AS A VOWEL

‘chhoTii he’ is very interesting because it can also act as the vowels ‘a’ (अ) and ‘e’ (ए) in the final position in some words. Let’s take a closer look at these two cases below.

12.3.1: As the vowel ‘e’

To understand how the ‘chhoTii he’ acts as the vowel ‘e’ (ए), let’s look at the word “be” (बे), meaning “with”:

Above: The word “be”. Notice the short-form assumed by the ‘chhoTii he’.

Notice the vowel-notation short-form assumed by the ‘chhoTii he’ here, as shown by the comparative below:

Above: Comparative illustrating the vowel-notation short-form assumed by ‘chhoTii he’ in the final position

Here’s another illustration comparing the consonant and vowel-notation forms of the ‘chhoTii he’:

Above: Comparative illustrating the consonant and vowel-notation short-forms assumed by the ‘chhoTii he’

And therefore, here’s an illustration comparing the word “bah” (बह) and “be” (बे), following the rules above:

Above: Comparison between the words “bah” and “be”

Similarly, here’s another common word - “ye” (ये), meaning “this/these”:

Above: ‘chhoTii ye’ + ‘chhoTii he’ = “ye”

Or, in short-form notation:

Above: Short-form of ‘chhoTii ye’ + short-form of ‘chhoTii he’ = “ye”

12.3.2: As the vowel ‘a’

To see how the ‘chhoTii he’ acts as the long-vowel ‘a’ (अ), let’s look at the word “charKHa” (चर्ख़ा), meaning “spindle/spinning wheel”:

Above: ‘che’ + 're' + ‘KHe’ + ‘chhoTii he’ = “charKHa”

In the word “charKHa” above, we can again see the vowel-notation form of the ‘chhoTii he’ being used. Here it is again in the word “KHaarija” (ख़ारिजा), meaning “foreign/external”:

Above: ‘KHe’ + ‘alif’ + ‘re’ + ‘jiim’ + ‘chhoTii he’ = “KHaarija”

12.3.3: Some more words

And again, here are a few more words for you to learn!

Congratulations! You have now successfully learnt every single letter in the Urdu alphabet. Hasn’t it been quite a journey?

Now before we can conclude this cource, we’ll look at a few special characters in the Urdu language and their interesting aspects and look at cases where and how they are used on a daily-basis.

But before we get to that, let’s head on to a quiz, shall we?