The Munji Alphabet

Q: How many letters does the Munji alphabet have?

The Munji alphabet has 32 letters , all derived from the Perso-Arabic script shared with Dari, Afghanistan's official language. The 32 letters include the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet plus 4 letters unique to Persian and Dari: پ (pe, /p/), چ (che, /tʃ/), ژ (zhe, /ʒ/), and گ (gaf, /g/). Short vowels are generally not written in everyday Munji text but can be indicated with optional diacritical marks called harakat. As an endangered language with a primarily oral tradition and limited standardised written form, fully-vocalised Munji texts using harakat are particularly important for language documentation and for accurately recording the distinctive East Iranian vowel system of Munji.

Q: What language is Munji?

Munji (also known as Munjan or Munjani) is an endangered East Iranian language spoken in the Munjan Valley of Badakhshan Province in northeastern Afghanistan. The language is spoken by an estimated 4,000–6,000 people in the valley communities around the Kokcha River tributary in remote Badakhshan. It is named after the Munjan district (also spelled Munjān) where it is primarily spoken. Munji belongs to the East Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian language family. Its closest living relative is Yidgha , spoken by a small community in Chitral district, northwestern Pakistan. Together, Munji and Yidgha form the Munji-Yidgha subgroup — a distinct branch within East Iranian that is separate from Pashto (also East Iranian but classified differently) and entirely separate from Dari and Persian (Southwest Iranian). The East Iranian family also includes Ossetic and the now-extinct Sogdian and Bactrian languages historically spoken in the broader Central Asian region.

Q: What are the distinctive features of the Munji language?

Munji preserves several archaic East Iranian phonological features not found in the dominant surrounding languages. Most notably, Munji uses /w/ (bilabial approximant) for و (vav) — directly inherited from Old Iranian *w — while standard Dari uses /v/ (labiodental). This /w/ pronunciation is shared with its sister language Yidgha and reflects the conservative East Iranian phonological character of the Munji-Yidgha subgroup. Munji also preserves archaic East Iranian vocabulary and morphological patterns that link it to Old Iranian texts, including features reminiscent of Avestan (the language of the Zoroastrian scriptures) and Bactrian (the Middle Iranian language once spoken across the Hindu Kush and Amu Darya regions). The Munji Valley's geographic isolation in the remote Badakhshan mountains has helped preserve these archaic features despite centuries of contact with Dari and Pashto. Linguists regard Munji as a significant window into the East Iranian linguistic tradition of the broader Hindu Kush region.

Q: Where is Munji spoken?

Munji is spoken exclusively in the Munjan Valley (Munjān), a remote valley in Badakhshan Province in northeastern Afghanistan. The valley is located along the upper reaches of the Kokcha River, one of the tributaries of the Amu Darya (Oxus River). Badakhshan Province borders Tajikistan to the north and Pakistan's Chitral region to the south and east — placing Munji in the heart of the Hindu Kush mountain range. The Munji-speaking community is entirely centred in this single, geographically isolated valley, which has contributed to both the preservation of archaic East Iranian features in the language and its current endangered status. There is no significant Munji-speaking diaspora outside Badakhshan. The related language Yidgha — the closest linguistic relative of Munji — is spoken by a small community in Chitral district across the Pakistani border, reflecting a historical distribution of the Munji-Yidgha subgroup across the Hindu Kush region that has since contracted.

Q: Is Munji related to Dari or Pashto?

Munji is not closely related to either Dari or Pashto, despite being spoken in an area surrounded by both languages. Munji belongs to the East Iranian branch of Iranian languages, while Dari and Persian are Southwest Iranian and Pashto is classified as Southeast Iranian . Within East Iranian, Munji's closest relative is Yidgha (Chitral, Pakistan), together forming the Munji-Yidgha subgroup — a lineage distinct from both Pashto and the broader Scythian-Ossetic branch. Despite this distinct classification, Munji has absorbed significant vocabulary from Dari over centuries of contact, as Dari is the dominant language of Badakhshan Province and the administrative, literary, and commercial language of the region. Munji speakers are typically bilingual in Dari. The core inherited East Iranian vocabulary, verbal morphology, and phonological features — including the conservative /w/ for و and distinctive vowel patterns — preserve Munji's identity as a separate language with deep roots in the ancient East Iranian linguistic tradition of the Hindu Kush.

Q: Is the Munji script read from right to left?

