Lesson 01 - Alif to Ye: Meeting the Urdu Alphabet
8 January 2026
What you’ll learn
In this first lesson, you’ll meet all the letters of the Urdu alphabet in their standalone form. The aim isn’t to write them perfectly yet. It’s to recognise each letter, know its name and sound, and see how the alphabet fits together.
The Urdu alphabet
ا ب پ ت ٹ ث ج چ ح خ د ڈ ذ ر ڑ ز ژ س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ک گ ل م ن و ہ ھ ء ی ے
Letters that share a shape
Many Urdu letters are built on the same basic shape and differ only by their dots or small marks. Learning them in families makes the alphabet much easier to remember.
Following are the letter families,
ب پ ت ٹ ث
ج چ ح خ
د ڈ ذ
ر ڑ ز ژ
س ش
ص ض
ط ظ
ع غ
ف ق
ک گ
ہ ھ
ی ے
How to use this lesson
- Download the alphabet chart below.
- Go through the letters one family at a time.
- For each letter, look at its shape, count its dots and notice where they sit.
- Say the letter’s name and sound aloud.
- Come back to the chart often. Recognition grows with repetition.
Tip: Urdu is written and read from right to left. Don’t worry about writing yet; just get to know the letters.
Coming next: in the following lessons, you’ll learn to write each letter family, one step at a time.
Questions? Email script@thefourthdawn.com or book a session.