Urdu Alphabet: #1 Engaging Guide For Passionate Learners

Were you exploring a new language to learn and landed on Urdu, but don’t know from where to start?

You have come to the right place.

After knowing about the beauty of the Urdu language, you surely won’t want to miss it out.

Let’s begin with our very first and the most important Urdu topic, the Urdu alphabet.

Also, if you want to learn to write Urdu, you should start with the Urdu Alphabet.

With this in mind, let’s dive into the 36 useful Urdu alphabets in a fun and informative way.

So, let’s start!

Urdu Alphabet: A Brief Introduction

If you’re struggling to learn and find an all-in-one lesson on the Urdu alphabet for fluency in translation or better pronunciation, here is a quick version of the detailed Urdu alphabet.

Feel free to take notes about the cursive symbols you see, or the brief history of the language and the sounds of all its letters then!

Want to hear how Urdu really sounds?

Tap to hear native speakers pronounce common phrases

ہیلو hello Hello

آپ کیسے ہیں aap kaisay hain How are you

میرا نام ہے mera naam hai My name is

This is how Ling teaches — with real speaker voices! Ready to practice more?

Try a free lesson!

Scroll down the article for an interesting lesson on the Urdu alphabet and its various versions of font styles, along with detailed pronunciation guidelines. 

We hope you find the lesson useful.

What Is Nastaliq Style Of Writing In Urdu?

The Urdu letters in Urdu writing are heavily influenced by Arabic and Persian alphabets/ scripts.

And that is why they are written in the Nastaliq calligraphy writing style, which employs more than three main forms (beginning forms, medial forms, final forms, and isolated forms) for many alphabet letters, even in plain writing.

What Are The Font Styles In the Urdu Language?

Printed letters of the alphabet are available in a variety of styles and designs. Each style is referred to as a “font.”

The Nastaliq font is the sole widely used Urdu alphabet font style in print and electronic media, reaching Urdu readers all over the world.

Nastaliq Typefaces For All Platforms

• Microsoft Windows 10 version included native Nastaliq-“Urdu Typesetting”.
• Apple has included Noto Nastaliq Urdu font on their devices. 
• Urdu, Persian, Balochi Khowar, Shina, Saraiki, Palula every language is supported by the Awami Nastaliq.
• Amar Nastaleeq font was developed for use on Urdu websites in 2013. Fahmida Riaz, an Urdu poet, launched its latest font.

Script In Urdu

Several letters specific to Urdu have been added to the Persian script, which is already from the Arabic alphabet, usually written from right to left.

Letters from other languages were eventually added to the Urdu script.

The appearance of letters in cursive depends on their context and 4 positions.

• Isolated form
• The Initial position (starting from left)
• Medial position (both sides)
• Final position (joined on right).

Letters In The Urdu Alphabet

Well, there is a debate between scholars regarding the total number of letters in the Urdu alphabet.

There are thirty-nine or forty letters in Urdu Alphabet.

• The first letter of the Urdu Alphabet is alif (ا).
• The last letter of the Urdu Alphabet is Bari Ye (ے).

In Urdu Alphabet, consonants and long vowels are the only ones shown in the Urdu script.

Whereas, short vowels are only inferred from the consonants’ relationship to one another.

The pronunciation of vowel sounds in Urdu demands more precision.

List Of Urdu Alphabet

Because its structure is employed in everyday communication, learning the Urdu script is essential. You won’t be able to utter words correctly without it, even if you know how to write them. The better you pronounce each letter in a word, the more you will be understood when speaking Urdu.

The Urdu alphabet and how it is pronounced in English is shown in the table below, followed by demonstrations of how the letters would sound in an English word.

Words Starting With Each Alphabet Letter

Here is a table with all the words starting from each alphabet to enhance your Urdu vocabulary.

Vowels In Urdu Alphabets

There are ten simple vowels and ten nasalized vowels in the Urdu alphabet.

Each vowel can be written in has four distinctive forms depending on where is the location or what is the form of that vowel in the word;

• Isolated form
• Final form
• Medial form 
• Initial form

One thing you must know is that the vowels of the Urdu alphabet use a combination of diacritics and digraphs, just like the Arabic alphabet uses.

Vowels of the Urdu alphabet and its variants are illustrated by the letters Alif (ا), Wow (و), Ye (ی), and He (ہ).

There are no separate vowel letters in Urdu, and there is no short vowel at the end of Urdu words.

• Short vowels (I, a, u) are illustrated by optional diacritics (zer – ِ , zabar – َ, pesh -ُ) the placeholder consonant (Ain – ع, alif – ا, or hamzah – ء). 
• If the syllable begins with the vowel and long vowels are represented by matres lectionis consonants ain, alif, wa’o, and ye with disambiguating diacritics (madd, hamzah). 

4 Variants In Urdu Alphabet

Let’s learn about 4 variants in the Urdu alphabet now!

The Vowel Alif

The first letter of the Urdu script, Alif (as in “A” in apple), is used exclusively as a vowel.

Alif represents any of the short vowels at the start of a word: ab اب, ism اسم, and Urdu اردو. 

