Let us now look at a few double-vowel combinations and see how the ‘hamza’ helps us create the distinction between the two.

20.2.1: ‘aa’ (आ) + ‘e’ (ए)

We’ve already seen how the word “aa.e” (आए) is written with the ‘hamza’ above the ‘ba.Dii ye’. In a similar vein, let’s look at how the word ‘laa.e’ (लाए), meaning “brought”, is written:

Above: ‘laam’ + ‘alif’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ = “laa.e”

Similarly, here’s the word “khaa.e” (खाए), meaning “ate”:

Above: ‘kh’ + ‘alif’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ = “khaa.e”

And another, the word “bajaa.e” (बजाए), meaning “instead of”:

Above: ‘be’ + ‘jiim’ + ‘alif’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ = “bajaa.e”

20.2.2: ‘aa’ (आ) + ‘ii’ (ई)

And now, let’s look at a combination of the vowel sounds ‘aa’ (आ) and ‘ii’ (ई) in the word “aa.ii” (आई), meaning “came (f)”:

Above: The word “aa.ii”. Notice where the ‘hamza’ sits.

Here’s the shosha in an isolated view for you to understand it better:

Above: The ‘hamza’ shown sitting above a place-holder shoshaa

Here’s another word where the same shosha can be seen carrying the ‘hamza’ - the word “bhaa.ii” (भाई), meaning “brother”:

Above: ‘bh’ + ‘alif’ + ‘chhoTii ye’ = “bhaa.ii”

And here’s yet another word showing the same principle - “Dhaa.ii” (ढाई), meaning “two and a half”:

Above: ‘Dh’ + ‘alif’ + ‘chhoTii ye’ = “Dhaa.ii”

20.2.3: ‘aa’ (आ) + ‘o’ (ओ)

Here’s a combination of the vowel sounds ‘aa’ (आ) and ‘o’ (ओ) in the word “aao” (आओ), meaning “come”:

Above: The word “aao”. The ‘hamza’ is placed directly above the ‘vaao’.

In the example above, the ‘hamza’ is placed directly above the ‘vaao’ to denote the individual pronunciation of the ‘o’ sound making the ‘vaao’ the kursii or the seat. Following this rule, here’s how the name of the letter ‘vaao’ itself is written:

Above: ‘vaao’ + ‘alif’ + ‘vaao’ = “vaao”

Let’s take this a step further and look at the word “banaao” (बनाओ), meaning “make”:

Above: ‘be’ + ‘nuun’ + ‘alif’ + ‘vaao’ = “banaao”

Here’s another example for good meaure - the word “samjhaao” (समझाओ), meaning “explain”:

Above: ‘siin’ + ‘miim’ + ‘jhe’ + ‘alif’ + ‘vaao’ = “samjhaao”

20.2.4: ‘aa’ (आ) + ‘i’ (इ)

And now, let’s look at some examples where the long-vowel ‘aa’ (आ) is followed by the short-vowel ‘i’ (इ).

We know that in Urdu, short-vowels do not appear at the end of a word. Therefore, let’s start by looking at a word where this combination appears in the middle, like in the word “Gaa.ib” (ग़ाइब), commonly spelled as “Gaayab” (ग़ायब), meaning “invisible/disappear”:

Above: The word “Gaa.ib”. We can see the ‘hamza’ sitting atop a shosha here again.

INTERESTING

We can again see that the ‘hamza’ sits atop a shosha to represent the sound of the second vowel before the following consonant. And here again, this shosha is the seat for the ‘hamza’.