Yes. Like all Perso-Arabic scripts , Munji is written and read from right to left . Each letter connects to adjacent letters within a word (cursive), and most letters change shape depending on their position — initial, medial, final, or isolated form. The script belongs to the Arabic Unicode Block (U+0600–U+06FF) and follows the Dari/Persian script convention standard across Afghanistan and Badakhshan Province. The only exception to right-to-left direction is numerals , which are written left to right even within otherwise RTL text. Munji uses the same Eastern Arabic-Indic digits (۰–۹) as Dari Persian, standard across Afghan publications. As a language with a predominantly oral tradition and limited written output, Munji written materials are relatively rare — making the Perso-Arabic conventions of Dari particularly important as the template for any written Munji texts produced in Badakhshan.

Munji Alphabet at a Glance

32 letters written right to left using the Perso-Arabic script
Munji (also called Munjan or Munjani) is an endangered East Iranian language spoken by approximately 4,000–6,000 people in the Munjan Valley of Badakhshan Province, northeastern Afghanistan ^[1]
Uses the Perso-Arabic script, sharing the same 32-letter alphabet as Dari, Afghanistan's official language ^[2]
Classified as an East Iranian language forming the Munji-Yidgha subgroup alongside its closest living relative Yidgha, spoken in Chitral, Pakistan ^[3]
Preserves archaic East Iranian features: Munji uses a "w" sound for و (vav) inherited from Old Iranian, while Dari uses a "v" sound — a key distinction of the East Iranian branch ^[4]
Includes 4 letters unique to Persian/Dari script, not found in Arabic: پ (pe), چ (che), ژ (zhe), and گ (gaf)
6 vowel diacritics (harakat): fatha, kasra, damma, shadda, sukun, and tanwin fath
The Munji valley community has been documented by linguists as one of the most linguistically significant minority language communities in the Hindu Kush, given its archaic East Iranian features linking it to Bactrian and Old Avestan

Munji (also known as Munjan or Munjani) is an endangered East Iranian language spoken by approximately 4,000–6,000 people in the Munjan Valley of Badakhshan Province, northeastern Afghanistan ^[1]. It uses the 32-letter Perso-Arabic script shared with Dari, Afghanistan's official language ^[2].

Munji belongs to the Munji-Yidgha subgroup of East Iranian alongside its closest living relative Yidgha, spoken in Chitral, Pakistan ^[3]. This places it in a distinct branch from Dari (Southwest Iranian) and Pashto, despite centuries of contact with both in Badakhshan.

Munji preserves archaic East Iranian features — most notably a /w/ realisation of و (vav) inherited from Old Iranian *w, contrasting with Dari's /v/ — that link it to the ancient Bactrian language of the Hindu Kush region ^[4].

Munji Consonant Letters

The Munji alphabet contains 32 consonant letters based on the Perso-Arabic script. This includes the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet plus 4 letters unique to Persian/Dari: پ (pe /p/), چ (che /tʃ/), ژ (zhe /ʒ/), and گ (gaf /g/). Munji is an endangered East Iranian language of the Munjan Valley, Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan — the closest living relative of Yidgha. It preserves archaic East Iranian features including the /w/ realisation of و (vav), inherited from Old Iranian. Each letter changes shape depending on its position within a word — initial, medial, final, or isolated.

Munji Consonants

[AH-lef]

[BEH]

[PEH]

[TEH]

[SEH]

[JEEM]

[CHEH]

[HEH-JEE-mee]

[KHEH]

[DAHL]

[ZAHL]

[REH]

[ZEH]

[ZHEH]

[SEEN]

[SHEEN]

[SAWD]

[DAWD]

[TAW]

[ZAW]

[AYN]

[GHAYN]

[FEH]

[QAHF]

[KAHF]

[GAHF]

[LAHM]

[MEEM]

[NOON]

[VAWV]

[HEH]

[YEH]

[AH-lef]

The first letter of the Perso-Arabic alphabet; represents a glottal stop /ʔ/ in initial position or a long vowel /aː/. In Munji, alef functions as a vowel carrier following the Dari/Persian convention. Munji preserves archaic East Iranian vowel features that link it to Old Iranian, and the alef is integral to representing these vowel qualities in the Perso-Arabic writing system used in Badakhshan.

[BEH]

Voiced bilabial stop /b/, like "b" in "bed". A core letter of the Perso-Arabic abjad. In Munji, /b/ appears in inherited East Iranian vocabulary and in loanwords from Dari, the dominant language of Badakhshan. Munji's East Iranian character distinguishes it phonologically from its Dari-speaking neighbours despite sharing the same script.

