Diphthongs

There are two diphthongs in Urdu. They are represented by the letters ﮯ and ﻭ.

Independent	Final	Medial	Initial	Transliteration	Remarks on Pronunciation
-	ﮯ ھے	-	-	ai	This letter has no initial or medial forms of its own. Instead, the corresponding forms of the letter ﻯ (ye-maaruuf) are used. This letter may be pronounced in several ways. Sometimes it is pronounced like the English i in pipe or die. Other times it is pronounced like the English ai in main or sail. Most often, however, it is pronounced like the English a in bag or map. Examples: ﺍ + ﻳ + ﺴ + ﺎ =ایسا aisaa 'such' ﭘ + ﯿ + ﺪ + ﺍ =پیدا paidaa 'born' ﮬ + ﮯ =ھے hai 'is'
Independent	Final	Medial	Initial	Transliteration	Remarks on Pronunciation
ﻭ دوڑنا	ﻮ سو	-	ﺍﻭ اوسط	au	This letter may be pronounced in two ways: like the English o in bone or alone, or like the English o in stop or dog. Examples: ﺍ + ﻭ + ﺳ + ﻂ =اوسط ausat 'average' ﻣ + ﻮ + ﺕ =موت maut 'death' ﺳ + ﻮ =سو sau 'hundred' ﺩ + ﻭ + ﮌ + ﻧ + ﺎ =دوڑنا dauRnaa 'to run' Note: This letter is not joined to the letter following it.

Long and diphthong vowels are both conveyed in the initial position by the combination of ا (alif) and one of the above-mentioned letters - و (vaav) or ے (ye-majhuul).