Persian Alphabet
The Persian alphabet is an extension of the Arabic alphabet. It is written from right to left, and most letters connect to each other. This leads to different forms of a letter depending on its position in a word, although the different forms generally resemble each other. Most vowels are omitted in normal texts, although they may be written for disambiguation or pedagogical purposes. Urdu is primarily written in a calligraphic style of the script called Nasta'liq.
| Letter | Name of letter | Transcription | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| ا | alif | - | - |
| ب | be | b | /b/ |
| پ | pe | p | /p/ |
| ت | te | t | /t̪/ |
| ٹ | ṭe | ṭ | /ʈ/ |
| ث | se | s | /s/ |
| ج | jīm | j | /d͡ʒ/ |
| چ | che | ch | /t͡ʃ/ |
| ح | baṛī he | h | /h/ |
| خ | khe | kh | /x/ |
| د | dāl | d | /d̪/ |
| ڈ | ḍāl | ḍ | /ɖ/ |
| ذ | zāl | dh | /z/ |
| ر | re | r | /r/ |
| ڑ | ṛe | ṛ | /ɽ/ |
| ز | ze | z | /z/ |
| ژ | zhe | zh | /ʒ/ |
| س | sīn | s | /s/ |
| ش | shīn | sh | /ʃ/ |
| ص | su'ād | ṣ | /s/ |
| ض | zu'ād | z̤ | /z/ |
| ط | to'e | t | /t/ |
| ظ | zo'e | ẓ | /z/ |
| ع | ‘ain | ' | - |
| غ | ghain | gh | /ɣ/ |
| ف | fe | f | /f/ |
| ق | qāf | q | /q/ |
| ک | kāf | k | /k/ |
| گ | gāf | g | /ɡ/ |
| ل | lām | l | /l/ |
| م | mīm | m | /m/ |
| ن | nūn | n | /n/ |
| و | vā'o | v, o, or ū | /ʋ/, /oː/, /ɔ/ or /uː/ |
| ہ, ﮩ, ﮨ | choṭī he | h | /h/ |
| ھ | do chashmī he | h | /ʰ/ |
| ء | hamza | ' | /ʔ/ |
| ی | ye | y, i | /j/ or /iː/ |
| ے | bari ye | ai or e | /ɛː/, or /eː/ |
Read more about this topic: Hindustani Orthography
Famous quotes containing the words persian and/or alphabet:
“Oh! thou clear spirit of clear fire, whom on these seas I as Persian once did worship, till in the sacramental act so burned by thee, that to this hour I bear the scar; I now know thee, thou clear spirit, and I now know that thy right worship is defiance. To neither love nor reverence wilt thou be kind; and e’en for hate thou canst but kill; and all are killed. No fearless fool now fronts thee.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“Roger Thornhill: You’re police, aren’t you. Or is it FBI?
Professor: FBI, CIA, O–I—we’re all in the same alphabet soup.”
—Ernest Lehman (b.1920)