Urdu is written in a flowing script that runs from right to left. You can think of writing in Urdu as being similar to writing English in cursive, but in the opposite direction. Most Urdu letters connect to the letters preceding and following them, just as in English cursive writing.
Because most letters are joined together, letters often change shape somewhat depending on their placement within a word. If positioned at the beginning of a word, for instance, a letter needs to connect to another letter only on one side, whereas in the middle of the word, it will usually need to connect on both sides. Generally, a letter will have one shape at the beginning of a word, another shape if it is in the middle of a word, and a third shape when it appears at the end of a word. These three shapes are called, respectively, the initial form, the medial form, and the final form of the letter. Each letter also has a shape that is used when it is standing by itself, called the isolated form.
There are some letters, however, that have no medial or initial forms because they never connect with the letter following them. Such letters have only isolated and final forms. In the Urdu alphabet, these letters are: ا و ژ ز ڑ ر ذ ڈ د
The letter ں occurs only at the end of a word. The following letters are found only in words borrowed from Arabic, Persian, or English: ق ف غ ع ظ ط ض ض ص ژ ز ذ ث
A Note on Pronunciation: Urdu sounds do not correspond exactly to any English sounds. Correct pronunciation can be achieved only by listening carefully to native speakers and imitating their speech.
The pronunciation of the Urdu letters is described in the topics about Consonants and Vowels.See Also: