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( a ) pronounced as "u" in "but"
( aa ) pronounced as "a" in "far"
( e ) pronounced as "e" in "bed"
( i ) pronounced as "i" in "fit"
( ee ) pronounced as "ee" in "feet"
( o ) pronounced as "o" in "code"
( u ) pronounced as "u" in "put"
( oo ) pronounced as "oo" in "booed"
( au ) pronounced as "ow" in "how"
( ai ) pronounced as "ei" in "neighbor"
Notes:
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(1) ' indicates a glottal stop (pronounced like "uh") in very careful ----- speech.
Normally, however, it is not pronounced at the beginning of a word and in other positions it represents 'aa'.
(2) The combination 'ah' at the end of a word is pronounced like 'aa' or 'e'.
For example: 'jagah' could be 'jagaa' or 'jage', i.e., the h is silent.
(3) The combination 'ah' or 'aH' in the middle of a word is pronounced like 'e'.
(4) n. (n period) indicates nasalization.
(5) a - is used to distinguish between sh and s+h, kh and k+h, etc.
Letter Transcription Remarks
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'alif : ( a ) Could also stand for an unspecified initial vowel
be : ( b )
pe : ( p ) Does not occur in Arabic
te : ( t ) Used in native words
Te : ( T ) Does not occur in Arabic and Persian
se : ( s ) Used in loan words
jeem : ( j )
che : ( ch ) Does not occur in Arabic
baRi he : ( H ) Used in loan words
khe : ( kh )
daal : ( d )
Daal : ( D )
Does not occur in Arabic and Persian
zaal : ( z ) Used in loan words
re : ( r )
Re : ( R ) Does not occur in Arabic and Persian
ze : ( z ) Used in native words
zhe : ( zh ) Does not occur in Arabic
seen : ( s )
sheen : ( sh )
suaad : ( s ) Used in loan words
zuaad : ( z ) Used in loan words
to-ain : ( t ) Used in loan words
zo-ain : ( z ) Used in loan words
ain : ( ' ) Could also stand for an unspecified initial vowel
ghain : ( gh )
fay : ( f )
qaaf : ( q )
kaaf : ( k )
gaaf : ( g ) Does not occur in Arabic
laam : ( l )
meem : ( m )
noon : ( n )
waa-o : ( w ) Stands for oo/o/au at the end of a word.
In the middle it could stand for w/oo/o/au
chhoti hay : ( h ) Used in native words
chhoti ye : ( y )
Stand for ee/e/ai at the end of a word.
In the middle it could stand for y/ee/e/ai
bari ye : ( y ) Occurs only at the end of a word and stands for e or ai
Abbreviations
Grammatical Abbreviations
n.f. = noun feminine
adj. = adjective
conj. = conjunction
suff. = suffix
plu. = plural
n.m. = noun masculine
v. = verb
intj. = interjection
pref. = prefix
lit. = literal
pron. = pronoun
adv. = adverb
prep. = preposition
fig. = figurative
poet. = poetic
Word Origins
P = Persian
H = Hindi
A = Arabic
S = Sanskrit
T = Turkish
G = Greek
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