Urdu alphabet

Urdu alphabet introduction

Urdu is written in an adapted form of Arabic script. During the 8th Century the Persians began to use the Arabic script, adding a few letters for Persian sounds that did not occur in the Arabic language. Several centuries later, invaders of India who came from Central Asia, added more letters to write the language spoken in Delhi, India. This language eventually became known as Urdu.

Urdu script is written from right to left: the opposite direction to English. Urdu script is used to write other languages, including Pashto, Kashmiri, and Punjabi too.

There are 36 letters in the Urdu alphabet.