And now, let’s take a closer look at the letter ‘ain’ and what makes it so unique. We saw this mentioned earlier that ‘ain’ has the ability to take upon any of the vowel sounds in Urdu.

INTERESTING

One should note that in the Urdu script, ‘ain’ is not a vowel by itself, but is treated as one. It is important that this subtle distinction be remembered. We will see why this is so later on in this course, when we learn about the letter ‘hamza’.

For now, let’s move on and look at some cases where ‘ain’ takes upon distinct vowel sounds and try and understand how this works.

16.2.1: As the short-vowel ‘a’

The short-vowel sound ‘a’ (अ) created by ‘ain’ is depicted by placing a zabar over it as shown below:

Above: Representation of the short-vowel ‘a’ created by ‘ain’. Notice the zabar over it.

We came across the word “arsh” (अर्श), meaning “sky” earlier. Taking our cues from the rules we’ve just learnt, here’s how it would be written with the eraab:

Above: The word “arsh” shown written with a zabar over the ‘ain’

Here’s another example we came across earlier written complete with diacritics - the word “as.ad” (अस'अद) meaning “more/most”. Notice the placement of the two zabars in there:

Above: The word “as.ad”

Here’s one more, complete with diacritics - the word “abbaas” (अब्बास), meaning “a proper name”:

Above: ‘ain’ + ‘be’ + tashdiid  + 'alif' + ‘siin’ = “abbaas”

Here’s the word “shujaa.at” (शुजा'अत), meaning “bravery” in continuation of the word “shujaa.a” we saw earlier:

Above: ‘shiin’ + ‘jiim’ + ‘alif’ + ‘ain’ + ‘te’ = “shujaa.at”

16.2.2: As the long-vowel ‘aa’

‘ain’ creates the long-vowel sound ‘aa’ (आ)when:

‘ain’ is followed by an ‘alif’

‘ain’ is preceded by an ‘alif’ or another consonant

IMPORTANT

It is important to note that in both the cases above, the ‘ain’ appears as it is and there is no zabar placed over it. This is a significant difference between when it acts as ‘a’ and when it creates the sound of ‘aa’.

Here’s an illustration where ‘ain’ is followed by an ‘alif’:

Above: ‘ain’ is followed by ‘alif’ to create the long-vowel sound “aa”

Look at the word “aadat” (आदत), meaning “habit”, as an example:

Above: ‘ain’ + ‘alif’ + ‘daal’ + ‘te’ = “aadat”

Here’s an illustration where ‘ain’ is preceded by an ‘alif’ and creates the long-vowel sound ‘aa’:

Above: ‘ain’ is preceded by ‘alif’ to create the long-vowel sound “aa”

Look at the word “aasaab” (आसाब), meaning “nerves”, as an example:

Above: ‘alif’ + ‘ain’ + ‘suaad’ + ‘alif’ + ‘be’ = “aasaab”

To see how ‘ain’ creates the sound of ‘aa’ when preceded by a consonant, let’s look at the word “baad” (बाद), meaning “after”:

Above: ‘be’ + ‘ain’ + ‘daal’ = “baad”

Notice that, in the example above, the ‘ain’ does not carry a zabar above it.

INTERESTING

The word “baad” (बाद), when written with an ‘ain’ means “after”, which is the commonly used word we all know. The same word, when written with an ‘alif’ instead, means “air”. We’ll look at more of such Homophones^(?) once we’ve covered ‘ain’ thoroughly.

Here’s another example along the same lines - the word “baaz” (बाज़), meaning “some/few”:

Above: ‘be’ + ‘ain’ + ‘zuaad’ = “baaz”

16.2.3: As the short-vowel ‘i’

The short-vowel sound ‘i’ (इ) created by ‘ain’ is depicted by placing a zer under it as shown below:

Above: Representation of the short-vowel ‘i’ created by ‘ain’. Notice the zer under it.

This is similar to the case we studied above where a zabar was placed over the ‘ain’ to create the short-vowel sound ‘a’. And now, let’s look at the word “itr” (इत्र), meaning “perfume/essence” to see this in action:

Above: ‘ain’ + ‘toey’ + ‘re’ = “itr”

INTERESTING

In the example above, of course, the ‘ain’ carries a zer under it. But did you notice the jazm over the ‘toey’ there? Here’s a comparative illustrating how the same word would be written in common practice without these diacritics:

Above: The word “itr” with and without the diacritcs

These examples are only to reinforce the rules of self-implication when it comes to diacritics and help you get used to how commonly used words are written. So the next time you see the word “itr” without diacritics, you should be able to read it fluently.

Here’s the word “ishrat” (इशरत), meaning “joy/delight”, in a similar vein:

Above: ‘ain’ + ‘shiin’ + ‘re’ + ‘te’ = “ishrat”

Here’s another one - the word “ibaadat” (इबादत), meaning “worship”:

Above: ‘ain’ + ‘be’ + ‘alif’ + ‘daal’ + ‘te’ = “ibaadat”

16.3.4: As the long-vowel ‘ii’

To create the long-vowel sound ‘ii’ (ई), ‘ain’ connects with the ‘chhoTii ye’ as can be seen below:

Above: Representation of the long-vowel ‘ii’

For example, let’s take a look at the word “rubaa.ii” (रुबाई), meaning “quatrain/four lines of poetry”:

Above: ‘re’ + ‘be’ + ‘alif’ + ‘ain’ + ‘chhoTii ye’ = “rubaa.ii”

Here it is again in the word “iid” (ईद), the “Islamic religious festival”:

Above: ‘ain’ + ‘chhoTii ye’ + ‘daal’ = “iid”

Here’s another - the word “iisvii” (ईस्वी), meaning “of Jesus/A.D.”:

Above: ‘ain’ + ‘chhoTii ye’ + ‘siin’ + ‘vaao’ + ‘chhoTii ye’ = “iisvii”

16.3.5: As the short-vowel ‘u’

The short-vowel sound ‘u’ (उ) created by ‘ain’ is depicted by placing a pesh above it as shown below:

Above: Representation of the short-vowel ‘u’ created by ‘ain’. Notice the pesh above it.

