It is now time to shed some light on the different letters that create the sound of ‘z’. So far, we’ve come across four letters all of which  do this - ‘zaal’, ‘ze’, ‘zuaad’ and ‘zoey’.

Above: The letters ‘zaal’, ‘ze’, ‘zuaad’ and ‘zoey’

INTERESTING

Did you notice, that of the four letters shown above, all carry one nuqta each above their respective basic shapes, even though the basic shapes themselves are all different?

And once again, this is purely because Urdu is influenced by various other languages. Words from these languages use different letters for the sound of ‘z’. Proficiency in using the correct letter in a word will come with practice.

Here are a few examples to get you started:

15.4.1: Words with the letter - ‘zaal’

The words “zaat” (ज़ात) and “zarraat” (ज़र्रात) are written exclusively with ‘zaal’.

Above: The words “zaat” and “zarraat” are written exclusively with ‘zaal’

15.4.2: Words with the letter - ‘ze’

The words “zabaan” (ज़बान), “KHizaa.n” (ख़िज़ाँ) and “aavaaz” (आवाज़) are written exclusively with ‘ze’.

Above: The words “zabaan”, “KHizaa.n” and “aavaaz” are all written exclusively with ‘ze’

15.4.3: Words with the letter - ‘zuaad’

The words “zaroor” (ज़रूर), “hazrat” (हज़रत) and “naaraaz” (नाराज़) are written exclusively with ‘zuaad’.

Above: The words “zaroor”, “hazrat” and “naaraaz” are all written exclusively with ‘zuaad’

15.4.4: Words with the letter - ‘zoey’

The words “zan” (ज़न), “nazar” (नज़र) and “intezaar” (इंतज़ार) are written exclusively with ‘zoey’.

Above: The words “zan”, “nazar” and “intezaar” are all written exclusively with ‘zoey’

For example, the word “zan” (ज़न) when written with ‘zoey’ means “presumption” whereas, the same word, when written with a ‘ze’ instead, means “woman”. 

Above: Using ‘ze’ instead of ‘zoey’ in the word “zan” makes it mean something else

Here’s another example - the words “nazr” (नज़्र) written with a ‘zaal’ meaning “gift” and the word “nazar” (नज़र) written with a ‘zoey’ meaning “sight”.

Above: Difference created in the meaning of words owing to the usage of ‘zaal’ vs. ‘zoey’

INTERESTING

You may have noticed that the words “nazr” (नज़्र) and “nazar” (नज़र) both appear quite distinct in both Roman and Devangari. However, this is not the case in the Urdu script. Notice the absence of the jazm in the word “nazr”? Owing to this, both the words shown above may very well be wrongly understood as “nazar” by an inexperienced reader.

Great! We’ve really taken a look at the subtle intricacies of a few Urdu letters in this unit and the previous one. And with this, we come to the end of this unit. Let’s move on to the quiz up next.