In a manner similar to ‘chhoTii ye’ , let’s look at the ‘ba.Dii ye’ now and how it creates the sounds ‘e’ ( ए | /eː/ | ) and ‘ai’ ( ऐ | /ɛː/ | ).

13.3.1: ‘ba.Dii ye’ as ‘e’ in the Initial position

To create the long-vowel sound ‘e’ in the initial position in a word, the ‘ba.Dii ye’ is always preceded by ‘alif’. This is similar to what we’ve seen earlier with the ‘chhoTii ye’. Here’s how the long-vowel ‘e’ is written in an isolated form:

Above: ‘ba.Dii ye’ preceded by ‘alif’ to create the long-vowel sound ‘e’

The ‘ba.Dii ye’ is also a connector. Therefore, when connecting with other letters following it, it changes shape and assumes a short-form as shown below:

Above: Comparative showing ‘ba.Dii ye’ in its full and short forms

Wait. What? Isn’t that the short-form of the ‘chhoTii ye’ shown above? Here’s something very important:

And therefore:

Above: illustration showing the same short-form used for both the ‘baḌi ye’ and the ‘chhoTi ye’

This may seem a little confusing at first, but will quickly resolve itself in the coming examples. Having said that, let’s look a the word “e.D” (एड़) now:

Above: How the word “e.D” is written

And now, as usual, let’s look at a break-down of this:

Above: ‘alif’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ + ‘.De’ = “e.D”

Or, more precisely:

Above: ‘alif’ + short-form of ‘ba.Dii ye’ + ‘.De’ = “e.D”

IMPORTANT

We have repeatedly come across the statement that in Urdu, diacritics are always self-implied and are not shown in writing in common practise. As such, in the absence of these diacritics, you could read the word above as “ii.D” (ईड़), and you wouldn’t be wrong in doing so since the context of the word isn’t clear either.

But we’ve also established that as one gets more and more proficient with the language, the context of such words becomes increasingly clearer and therefore, one would know better to read the word above as “e.D” (एड़) instead of “ii.D” (ईड़).

Also, as we’ve seen on the previous page, technically the word “ii.D” (ईड़) would require a zer below the ‘alif’ when written as such.

Above: Comparative between how the words “e.D” and “ii.D” would be written with the diacritics in place

And now, with that crucial bit of information up our sleeve, let’s move on and learn some more about this.

13.3.2: ‘ba.Dii ye’ as ‘e’ in the Medial position

In the medial position in a word, the ‘ba.Dii ye’ follows similar rules as we’ve seen above. But again in this case, the ‘alif’ is replaced by the consonant preceding the ‘ba.Dii ye’. For example, let’s look at the word “ber” (बेर):

Above: The word “ber”

Here’s the break-down:

Above: ‘be’ + ‘baḌi ye’ + ‘re’ = “ber”

Similarly, here’s the word - “pe.D” (पेड़):

Above: ‘pe’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ + ‘.De’ = “pe.D”

13.3.3: ‘ba.Dii ye’ as ‘e’ in the Final position

In the final position in a word, full-form of the ‘ba.Dii ye’ is used just as we’ve seen with other connectors. Take a look at the following example, a very simple word - “pe” (पे):

Above: The word “pe”

The example shown above is the word “pe” (पे) meaning “upon/over” and not the Urdu letter ‘pe’. Here’s a break-down for clarity:

Above: ‘pe’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ = “pe”

INTERESTING

Surely you must have noticed another new short-form of that ‘pe’ in there.

Above: Short-form of ‘pe’ when connecting with the ‘ba.Dii ye’

Once again, just remember this till we chart these short-forms out in the next unit.

Moving on, in a similar fashion, here’s the word “ne” (ने):

Above: ‘nuun’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ = “ne”

Here’s another example, this time with all non-connectors, the word - “are” (अरे):

Above: ‘alif’ + ‘re’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ = “are”

And another example, the word - “parche” (पर्चे):

Above: ‘pe’ + ‘re’ + ‘che’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ = “parche”

13.3.4: ‘ba.Dii ye’ as ‘ai’ in the Initial position

Here’s how the ‘ba.Dii ye’ can be used to create the vowel sound ‘ai’ (ऐ). In the initial position, the ‘ba.Dii ye’ is necessarily preceded by an ‘alif’ which itself has a zabar over it. Look at the vowel ‘ai’ below in its isolated form to make things clearer:

Above: The vowel sound ‘ai’ in its isolated form

Here’s the word “airaa” (ऐरा) showing the vowel ‘ai’ in the initial position:

Above: The word “airaa”

13.3.5: ‘ba.Dii ye’ as ‘ai’ in the Medial position

In the medial position in a word, the ‘ba.Dii ye’ follows the exact same rules as we’ve seen above. The ‘alif’ is replaced by the consonant preceding the ‘ba.Dii ye’ and the zabar is placed over it. For example, in the word - “bair” (बैर):

Above: The word “bair”

For a moment now, let’s compare the words “ber” (बेर) and “bair” (बैर):

Above: Showing the difference created by the zabar in the words “bair” and “ber”

Here’s another example, the word - “dair” (दैर):

Above: ‘daal’ + ‘zabar’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ + ‘re’ = “dair”

And here’s one more - the word “nainaa” (नैना):

Above: ‘nuun’ + ‘zabar’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ + ‘nuun’ + ‘alif’ = “naina”

13.3.6: ‘ba.Dii ye’ as ‘ai’ in the Final position

Following the rules we’ve seen in all the previous sections, in the final position, full-form of the ‘ba.Dii ye’ is used and a zabar is placed over the consonant preceding it. For example, here’s the word “jai” (जय ):

Above: The word “jai”

Which, very simply, can be broken down as:

Above: ‘jiim’ + ‘zabar’ + ‘ba.Dii ye’ = “jai”

13.3.7: Some more words

With the ‘chhoTii ye’ and ‘ba.Dii ye’ covered, here are some more words for you to learn.

With the ‘chhoTii ye’ covered, let’s move on to the ‘ba.Dii ye’ now!