Alphabet in Urdu - Complete Urdu Letters Chart

The Urdu alphabet consists of 40 basic letters derived from the Arabic and Persian scripts. Learn each letter with its name, pronunciation, and English equivalent below.

Urdu Alphabet Chart

Alif Madd

Sound: aa

Alif

Sound: a

Bay

Sound: b

Pay

Sound: p

Tay

Sound: t

Ṭay

Sound: ṭ

Say

Sound: s

Jeem

Sound: j

Chay

Sound: ch

Baṛi Hay

Sound: h

#10

Khay

Sound: kh

#11

Daal

Sound: d

#12

Ḍaal

Sound: ḍ

#13

Zaal

Sound: z

#14

Ray

Sound: r

#15

Ṛay

Sound: ṛ

#16

Zay

Sound: z

#17

Zhay

Sound: zh

#18

Seen

Sound: s

#19

Sheen

Sound: sh

#20

Suaad

Sound: ṣ

#21

Zuaad

Sound: ẓ

#22

Toay

Sound: ṭ

#23

Zoay

Sound: ẓ

#24

Ain

Sound: a/ʿ

#25

Ghain

Sound: gh

#26

Fay

Sound: f

#27

Qaaf

Sound: q

#28

Kaaf

Sound: k

#29

Gaaf

Sound: g

#30

Laam

Sound: l

#31

Meem

Sound: m

#32

Noon

Sound: n

#33

Noon Ghunna

Sound: ñ

#34

Waao

Sound: w/o/u

#35

Choṭi Hay

Sound: h

#36

Do Chashmi Hay

Sound: h

#37

Hamza

Sound: ʾ

#38

Choṭi Yay

Sound: y/i

#39

Baṛi Yay

Sound: e/ai

#40

About the Urdu Alphabet

The Urdu script is written from right to left (RTL) and is based on the Nastaliq style of the Perso-Arabic script. It contains 39 basic letters, including several letters unique to Urdu that don't exist in Arabic — such as پ (pay), ٹ (ṭay), چ (chay), ڈ (ḍaal), ڑ (ṛay), and گ (gaaf). These additions allow Urdu to represent sounds from native South Asian languages.

Urdu Vowel Marks (Diacritics)

بَ

Zabar

Sound: a (short)

Fatḥah

بِ

Zer

Sound: i (short)

Kasrah

بُ

Pesh

Sound: u (short)

Ḍammah

بّ

Tashdeed

Sound: double consonant

Shaddah

بٰ

Khari Zabar

Sound: aa (long)

Superscript Alif

بً

Do Zabar

Sound: an

Tanween Fatḥ