Table of Contents
Understanding Urdu Sounds
In this chapter you will get a bird’s‑eye view of how Urdu sounds work. You will not yet learn every single sound in detail, but you will understand the main “feel” of Urdu pronunciation, the sound categories, and how they compare to English.
Later chapters will go much deeper into specific sound groups like aspirated and retroflex consonants. Here, your goal is to start hearing Urdu as a system of sounds that repeats and follows patterns.
The Sound System of Urdu
Urdu has:
- Vowels: sounds like “a, i, u, e, o”
- Consonants: sounds like “b, t, k, m, n”
- Special consonants that English does not have, for example retroflex sounds
- Aspirated consonants, such as “kh,” “ph,” “th,” where extra air is released
Urdu is written from right to left, in a cursive script, but in this chapter we use Roman Urdu (Urdu written with English letters) to talk about pronunciation.
Vowels in Urdu: Short and Long
Urdu has short vowels and long vowels. Length is important, because it can change meaning.
Short vowels
Common short vowels in Urdu are often written as:
- a as in “about”
- i as in “bit”
- u as in “put”
Examples in Roman Urdu:
| Roman Urdu | Rough pronunciation in English | Meaning (English) |
|---|---|---|
| dil | “dil” with short i | heart |
| gul | “gool” but shorter u | flower |
| sab | “sub” | all, everyone |
Long vowels
Long vowels are held for a slightly longer time.
Common long vowels:
- aa similar to “a” in “father”
- ii / ee similar to “ee” in “see”
- uu / oo similar to “oo” in “food”
- e as in “they”
- o as in “go”
Examples:
| Roman Urdu | Pronunciation hint | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| baat | “baht” with long aa | talk, matter |
| dil | “dil” (short i) | heart |
| dīl / deel | “deel” with long ee | (loanwords, names, etc.) |
| noor | “noor” with long oo | light |
| der | like “dare” without r-coloring | delay |
| dost | “dohst” | friend |
Important rule: In Urdu, vowel length is meaningful. A short vowel and a long vowel can create different words, not just different accents.
Consonants: Familiar and New
Many Urdu consonants feel familiar to English speakers:
| Urdu sound (Roman) | Similar English sound | Example (Urdu) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | “b” in “bat” | bacha | child |
| p | “p” in “spin” | pani | water |
| t | “t” in “stop” | tamatar | tomato |
| k | “k” in “skip” | kal | tomorrow / yesterday (context) |
| m | “m” in “man” | maa | mother |
| n | “n” in “no” | naan | flatbread |
| f | “f” in “far” | fankar | artist |
| s | “s” in “see” | sabzi | vegetables |
| z | “z” in “zoo” | zara | a little |
Urdu also has sounds that are new for many learners. You will see them often written in Roman Urdu with two letters:
| Roman Urdu | Type of sound | Very rough hint |
|---|---|---|
| kh | like German “Bach” | stronger than “k,” with air |
| gh | voiced version of kh | in the throat, like gargling softly |
| ch | “ch” in “church” | |
| jh | “j” with extra breath | |
| sh | “sh” in “she” | |
| zh / j | like “s” in “measure” | found in some words |
| q | deeper “k,” throat area | similar to Arabic “qaf” |
You will study different groups of consonants later. For now, just notice that some have extra breath and some are produced deeper in the mouth or throat.
Aspirated and Unaspirated Pairs (Overview Only)
You will learn this in detail in “Aspirated vs. unaspirated consonants,” but it is helpful to hear the idea now.
Urdu has pairs such as:
- k vs kh
- g vs gh
- p vs ph
- t vs th
- ch vs chh
The second sound in each pair is aspirated, so more air comes out. This difference can change meaning.
Examples:
| Pair | Word 1 (unaspirated) | Meaning | Word 2 (aspirated) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| k / kh | kal | tomorrow / yesterday | khala | maternal aunt |
| p / ph | pal | moment | phal | fruit |
| t / th | tar | wire | thanda | cold |
Key idea: In Urdu, aspiration (extra breath) can change the word. “pal” and “phal” are not the same. Listen carefully to the air sound.
Retroflex Sounds: A New Tongue Position (Overview Only)
Urdu has a group of sounds made with the tongue curled slightly back. These are called retroflex sounds. They do not exist as separate sounds in English.
Some examples in Roman Urdu:
- ṭ (retroflex t, often written as “ṭ” or “t”)
- ḍ (retroflex d, written as “ḍ” or “d”)
- ṛ (retroflex r, written as “ṛ” or “r”)
We will not go deep here, but you should know:
- The tongue touches the roof of the mouth a little further back than for normal t, d, r.
- This creates a heavier, more “thick” sound.
Examples:
| Roman Urdu | Retroflex? | Rough hint in English | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| taaj | no | normal “t” sound | crown |
| ṭaal | yes | harder “t,” tongue back | lake (often written as taal) |
| dal | no | normal “d” | lentils |
| ḍaal | yes | heavier “d,” tongue back | also “lentils,” different spelling / register |
In daily Roman Urdu, people often do not mark the dots, so both may appear as “d.” For learning pronunciation, try to hear the “thicker” sound.
Where Stress Usually Falls
Compared with English, Urdu stress is more regular and less dramatic. In many simple words, stress falls on the second last syllable.
