CONNECTORS

The letters ‘kaaf’ and ‘gaaf’ are connectors and follow the same principles of joining as most other connectors we’ve come across.

19.2.1: In the Initial position

These letters take upon two different initial position short-forms - One with the letters ‘alif’ and ‘laam’, and another with the rest of the letters. Let’s look at the first short-form and see how they join with ‘alif’ and 'laam':

Above: Words “kaa” and “kal” formed by joining initial-position ‘kaaf’ with ‘alif’ and 'laam' in the final position respectively

To clarify, here’s a comparative with the letter ‘kaaf’:

Above: Comparative illustrating the short-form assumed by ‘kaaf’ in the initial position

And now, let’s see these rules in action in the word “kaash” (काश), meaning “would that”:

Above: ‘kaaf’ + ‘alif’ + ‘shiin’ = “kaash”

Or in short-form notation:

Above: Short-form of ‘kaaf’ + ‘alif’ + ‘shiin’ = “kaash”

Similarly, here’s the word “gaanaa” (गाना), meaning “song/to sing”:

Above: ‘gaaf’ + ‘alif’ + ‘nuun’ + ‘alif’ = “gaanaa”

Or in short-form notation:

Above: short form of  ‘gaaf’ + ‘alif’ + ‘nuun’ + ‘alif’ = “gaanaa”

Here’s the word “kal” (कल), and "gul" meaning “flower”:

Above: 'kaaf' + 'zabar' + 'laam' = "kal"

Or in short-form notation:

Above: short form of 'kaaf' + 'zabar' + 'laam' = "kal"

Above: 'gaaf' + 'pesh' + 'laam' = "gul"

The examples presented above show how these letters join with ‘alif’. Now let’s look at words where they join with other consonants and take upon their second short-form.

For example, let’s look at the simple word “kab” (कब), meaning “when”:

Above: ‘kaaf’ + ‘be’ = “kab”

We can clearly see the difference in this short-form of the ‘kaaf’ here as illustrated by the comparative below:

Above: Comparative illustrating the short-form assumed by ‘kaaf’ in the initial position when joining with a consonant

Therefore, the word “kab” shown above can be represented in short-form notation as:

Above: Short-form of ‘kaaf’ + ‘be’ = “kab”

Similarly, here’s the word “gaz” (गज़), meaning “a yard measure”:

Above: ‘gaaf’ + ‘ze’ = “gaz”

Similarly, here’s the word “kitaab” (किताब), meaning “book”:

Above: ‘kaaf’ + ‘te’ + ‘alif’ + ‘be’ = “kitaab”

19.2.2: In the Medial position

To see the short-form these letters assume in the medial position, let’s look at the word “fikr” (फ़िक्र), meaning “concern/worry”:

Above: ‘fe’ + ‘kaaf’ + ‘re’ = “fikr”

We can see that the medial position short-form is quite similar to the initial position short-form as illustrated below:

Above: Comparative illustrating the short-form assumed by ‘kaaf’ in the medial position

Therefore, here’s the word “fikr” in short-form notation:

Above: Short-form of ‘fe’ + short-form of ‘kaaf’ + ‘re’ = “fikr”

INTERESTING

Just to fortify all the rules we’ve learnt earlier, let’s look at the word “fikr” once again, but this time, written complete with eraab:

Above: Comparative showing the word “fikr” written with and without eraab

Here’s another example - the word “nagar” (नगर), meaning “town/city”:

Above: ‘nuun’ + ‘gaaf’ + ‘re’ = “nagar”

And here’s another one - the word “shigaaf” (शिगाफ़), meaning “crack/flaw”:

Above: ‘sheen’ + ‘gaaf’ + ‘alif’ + ‘fe’ = “shigaaf”

19.2.3: In the Final position

In the final position, as is common with Urdu letters, ‘fe’ and ‘qaaf’ do not change shape. Here’s the word “shak” (शक), meaning “doubt/suspicion” as an example:

Above: The word “shak”. Notice that the ‘kaaf’ does not change shape being in the final position.

Here, ‘kaaf’ being in the final position does not change shape. Here’s another example - ‘sadak’ (सड़क), meaning “road”:

Above: ‘seen’ + ‘Ḍe’ + ‘kaaf’ = “sadak”

19.2.4: Some more words

Here are a few more words with the letters we’ve learnt so far.

And now, let’s move on to seeing how the ‘do chashmii he’ works with ‘kaaf’ and ‘gaaf’. This should be interesting.