This is again similar to the cases we’ve seen above where the ‘ain’ takes upon short-vowel sounds. And now, let’s look at the word “urs” (उर्स), meaning “death anniversary of a saint” to see how this words:

Above: ‘ain’ + ‘re’ + ‘siin’ = “urs”

Here it is again in the word “unsur” (उन्सुर), meaning “element”:

Above: ‘ain’ + ‘nuun’ + ‘suaad’ + ‘re’ = “unsur”

16.3.6: As the long-vowel ‘uu’

To create the long-vowel sound ‘uu’ (ऊ), ‘ain’ connects with the ‘vaao’ as can be seen below:

Above: Representation of the long-vowel ‘uu’

This can be seen in the word “oud” (ऊद), meaning “incense/timber/aloes-wood”, also a popular perfume-fragrance:

Above: ‘ain’ + ‘vaao’ + ‘daal’ = “oud”

And here’s the word “shu.uur” (शुऊर), meaning “knowledge/understanding”:

Above: ‘shiin’ + ‘ain’ + ‘vaao’ + ‘daal’ = “shu.uur”

IMPORTANT

In the example above, the word ‘shu.uur’ (श'ऊर) is pronounced as  and not as “shuur” (शूर) which would sound like   .

16.3.7: As the short-vowel ‘e’

‘ain’ takes upon the short-vowel sound ‘e’ (ए) when preceded by a letter carrying a zer below it. Look at the illustration below for a basic representation of this:

Above: Representation of the short-vowel ‘e’. Notice the zer under the ‘alif’ here.

This can be seen clearly in the word “ejaaz” (एजाज़), meaning “miracle”:

Above: ‘alif’ + ‘ain’ + ‘jiim’ + ‘alif’ + ‘ze’ = “ejaaz”

Here’s a word where a consonant carrying a zer appears before the ‘ain’ - the word “sher” (शेर), meaning “a poetic verse/couplet”:

Above: ‘shiin’ + ‘ain’ + ‘re’ = “sher”

Not only is the word “sher” one of the most popular words in the Urdu language and poetry, it also serves as a prime example here illustrating how ‘ain’ takes on the sound of the short-vowel ‘e’.

16.3.8: As the long-vowel ‘ai’

The long-vowel sound ‘ai’ (ऐ) is represented by joining ‘ain’ and ‘baḌii ye’ with the addition of a zabar placed over the ‘ain’:

Above: Representation of the long-vowel ‘ai’. Notice the zabar over the ‘ain’.

This can be seen in the name of this letter itself - the word “ain” (ऐन), meaning “the Urdu letter ain/exact”:

Above: ‘ain’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ + ‘nuun’ = “ain”

Here’s another word “shuaib” (शुऐब), also commonly spelled as “shoaib”, meaning “the one who shows the right path”:

Above: ‘shiin’ + ‘ain’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ + ‘be’ = “shuaib”

16.3.9: As the short-vowel ‘o’

‘ain’ takes upon the short-vowel sound ‘o’ (ए) when preceded by a letter carrying a pesh above it. Look at the illustration below for a basic representation of this:

Above: Representation of the short-vowel ‘o’. Notice the pesh above the ‘alif’ here.

This can be seen in the word “bod” (बोद), meaning “distance”. Here, the consonant ‘be’ carries a self-implied pesh above it:

Above: ‘be’ + ‘ain’ + ‘daal’ = “bod”

IMPORTANT

It is important to note that this is quite different from when ‘ain’ acts as the short-vowel ‘u’. The difference being:

The pesh is placed directly above the ‘ain’ in the case of the short-vowel ‘u’ whereas,

The pesh is placed above the letter preceding the ‘ain’ in the case of the short-vowel ‘o’

Here’s another example illustrating this - the word “rob” (रोब), meaning “awe/fear”:

Above: ‘re’ + ‘ain’ + ‘be’ = “rob”

16.3.10: As the long-vowel ‘au’

The long-vowel sound ‘au’ (औ) is represented by joining ‘ain’ and ‘vaao’ with the addition of a zabar placed over the ‘ain’:

Above: Representation of the long-vowel ‘au’. Notice the zabar over the ‘ain’.

This can be seen clearly in the simple word “aun” (औन), meaning “assistance”:

Above: ‘ain’ + ‘vaao’ + ‘nuun’ = “aun”

Similarly, here’s the word “aurat” (औरत), meaning “woman”:

Above: ‘ain’ + ‘vaao’ + ‘re’ + ‘te’ = “aurat”

16.3.11: Some more words

Here are a few more words with ‘ain’ illustrating these vowel sounds we just learnt about. Have fun!

Phew! That was something, wasn’t it? Well, that was almost everything you need to know about ‘ain’. On the next page, we’ll look at one final interesting aspect of this letter and we’ll  also comes across those Homophones we spoke of earlier.