Pashto includes both long and short vowels. See Vowels for more details.
The table below lists the long vowel sounds in Pashto, the letters representing them, and the features of their pronunciation.
|
Vowel Sound |
Letter |
Remarks |
|
aa |
آ, ا in the medial and final positions ( ا ) |
It is pronounced similar to the [a] in "mark" in British English: "sky" - [aasmaán] آسمان "rain" - [baaraán] باران |
|
a |
ا (at the beginning of a word),
ه in the final position |
It is pronounced similar to the vowel in "hot" in American English: "eight" - [atÁ] اته "mouth" - [khulá] خوله "saber" - [túra] توره |
|
o |
ا +و (at the beginning of a word), ا (at the beginning of a word), و (in the middle and at the end of a word) |
It is pronounced similar to the [o] in "pot" in British English: "today" - [os] اوس "black" - [tor] تور "monkey" - [bizó] بیزو . The vowels [o] and [u] are often interchanged in Pashto: "heat" - [tawd(ó↔ú)kha] تودوخه |
|
u |
ا +و (at the beginning of a word), ا ( at the beginning of a word), و (in the middle and at the end of a word) |
It is pronounced similar to the English [u] in "put": "cloud" - [uryádz] اوریڂ "we" - [muGh] موږ "they" - [duy] دوی . |
|
i |
ا +ي (at the beginning of a word), ا (at the beginning of a word), ي or ى (in the middle and at the end of a word) |
It is pronounced similar to the English [i] in "bit": "to put" - [iKhodÁl] ایښودل "far" - [líri]لیری . |
|
e |
ا +ې (at the beginning of a word), ا (at the beginning of a word), ې (in the middle and at the end of a word), ی |
It is pronounced similar to the English [e] in "bed": "to capture" - [elavÁl] اېلول ; "near"- [nәGhdé] نږدې ; "wall" - [dewaál] دېوال . |
|
A |
هin the final position ( ﻪ ) and the alone (ه ) position |
It is pronounced similar to the English neutral vowel [A] in the unstressed syllable of "focus". However, in Pashto, this sound is often under stress: "husband" - [meRÁ] مېړه ; "heart" - [zRA] زړه . |
See Also: