ | t̤t̤ | 9 | Primarily appears in words of Arabic origin. |
ظ | zo’e | z | ज़ | z̤z̤ | z̤z̤ | 900 | Primarily appears in words of Arabic origin. |
ع | ain | silent / vowel | silent / vowel | ʿ | ‘ | 70 | Primarily appears in words of Arabic and Persian origin. |
غ | ġhain | ġh | ग़ | ġh | ghg̱ẖ | 1000 | Primarily appears in words of Arabic and Persian origin. |
ف | fe | f | फ़ | f | f | 80 | |
ق | qāf | q | क़ | q | q | 100 | Primarily appears in words of Arabic origin. |
ک | kāf | k | क | k | k | 20 | |
گ | gāf | g | ग | g | g | 20 | |
ل | lām | l | ल | l | l | 30 | |
م | mīm | m | म | m | m | 40 | |
ن | nūn | n | न | n | n | 50 | |
ں | nūn-e ġhunna / nūn-ġhunna | ñ | ँ | ñ | ṉ | 50 | Usually alphabetized with nūn. |
و | wāw | v / w / o / au / ū | व / ओ / औ / ऊ | v / o / au / ū | v / o / au / ū | 6 | |
ہ | chhoṭī he | h | ह | h | h | 5 | Sometimes replaced with do-chashmī he. |
ھ | do-chashmī he | h (aspiration) | ह | h | h | 5 | Usually but not always alphabetized with chhoṭī he. Primarily appears in words of Indic origin. |
ی | chhoṭī ye | ī | ई | ī | ī | 10 | |
ے | baṛī ye | e / ai / y | ए / ऐ / य | e / ai / y | e / ai / y | 10 | Usually alphabetized with chhoṭī ye. |
ء | hamza | diphthong / silent / brief pause | none | ʾ | ’ | ||
ٓ | madd | ā | आ | ā | ā | Only appears on alif. | |
ِ | zer | i | इ | i | i | Pronounced ī when followed by ye. | |
َ | zabar | a | अ | a | a | Pronounced ai when followed by ye and au when followed by wāw. | |
ُ | pesh | u | उ | u | u | Pronounced ū when followed by wāw. | |
ّ | tashdīd | double consonant | double consonant | double consonant | (× 2) | ||
ْ | sukūn | no vowel | ् | no vowel | no vowel | ||
٘ | ġhunna | ñ | ँ | ñ | ṉ | Rarely used. | |
ً | tanvīn | an | अन | an | an | Primarily appears on alif and in words of Arabic origin. | |
ٰ | khaṛā zabar / dagger alif | ā | आ | á | á | Primarily appears in words of Arabic origin. | |
یٰ | alif maqsūra | ā | आ | á | á | Primarily appears in words of Arabic origin. |
ابجد
A writing system where consonants are written and vowels are omitted. Contrasted with, among others, an alphabet (where all sounds are written, as in English) and an abugida (where the basic unit is the consonant and vowels are appended, as in Hindi).
A set of letters that share the same basic shape but differ in dots (or slashes).
Words derived from South Asian languages, especially tadbhav words (those derived but not directly borrowed from Sanskrit) and deshaj words (those not derived from Sanskrit). Sometimes also includes tatsam words (those borrowed directly from Sanskrit).