And here’s a break-down of the word “Gaa.ib” for you to understand how this word is constructed:

Above: ‘Gain’ + ‘alif’ + ‘alif zer’ + ‘be’ = “Gaa.ib”

 Similarly, here’s the word “jaa.iz” (जाइज़), commonly spelled as “jaayaz” (जायज़), meaning “right/lawful”:

Above: ‘jiim’ + ‘alif’ + ‘alif zer’ + ‘ze’ = “jaa.iz”

And yet another - the word “numaa.ish” (नुमाइश), meaning “show/display/exhibition”:

Above: ‘nuun’ + ‘miim’ + ‘alif’ + ‘alif zer’ + ‘shiin’ = “numaa.ish”

20.2.5: ‘aa’ (आ) + ‘i’ (इ) + ‘y’ (य) + ‘e’ (ए)

Let’s take the rules we’ve learnt above one step further and look at words where the combination of ‘aa’ (आ) and ‘i’ (इ) is followed by the consonant ‘y’ (य) and the vowel sound ‘e’ (ए). Let’s start with the word “aa.iye” (आइये), meaning “come”:

Above: The word “aa.iye”. Notice where the ‘hamza’ sits.

Before we explain this, let’s look at a break-down to see how this word is constructed:

Above: ‘alif madd’ + ‘alif zer’ + ‘chhoTii ye’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ = “aa.iye”

To understand this better, here’s how the word “aa.iye” is essentially constructed:

‘alif madd’ represents the first vowel - the long-vowel sound ‘aa’ (आ)

‘alif zer’ represents the second vowel - the short-vowel sound ‘i’ (इ)

‘chhoTii ye’ represents the consonant ‘y’ (य)

‘ba.Dii ye’ represents the vowel ‘e’ (ए)

In its final representation, in the word “aa.iye”, the short-vowel sound ‘i’ is represented by the ‘hamza’ sitting atop the short-form of ‘chhoTii ye’ (similar to the rules we saw in the previous section)

In its final representation, in the word “aa.iye”, the short-vowel sound ‘i’ is represented by the ‘hamza’ sitting atop the short-form of ‘chhoTii ye’ (similar to the rules we saw in the previous section)

Here, the ‘hamza’ does not require a shosha of its own, as the kursii or seat is provided by the short-form of ‘chhoTii ye’

Following the same rules mentioned above, let’s look at the word “jaa.iye” (जाइये), meaning “go”:

Above: ‘jiim’ + ‘alif’ + ‘alif zer’ + ‘chhoTii ye’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ = “jaa.iye”

And another one - the word “farmaa.iye” (फ़रमाइये), meaning “please say”:

Above: ‘fe’ + ‘re’ + ‘miim’ + ‘alif’ + ‘alif zer’ + ‘chhoTii ye’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ = “farmaa.iye”

20.2.6: ‘aa’ (आ) + ‘uu’ (ऊ)

And now, let’s look at a simpler, but equally interesting combination - that of ‘aa’ (आ) and ‘uu’ (ऊ) starting with the word “maa.uuf” (माऊफ़), meaning “afflicted”:

Above: The word “maa.uuf”. The ‘vaao’ provides the seat for the ‘hamza’.

And once again, let’s look at a break-down before we move on to the explaination:

Above: ‘miim’ + ‘alif’ + ‘alif pesh vaao’ + ‘fe’ = “maa.uuf”

Or wait, let’s simplify this further:

Above: ‘miim’ + ‘alif’ + ‘vaao’ + ‘fe’ = “maa.uuf”

Here’s an explaination to help you understand how the word “maa.uuf” is constructed:

‘miim’ joins with the ‘alif’ - the first vowel ‘aa’ (आ), creating the “maa” section

‘vaao’ represents the second vowel ‘uu’ (ऊ) also depicted by the ‘alif pesh vaao’ combination above

‘vaao’ also provides the kursii or seat for the ‘hamza’ thereby clearly indicating the presence of the individual ‘uu’ sound thereby creating the “maa.uu” section

‘fe’ in the final position, completes the word “maa.uuf”

Similarly, here’s the word “daa.uud” (दाऊद), which translates to the name “David”:

Above: ‘daal’ + ‘alif’ + ‘vaao’ + ‘daal’ = “daa.uud”

20.2.7: ‘o’ (ओ) + ‘ii’ (ई)

This combination should be much easier having learnt all the previous ones. To see where the long-vowels ‘o’ (ओ) and ‘ii’ (ई) appear together, let’s start with the word “so.ii” (सोई), meaning “slept/sleeping”:

Above: The word “so.ii”. The shoshaa preceding the ‘chhoTii ye’ provides the seat for the ‘hamza’.

