Urdu Romanization Table
2013 version
2013 1
Earlier versions: 2011, 1997
Urdu (in Arabic script)
Letters of the Alphabet
Initial
Medial
Final
Alone
Romanization
ا
ﺎ
ﺎ
ا
omit (see Note 1)
ﺑ
ﺒ
ﺐ
ﺏ
b
ﭘ
ﭙ
ﭗ
ﭖ
p
ﺗ
ﺘ
ﺖ
ﺕ
t
ﭨ
ﭩ
ﭧ
ٹ
ṭ
ﺛ
ﺜ
ﺚ
ﺙ
s
ﺟ
ﺠ
ﺞ
ﺝ
j
ﭼ
ﭽ
ﭻ
ﭺ
c
ﺣ
ﺤ
ﺢ
ﺡ
ḥ
ﺧ
ﺨ
ﺦ
ﺥ
k h
ﺩ
ﺪ
ﺪ
ﺩ
d
ڈ
ﮉ
ﮉ
ڈ
ḍ
ﺫ
ﺬ
ﺬ
ﺫ
z
ﺭ
ﺮ
ﺮ
ﺭ
r
ڑ
ﮍ
ﮍ
ڑ
ṛ
ﺯ
ﺰ
ﺰ
ﺯ
z
ﮊ
ﮋ
ﮋ
ﮊ
zh
ﺳ
ﺴ
ﺲ
ﺱ
s
ﺷ
ﺸ
ﺶ
ﺵ
sh
ﺻ
ﺼ
ﺺ
ﺹ
ṣ
ﺿ
ﻀ
ﺾ
ﺽ
ẓ
ﻃ
ﻄ
ﻂ
ﻁ
t̤
ﻇ
ﻈ
ﻆ
ﻅ
z̤
ﻋ
ﻌ
ﻊ
ﻉ
‘ (ayn)
ﻏ
ﻐ
ﻎ
ﻍ
g h
ﻓ
ﻔ
ﻒ
ﻑ
f
ﻗ
ﻘ
ﻖ
ﻕ
q
ﻛ
ﻜ
ﻚ
ﻙ
k
ﮔ
ﮕ
ﮓ
ﮒ
g
ﻟ
ﻠ
ﻞ
ﻝ
l
ﻣ
ﻤ
ﻢ
ﻡ
m
Urdu Romanization Table
2013 version
2013 2
Initial
Medial
Final
Alone
Romanization
ﻧ
ﻨ
ﻦ
ﻥ
n
ﯨ
ﯩ
ﮟ
ں
n (see Note 2)
ﻭ
ﻮ
ﻮ
ﻭ
v
ﻫ
ﻬ
ﻪ
ه
h
- -
ﺔ
ة
t (see Rule 10)
ﻳ
) ﻲ، ے (ﻴ
)ي ، ے (ﻰ
ﻯ
y (see Note 3)
Digraphs Representing Urdu Aspirates
(see Note 4)
Value
bh
ﻬ ﺑ
ph
ﻬ ﭘ
th
ﻬ ﺗ
ṭh
ﻬ ﭨ
jh
ﻬ ﺟ
ch
ﻬ ﭼ
dh
ﻫد
ḍh
ﻫڋ
ṛh
ﻫڑ
kh
ﻬﻛ
gh
ﻬﮔ
Urdu Vowels and Diphthongs
(see Note 5)
Value
a
َ◌
u
ُ◌
i
ِ◌
ā
َ◌ا
á
ﲐَ ، یَ◌
ū
وُ◌
ī
یِ◌
o
و◌
e
، ی◌ﮯ ◌
au
ْوَ◌
ai
◌ﮯ
Notes
Urdu Romanization Table
2013 version
2013 3
1. For the use of ا (
alif
) to support ء (
hamzah
) and (
maddah
), see rules 1 and 2,
respectively. For the romanization of
ء by (
alif
), see rule 12. For other orthographic uses
of
ا see rules 3-4.
2. For the distinction between ﻥ and ں, see rule 6.
3. For the distinction between ﻯ and ے , see rule 11(c) and (e).
4. For the form of the letter ه in these digraphs, see rule 9.
5. Vowel points are used sparingly, and for romanization must be supplied from a dictionary.
RULES OF APPLICATION
Letters Which May Be Romanized in Different Ways Depending on Their Context
1. ا (
alif
), و and ی are used to support ء (
hamzah
); see rule 12. When so used, these
letters are not represented in romanization.
2. ا (
alif
) is used to support (
maddah
); see rule 13. When so used, it is not represented
in romanization.
3. ا (
alif
) is used after a consonant to indicate the long vowel romanized
ā
.
rāj ج ا ر
karnā ﺎﻧﺮﮐ
In some words of Arabic origin this
alif
appears as a superscript letter over ی
representing the
alif maqṣūrah
.
daʻvá ﻮﻋد ﲐ
The
alif
is sometimes omitted in writing. It is always represented in romanization.
