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Urdu Script & Pronunciation

Nastaliq alphabet, vowel marks, and pronunciation rules
نستعلیق
Nastaliq
nasta'līq
The calligraphic style used for Urdu — differs from Naskh used in Arabic
اعراب: زبر زیر پیش
Diacritics: fatha kasra damma
a'rāb: zabar zer pesh
Three short vowel marks — often omitted in printed Urdu texts
جزم (ساکن)
Sukun — no vowel
jazm (sākin)
Mark indicating a consonant has no following vowel
تشدید
Shadda — consonant doubling
tashdīd
Mark indicating gemination (double consonant sound)
مد
Madd — long vowel extension
madd
Extension mark over alef indicating long ā sound
نون غنہ ں
Nasalized n
nūn ghunna
Nasal marker at end of words — distinct from regular ن
ہمزہ ء
Glottal stop / hamza
hamza
Glottal stop — appears alone or on alef واو یے
چاند بندی ۃ
Ta marbuta equivalent
chānd bindī
Rare in Urdu — mainly in Arabic loanwords
اتصال — جڑے حروف
Joined letters
ittisāl — juṛe hurūf
Most Urdu letters connect to the next; 6 non-connectors
غیر متصل حروف: ا د ڈ ذ ر ڑ ز ژ و
Non-connecting letters
ghair muttaṣil hurūf
These 9 letters never connect to the following letter