Additional Signs

Name

Sign

Remarks

madda

آ

The sign madda is placed above the letter ا (alif) to convey the long aa sound in the initial position. Examples:

آنا aanaa 'to come'

آیا  aayaa 'came'

آنکھ aaNkh 'eye'

tashdid    

ّ

The sign tashdid indicates the doubling of the consonant above which it is written. Examples:

بلّی billii 'a cat'

کتّا kuttaa 'a dog'

ردّ radd 'denial'

This sign is usually omitted.

hamza

ﺌ (medial)

ﺋ (joined only to the following letter)     

The sign hamza is not pronounced in Urdu.
Usually, it is used to separate two different vowels in the word, as in بھائی bhaaii 'brother'.
In some words borrowed from Arabic, it is written after a consonant or above و.

مسئلہ masala 'a problem'

مؤذن muvazzin 'a muezzin'