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:
“The threadbare trees, so poor and thin,
They are no wealthier than I;
But with as brave a core within
They rear their boughs to the October sky.
Poor knights they are which bravely wait
The charge of Winter’s cavalry,
Keeping a simple Roman state,
Discumbered of their Persian luxury.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“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)