Lesson 3Alphabet & ScriptBeginner12 min
Urdu Alphabet Lesson 3: Daal, Ddaal, Zaal, Ray, Rray, Zay and Zhay
دال، ڈال، ذال، رے، ڑے، زے، ژےThis lesson covers two small families: the Daal family (د ڈ ذ) and the Ray family (ر ڑ ز ژ). These seven letters have something in common: they never join to the letter that comes after them.
The letters
دDaal /d̪/
درختDarakht (Tree)
ڈDaal (ḍ) /ɖ/
ڈبہDabba (Box)
ذZaal /z/
ذخیرہZakheera (Collection)
رRay /r/
راتRaat (Night)
ڑRray /ɽ/
پہاڑPahaar (Mountain)
زZay /z/
زمینZameen (Earth)
ژZhay /ʒ/
ژالہZhaala (Hailstorm)
Sounds to notice
| Letter | Sound |
|---|---|
| د | soft d, tongue touches the back of the teeth |
| ڈ | hard D, tongue curled back (like English d) |
| ذ | z |
| ر | rolled r, a quick tap of the tongue |
| ڑ | a flapped r with the tongue curled back; found in the middle or end of words |
| ز | z |
| ژ | zh, like the s in 'measure'. It is rare in Urdu. |
Words to read
Notice how the letter after د or ر starts fresh, without a join.
داداdaadagrandfather (father's father)
ڈرdarfear
بڑاbarabig
رازraazsecret
زردzardyellow
بازbaazfalcon
Tips
- Non-joining letters in Urdu: ا د ڈ ذ ر ڑ ز ژ و. When you see a gap inside a word, one of these is usually just before it.
- ڑ almost never starts a word. You will meet it in words like بڑا (big) and پہاڑ (mountain).
- ذ and ز sound the same in Urdu. You just have to learn which one each word uses.
Practice
Choose the right answer. You will see the correct one straight away.