Long alif-mad is used at the beginning of words: ap آپ. Plain alif can also be used in the middle and at the end, such as in bhagna بھاگنا.

The Vowel Wā’ O

The vowels such as “o”,  “au”, and “u” are all rendered with Wāʾo, as well as the consonant sounds approximant.

Only when the consonant kh k͟hē (خ) comes before wāʾo, it makes the sound of u (just like”خود”, “khud” called me in English).

Also, sometimes Wāʾo is not pronounced at all (just like “خواب”, “khuwab” called dream in English).

The Vowel Ye

Baṛi ye (ے) and Choṭi ye (ی) are two different types of ye.

• Cho ye (isolated shape;ی) is written in Persian in all of its forms. Consonant Y and the long vowel I, are both represented by this vowel (he).
• The vowels e and ai are used with bari ye (isolated form; ے). 

Only when bari ye is written at the end of a word/ligature, can it be distinguished from choṭī ye in writing. Furthermore, unlike choṭī ye, a word is never started with Baṛī ye.

The 2 He Vowels

There are two types of vowel he: do-casmi he ( glasses) and the gol he

• Gol he (isolated form;  ہ) is around and circled yet zigzagged character that may be used to convey the “h” sound wherever in a word. It is sometimes used with the long “a” or “e” vowels at the end of a word, by changing its shape. (Note; Two he should be written consecutively in digital typing).
• To make aspirate consonants and construct the Arabic alphabet and words, A loop form letter is written in Naskh style called Do-cami he (isolated form; ھ).  

Ayn (ع) In Urdu Alphabet

The sounds of the succeeding or preceding vowels substitute the sounds of Ayn (ع) in their final and initial positions, respectively.

Nūn e In Urdu Alphabet

After the non-nasalized consonant forms, the vowel nasalization is indicated by nun ghunna. 

For instance, when nasalized ہَے (hai), it would become ہَیں (hain).

Well, this was a short and detailed introduction to the Urdu Alphabet. Practice these so you can jump to the next step of vocabulary and sentence-making.

How Do You Say Alphabet In Urdu?

The Urdu word for Alphabet is huroof-e-teh’ji (حروف تہجی).

Tips To Master Urdu Alphabet Easily

To transform your passion for learning into some fruitful outcome, here are a few handy tips that will help you in mastering Urdu alphabets easily and quickly:

1. Begin with the basics always. Look at the names and shapes of all the letters in the Urdu alphabet.
2. Learn Urdu letters in the form of groups instead of isolately. For instance, group them in the categories like, similar sounds (ب،پ،ت،ط) or similar shapes (د،ڈ،ذ،ر،ز), etc.
3. Remember that Urdu letters take the shape according to their position in the word. So, understand their connection with each other.
4. Make use of flashcards for better retention. You can write Urdu letter on one side and its sound on the other to check your learning.
5. Practice Urdu alphabet with the help of common words made with each letter. For example, ا – آدمی, ب – بلی, پ – پانی, etc.
6. Don’t rush. Start slow, practice the pronunciation and connotation of each letter properly instead of just trying to learn each and every Urdu letter instantly.

Frequently Asked Questions Related To Urdu Alphabet

1. How Many Letters Are There In Urdu Alphabet?

Mainly, Urdu alphabet has 36 letters. Yet, there can be more letters, depending on how some Urdu sounds are counted.

2. In Which Direction Do We Write Urdu?

We write Urdu in right-to-left direction. This script is same as Perso-Arabic script, which we also name as Nastaliq script.

3. What Is The First Letter Of The Urdu Alphabet?

The first letter of the Urdu alphabet is Alif (ا).

Learning Urdu Alphabet Is A First Step Towards Learning

That’s it for this blog post. Have you found it interesting? Hoping the answer is yes.

Understanding your interest for the Urdu language, we have compiled a long list of Urdu alphabets with their pronunciation to guide you through your first lesson.

This article also includes the list of words starting with each letter to familiarize you with the usage of each letter in the Urdu alphabet.

Adding more to it, the addition of a few handy tips and some answered FAQs works is a treat from us for keeping your interest in learning strong!

Now that you have learned all of the Urdu alphabet, you might be looking for other lessons. There’s a good news for you.

On the Ling app, you can get the best lessons to learn the Urdu language.

For a quick idea, you can check out our blogs on Urdu Emergency Phrases and greetings in Urdu.

What’s Your Next Step?

Isn’t learning a new language an exciting journey? Indeed it is.

Yet, it’s definitely time to move on to the next topic. So, what do you plan to learn now? Either Urdu words or Urdu greetings will work, and the Ling app can help you here.

The Ling app is the best tool you can find right now for learning Urdu.

With Ling, you can access several short, informative lessons, practice exercises, fun quizzes, and a chatbot to master speaking skills.

The best part is the Ling app’s gamified interface that allows the learners to embrace new linguistic challenges through fun quizzes and other mini- practice exercises.

By combining your passion for language learning and Ling’s gamified learning experience, you surely won’t get bored while learning Urdu.

And the other best part? It’s available to download on your Android and iOS devices!

Happy Learning!