Examples:
| Word | Syllables | Stressed syllable (bold) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| pa-ni | 2 | pa | water |
| ba-cha | 2 | ba | child |
| ka-maa-i | 3 | maa | income |
| ki-taab | 2 | taab | book |
This is only a rough guide, not a strict rule, but it helps you avoid putting very strong stress in the wrong place, which often happens when English speakers transfer English patterns to Urdu.
Helpful guideline: Urdu words usually do not have very strong or shifting stress like English. Keep your stress light and regular, often near the end of the word.
Intonation in Simple Sentences
Intonation is the music of the sentence, how your pitch goes up and down.
Very basic patterns:
- Statements usually fall at the end.
- Roman Urdu:
Ye kitab hai.
Rough pattern: YE kiTAAB hai↓
Meaning: This is a book. - Yes / no questions often rise at the end.
- Roman Urdu:
Kya ye kitab hai?
Rough pattern: kya YE kiTAAB hai↑
Meaning: Is this a book? - Wh‑questions (with words like “what, where, why”) often have a fall at the end, but the question word itself is slightly emphasized.
- Roman Urdu:
Ye kya hai?
Rough pattern: YE KYA hai↓
Meaning: What is this?
Later, you will study intonation in more detail. For now, try to hear the difference between falling and rising tones.
Roman Urdu and Approximate Spellings
In this course we sometimes use Roman Urdu to help you start speaking. Keep this in mind:
- Roman Urdu spellings are not fully standard.
- The same sound may be written differently by different people:
- “dost,” “dosat,” “doost” for the same word دوست.
- We will use consistent Roman spellings inside this course to help you.
Examples of everyday words in Roman Urdu:
| Urdu script | Roman Urdu (course) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| کتاب | kitaab | book |
| پانی | paani | water |
| گھر | ghar | house, home |
| آدمی | aadmi | man, person |
| عورت | aurat | woman |
| بچے | bachay | children |
Try to listen more than you read at first. Roman Urdu is a stepping stone, not the final goal.
Minimal Pairs: Hearing Small Differences
A minimal pair is a pair of words that differ in only one sound, but have different meanings. These are very useful to train your ear.
Here are some important types of differences.
1. Short vs long vowel
| Pair | Meaning 1 | Meaning 2 |
|---|---|---|
| dil / dīl (deel) | heart | “deal” sound, different vowel length, often in names |
| pal / paal | moment | to rear, to raise (as in “paalna”) |
2. Aspirated vs unaspirated
| Pair | Meaning 1 | Meaning 2 |
|---|---|---|
| pal | moment | |
| phal | fruit | |
| kal | tomorrow / yesterday | |
| khal | skin (of an animal) |
3. Retroflex vs non‑retroflex
Here we mark retroflex with dots, but in simple Roman people often do not write the dots.
| Pair | Explanation |
|---|---|
| ta / ṭa | “ta” normal vs “ṭa” tongue curled slightly back |
| da / ḍa | “da” normal vs “ḍa” heavier, tongue back |
At beginner level, simply try to notice that these differences exist, even if you cannot pronounce them perfectly yet.
Practical Listening Tips
- Listen to native speakers as often as possible, even if you do not understand the words yet.
- Mouth shape and tongue position are important in Urdu:
- For retroflex sounds, tongue is further back.
- For aspirated sounds, feel more air on your hand if you put it in front of your mouth.
- Repeat out loud after audio or video, not only in your head.
- Record yourself on your phone and compare with native speakers.
Sample Words by Sound Type
Here is a small set of common words to get used to Urdu sounds. You do not need to memorize all meanings yet. Use them as “sound exercises.”
Vowel focus
| Word (Roman Urdu) | Pronunciation focus | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ab | short “a” | now |
| aap | long “aa” | you (formal) |
| dil | short “i” | heart |
| dīr (deer) | long “ee” | delay, time |
| gul | short “u” | flower |
| noor | long “oo” | light |
| ghar | short “a” + r | house, home |
| dost | long “o” | friend |
Consonant focus
| Word (Roman Urdu) | Focus sound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| kal | k | tomorrow / yesterday |
| khana | kh | food, to eat |
| gana | g | to sing |
| ghari | gh | clock, watch |
| pani | p | water |
| phool | ph | flower |
| tomatar | t | tomato |
| thanda | th | cold |
| chai | ch | tea |
| chhota | chh | small |
New Vocabulary from This Chapter
These words appeared as examples. You will see some of them again later. Pronunciation here is given in Roman Urdu.
| Urdu script | Roman Urdu | Meaning (English) |
|---|---|---|
| دل | dil | heart |
| گل / گُل | gul | flower |
| سب | sab | all, everyone |
| بات | baat | talk, matter |
| نور | noor | light |
| دوست | dost | friend |
| بچہ | bacha | child |
| پانی | paani | water |
| پھل | phal | fruit |
| دودھ | doodh | milk |
| گھر | ghar | house, home |
| آدمی | aadmi | man, person |
| عورت | aurat | woman |
| بچے | bachay | children |
| کتاب | kitaab | book |
| کھانا | khana | food, to eat |
| گانا | gana | to sing |
| گھڑی | ghari | clock, watch |
| تھنڈا | thanda | cold |
| چائے | chai | tea |
| چھوٹا | chhota | small |
| نان | naan | flatbread |
| سبزی | sabzi | vegetables |
| اب | ab | now |
| آپ | aap | you (formal, polite) |
At this stage, focus more on hearing and repeating these words correctly than on memorizing all their meanings. In the next chapters you will connect these sounds to the Urdu script and start reading and writing them.