ʻAbdurraḥmān
نﺎﻤﺣﺮﻟا ﺪﺒﻋ ، ﻦﻤﺣﺮﻟا ﺪﺒﻋ
4. ا (
alif
) may be used as an orthographic sign without phonetic significance. In these cases
it is not represented in romanization. See rule 16.
ʻamlan ً ﻼ ﻤ ﻋ
5. ط appears as a superscript letter over ت, د, and ر when the latter represent the cerebral
sounds romanized
ṭ
,
ḍ
, and
ṛ
, respectively.
6. Regardless of pronunciation, undotted forms of the letter
ن are romanized
n
and dotted
forms are romanized
n
.
jahān ں ﺎ ﻬ ﺟ
7. و is used:
(a) To represent the consonant sound romanized
v
.
Urdu Romanization Table
2013 version
2013 4
dev ﻮﻳد
vujūd دﻮﺟو
In some words of Persian origin this consonant, though written, has ceased to be
pronounced. It is retained in romanization.
k
hvīsh ﺶﻳﻮﺧ
(b) To represent the long vowel romanized
ū
.
Urdū
ودرا
(c) To represent the long vowel romanized
o
.
os
س و ا
dost ﺖﺳود
For the romanization of the conjunction و as
o
see rule 19.
(d) To represent the diphthong romanized
au
.
aur
روا
qaumī ﯽﻣﻮﻗ
(e) To support ء (
hamzah
). See rule 12.
For the use of ّ ◌ (
shaddah
) with و see rule 14.
8. ه is used to represent the consonantal sound romanized
h
.
ham ﻢﻫ
gāh ه ﺎ ﮔ
Final ه, though not pronounced, is normally retained in romanization.
kih ﻪﮐ
guldastah ﻪﺘﺳﺪﻠﮔ
Exception is made in the case of words whose final syllable ends in an aspirated
consonant. When final
ه is added to the letter ﻬ in this position, it is not represented in
romanization.
mukh ﻪﻬﮑﻣ
9. ه (usually written in the form ﻬ ) is used to represent the aspirated element of the sounds
romanized
bh
,
ph
,
th
,
ṭh
,
jh
,
ch
,
ḍh
,
ṛh
,
kh
,
gh
.
phūl لﻮﻬﭘ
acchā ﺎ ﻬ ﭼ ا
For the writing and romanization of words ending in an aspirated consonant, see rule 8.
10.
ة and ت, which are sometimes used interchangeably, are both romanized
t
.
ḥikmat ﺖﻤﮑﺣ ، ﺔﻤﮑﺣ
Urdu Romanization Table
2013 version
2013 5
11. ی is used:
(a) To represent the consonant romanized
y
.
siyāsat
ﺖﺳﺎﯿﺳ
diyā ﺎﯾد
(b) To represent the long vowel romanized
ī
.
taṣvīr
ﺮﯾﻮﺼﺗ
(c) To represent the long vowel romanized
e
.
sher
ﺮﯿﺷ
nevā اﻮﯿﻧ
When ی with this value is final, the form ے generally replaces ی.
se ﺳﮯ
laṛke ﮍﻟﮐﮯ
(d) To represent the long vowel romanized
á
. See rule 3.
daʻvá
یﻮﻋد
ʻuqbá ﯽﺒﻘﻋ
(e) To represent the diphthong romanized
ai
.
maidān
ناﺪﯿﻣ
bail ﻞﯿﺑ
When ی with this value is final, it is generally written ے .
hai ﻫﮯ
(f) To support ء (
hamzah
). In this position ی is usually undotted. See rule 12.
For the use of ّ◌ (
shaddah
) with ی see rule 14.
For the use of ی in a
muẓāf
see rule 17.
Romanization of Orthographic Symbols Other Than Letters and Vowel Signs
Although vowel signs are frequently omitted in printed texts, they are always taken into
consideration in romanization. The rules for other symbols vary.
12.
ء (
hamzah
)
(a) In initial position ء is not represented in romanization.
(b) In medial and final position, when ء represents a consonant, it is romanized ʼ
(
alif
).
muʼmin ﻦﻣﺆﻣ
liʼe ﺌﻟ ﮯ
Urdu Romanization Table
2013 version
2013 6
bhāʼī ﯽﺋﺎﻬﺑ
(c) When ء represents the connective syllable joining a
muẓāf
to what follows, it is
romanized
-yi
. See rule 17.
malikah-yi Inglistān نﺎﺘﺴﻠﮕﻧا ﮥﮑﻠﻣ
13. (
maddah
)
(a) At the beginning of a word, or following the Arabic article
لا, آ is romanized
ā
.