In the word “so.ii”, it is easy to understand the addition of the shosha before the ‘chhoTii ye’ to provide the seat for the ‘hamza’. This is perfectly in-sync with the rules we have seen earlier. Here’s a break-down of this:

Above: ‘siin’ + ‘vaao’ + ‘chhoTii ye’ = “so.ii”

Similarly, here’s another simple word - “ko.ii” (कोई), meaning “someone”:

Above: ‘kaaf’ + ‘vaao’ + ‘chhoTii ye’ = “ko.ii”

20.2.8: ‘uu’ (ऊ) + ‘ii’ (ई)

The combination of the long-vowels ‘uu’ (ऊ) and ‘ii’ (ई) is again, fairly straight-forward and quite similar to the previous case as it is again the letter ‘vaao’ that takes upon the ‘uu’ sound. Here, let’s start with the word “suu.ii” (सूई), meaning “needle”:

Above: The word “suu.ii”. Spelled exactly the same way as the word “so.ii” in common practice.

Whoa! Hold on. But isn’t that how the word “so.ii” was spelled too?

This is, once again, owing to the self-implied eraab we’ve been tip-toeing around. In the word “suu.ii”, the ‘siin’ carries a pesh above it such that when combined with the ‘vaao’ it creates the ‘suu’ sound. Look at the comparative below:

Above: Difference in meaning created by the placement of the pesh in the word “suu.ii”

In the absence of eraab, which is usually the case with written Urdu, what a word actually means can only be made clear by the context of the sentence in which it appears.

Similarly, here’s the word - “ruu.ii” (रूई), meaning “cotton”:

Above: ‘re’ + ‘vaao’ + ‘chhoTii ye’ = “ruu.ii”

20.2.9: ‘o’ (ओ) + ‘i’ (इ) + ‘y’ (य) + ‘e’ (ए)

Very similar to what we saw in section 19.2.5, let’s look at words where the combination of the long-vowel ‘o’ (ओ) and short-vowel ‘i’ (इ) is followed by the consonant ‘y’ (य) and vowel ‘e’ (ए). For this, let’s start with the word “so.iye” (सोइये), meaning “sleep”:

Above: The word “so.iye”. Here again, the short-form of ‘chhoTii ye’ provides the seat for the ‘hamza’.

And here’s a break-down of this:

Above: ‘siin’ + ‘vaao’ + ‘alif zer’ + ‘chhoTii ye’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ = “so.iye”

Here’s an explanation to help you understand this better:

‘siin’ joins with ‘vaao’ which lends the first vowel sound - ‘o’ (ओ)

‘alif zer’ represents the second vowel - the short-vowel sound ‘i’ (इ)

‘chhoTii ye’ represents the consonant ‘y’ (य)

‘ba.Dii ye’ represents the vowel ‘e’ (ए)

In its final representation, in the word “so.iye”, the short-vowel sound ‘i’ is represented by the ‘hamza’ sitting atop the short-form of ‘chhoTii ye’ (similar to the rules we’ve seen earlier)

Here, the ‘hamza’ does not require a shosha of its own, as the kursii or seat is provided by the short-form of ‘chhoTii ye’

Similarly, here’s the word “kho.iye” (खोइये), meaning “lose”:

Above: ‘kh’ + ‘vaao’ + ‘alif zer’ + ‘chhoTii ye’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ = “kho.iye”

Note once again, that in all the examples shown above, the 'hamza' is placed above the letters 'ba.Dii ye', 'chhoTii ye' and 'vaao' when two vowels appear together and are to be pronounced fully in sequence.

20.2.10: Some more words

And here are a few more words for you to read and practice before we move on to the next section.

And now, let’s move on to seeing a few more combinations where the ‘hamza’ comes in handy.