INTRODUCTION

And now we come to another unique character used in Urdu - the ‘alif maqsuura’ ( Devanagari: अलिफ़ मक़्सूरा | IPA:  /əlɪf məqsuːraː/ | Pronunciation:  ).

‘alif maqsuuraa’ is essentially a small, minified ‘alif’ placed over a ‘chhoTii ye’. Here’s an illustration of this :

Above: The ‘alif maqsuuraa’. Notice the small ‘alif’ above the ‘chhoTii ye’.

RULE

The ‘alif maqsuuraa’ appears at the end of a word and lends the sound of ‘aa’ (आ).

It can be seen in words like “adnaa” (अदना), meaning “insignificant”:

Above: The word “adnaa”. Notice the use of the ‘alif-maqsuuraa’ for the ‘aa’ sound at the end.

Here’s a break-down of this:

Above: ‘alif’ + ‘daal’ + ‘nuun’ + ‘alif maqsuuraa’ = “adnaa”

Similarly, here’s the word “salmaa” (सलमा), a popular name meaning “beloved/delicate woman”:

Above: ‘seen’ + ‘laam’ + ‘miim’ + ‘alif maqsuuraa’ = “salmaa”

Here’s another word “iisaa” (ईसा), meaning “Christ”:

Above: ‘ain’ + ‘chhoTii ye’ + ‘siin’ + ‘alif maqsuuraa’ = “iisaa”

EXCEPTION

The ‘alif maqsuuraa’, when appearing in the middle of a word, is represented by placing a small ‘alif’ over a ‘vaao’. The ‘vaao’ itself then acts as a silent letter. This ‘alif maqsuuraa’ again lends the same long-vowel ‘aa’ (आ) sound. We’ll see examples of this on the next page when we cover another special character - the ‘gol te’.

25.1: Some more words

Here are a few more words with the ‘alif maqsuuraa’ appearing at the end. Memorize these before we move on.

And now, on to the next special character we promised - the ‘gol te’.