INTRODUCTION

This unit will introduce you to another very versatile letter of the Urdu alphabet - ‘vaao’ ( Devanagari: वाओ | IPA: /ʋaːoː/ | Pronunciation:      ) .

و
  • vaao
  • वाओ

Above: The letter 'vaao'.

The letter ‘vaao’ may take upon four distinct sounds in Urdu depending on the word in which it is used. These are the consonant sound ‘v’ as in “vote”, “shave” etc. and three long-vowel sounds - ‘o’‘oo’ or ‘uu’ and ‘au’.

Before we move on to learning about this letter in greater detail, here’s an animation showing how the letter ‘vaao’ is written:

Above: Animation showing how the letter ‘vaao’ is written