āb
بآ
(b) At the beginning of a syllable within a word,
آ is romanized
ʼā
.
mirʼāt تآﺮﻣ
Qurʼān نآﺮﻗ
(c) is otherwise omitted in romanization.
14.
ّ◌ (
shaddah
or
tashdīd
) indicates the doubling in pronunciation of the letter over which it
is written. It is represented in romanization by doubling the letter or digraph concerned.
caccā ﺎّﭽﭼ
khaṭṭā ﺎ ّ ﭩ ﻬ ﮐ
makkhī ﯽ ﻬ ّ ﮑ ﻣ
When ّ◌ occurs over و and ی, these letters are regarded as representing consonants.
They are romanized
vv
and
yy
, respectively.
quvvat ت ّ ﻮ ﻗ
sayyid ﺪّﯿﺳ
Zakariyyā ﺎّﯾﺮﮐز
15. ْ◌ (
sukūn
or
jazm
) indicates the absence of a vowel following the letter over which it is
written. It is not represented in romanization.
16.
Tanvīn
(written ٌ◌, ٍ◌, ً◌ ( ً◌ا )) is romanized
un
,
in
,
an
, respectively, when it occurs in a
word or expression borrowed from Arabic. Otherwise it is not represented in
romanization.
fauran اًرﻮﻓ
ʻamlan ً ﻼ ﻤ ﻋ
Romanization as Affected by Grammatical Structure
17.
I
ẓ
āfat
.
Urdu Romanization Table
2013 version
2013 7
(a) When the
mu
ẓ
āf
, the first of two words in the grammatical relationship known as,
iẓāfah
ends in a consonant,
-i
is added to it in the romanization.
tārīk
h-i Hindūstān نﺎﺘﺳوﺪﻨﻫ ﺦﯾرﺎﺗ
(b) When the
mu
ẓ
āf
ends in a vowel or in silent ه,
-yi
is added.
daryā-yi shor رﻮﺷ ےﺎﯾرد
zabān-i Urdū-yi muʻallá ﯽﻠﻌﻣ ےودرا نﺎﺑز
malikah-yi Inglistān نﺎﺘﺴﻠﮕﻧا ﮥﮑﻠﻣ
For the use of ء (
hamzah
) to indicate the
mu
ẓ
āf
, see rule 12(c).
18. The Arabic article
لا is romanized differently depending on the letters and context with
which it is associated.
(a) When it is prefixed to a word beginning with a “moon letter”
(
خ ، ع ، غ ، ف ، ق ، ك ، م ، و ، ه ، ی ، ا ، ب ، ج ، ح ) it is romanized
al
.
al-Qurʼān
ناﺮﻘﻟا
(b) When it is prefixed to a word beginning with a “sun letter”
(
ز ، س ، ش ، ص ، ض ، ط ، ظ ، ل ، ن ، ت ، ث ، د ذ ، ، ر ) the
l
of the article is
replaced in romanization by the same letter or digraph as that which begins the following
word.
as-sijill
ﻞﺠﺴﻟا
(c) When it occurs before the second element in a name, the vowel of the article is
replaced by the final vowel of the preceding word.
ʻAbdulʻazīz
ﺰﯾﺰﻌﻟا ﺪﺒﻋ
ʻAbdurrashīd ﺪﯿﺷﺮﻟا ﺪﺒﻋ
Abūlfaẓl ﻞﻀﻔﻟا ﻮﺑا
Zūlqarnain ﻦﯿﻧﺮﻘﻟا وذ
Faẓlullāh ﷲ ﻞ ﻀ ﻓ
19. The conjunction و, when used to join two closely associated members of a phrase, is
romanized
o
.
māl o asbāb بﺎﺒﺳا و لﺎﻣ
Otherwise و is romanized
va
.
20. Rules for the capitalization of English are followed, except that the Arabic article
al
is
lowercased in all positions.
21. The macron is used with both capital and lowercase letters.
Urdu Romanization Table
2013 version
2013 8
22. The hyphen is used:
(a) To connect a
mu
ẓ
āf
with the following vowel or syllable. See rule 17.
(b) To connect the Arabic article
al
with the following word. See rule 18.
23. Foreign words in an Urdu context, including Arabic and Persian words, are romanized
according to the rules for Urdu.
ﻫ بﺎﻨﺟﮉﯿ ﺎﻣﺳﭩﺮ رﻮﮔ ﺐﺣﺎﺻﻨﻤﻧﭧ ﯽﺋﺎﻫ ل ﻮ ﮑ ﺳ ا
Janāb-i Heḍ Māsṭar ṣāḥib-i Gavarnmanṭ Hāʼī Iskūl
For short vowels not indicated in the script, the Urdu vowels nearest the original
pronunciation of the word concerned are supplied in romanization.
24. A quotation in another language using the Arabic script is romanized according to the
rules for the language concerned.