[PEH]

Voiceless bilabial stop /p/, like "p" in "pen". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script not found in classical Arabic. In Munji, /p/ is a productive phoneme in both the inherited East Iranian core lexicon and in Persian/Dari loanwords integrated into spoken Munji in the Munjan Valley.

[TEH]

Voiceless alveolar stop /t/, like "t" in "top". In Munji, both ت and ط are pronounced as /t/. A common consonant in Munji vocabulary. The East Iranian phonological heritage of Munji includes some consonant patterns — such as reflexes of Old Iranian stop clusters — that set it apart from neighbouring Southwest Iranian and Northwest Iranian languages.

[SEH]

Pronounced as /s/ in Munji, identical to س. In Classical Arabic ث represents /θ/, but Munji — like all modern Iranian languages — pronounces this as the alveolar fricative /s/. Retained in writing to preserve the traditional spelling of Arabic loanwords in Munji formal and religious registers, following the Dari/Persian orthographic standard of Badakhshan.

[JEEM]

Voiced postalveolar affricate /dʒ/, like "j" in "jam". Present in Munji vocabulary, appearing in inherited East Iranian words and in Dari loanwords. The /dʒ/ phoneme is well-attested in the East Iranian branch, and Munji maintains it alongside its distinctive East Iranian consonant inventory that links it to the Bactrian and Sogdian substrate of the Badakhshan region.

[CHEH]

Voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/, like "ch" in "chair". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script. In Munji, چ appears in inherited vocabulary and in Dari/Persian loanwords. The East Iranian branch to which Munji belongs has historically included affricate phonemes, and the /tʃ/ of چ is fully integrated into the Munji phonological system.

[HEH-JEE-mee]

Voiceless pharyngeal fricative /ħ/ in Classical Arabic; in Munji this letter is pronounced as the plain glottal fricative /h/, merging with ه, following the standard Iranian pattern. Munji, like Dari and other Iranian languages of Afghanistan, does not preserve the pharyngeal quality of Arabic /ħ/ in borrowed vocabulary.

[KHEH]

Voiceless velar fricative /x/, like "ch" in Scottish "loch". Well-preserved in Munji; خ appears in both inherited East Iranian vocabulary and in Dari/Persian loanwords. The /x/ phoneme is characteristic of Iranian languages across the Badakhshan region, and Munji maintains it as a productive phoneme distinct from /h/.

[DAHL]

Voiced alveolar stop /d/, like "d" in "dog". A non-connecting letter in the Perso-Arabic script. Common in Munji vocabulary. Munji's East Iranian phonological heritage includes distinctive consonant correspondences to related languages such as Yidgha, and /d/ participates in the sound correspondences that characterise the Munji-Yidgha subgroup within East Iranian.

[ZAHL]

Pronounced as /z/ in Munji, merging with ز. In Classical Arabic ذ represents /ð/ (like "th" in "that"), but Munji — like all modern Iranian languages — pronounces this as the alveolar fricative /z/. Retained in the traditional spelling of Arabic loanwords used in Munji written texts following Dari orthographic conventions.

[REH]

Alveolar tap or trill /r/, like a rolled "r". A non-connecting letter. One of the most frequent consonants in Munji vocabulary. The rhotic in Munji is part of a distinctive East Iranian consonant inventory that shows systematic correspondences with its sister language Yidgha, reflecting the common Munji-Yidgha ancestral form within the East Iranian branch.

[ZEH]

Voiced alveolar fricative /z/, like "z" in "zoo". A non-connecting letter. In Munji, the letters ز، ذ، ض، and ظ all converge on the /z/ pronunciation following standard Iranian conventions. The /z/ phoneme is productive in Munji vocabulary across its inherited East Iranian core lexicon and in Arabic loanwords.

[ZHEH]

Voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/, like "s" in "measure". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script. This sound appears in Munji vocabulary, particularly in Dari/Persian loanwords. ژ is a non-connecting letter and one of the distinctive markers of the Persian script family used in Munji writing in Badakhshan.

[SEEN]

Voiceless alveolar fricative /s/, like "s" in "sun". In Munji, the three Arabic sibilant letters ث، س، and ص all merge into /s/. Highly frequent in Munji vocabulary inherited from East Iranian, as well as in Dari/Persian and Arabic loanwords that have been absorbed into the Munji lexicon through centuries of contact in the Badakhshan region.

[SHEEN]

Voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, like "sh" in "ship". Fully preserved in Munji; ش appears in both inherited East Iranian vocabulary and in Dari/Persian loanwords. The /ʃ/ phoneme is phonologically stable in Munji and represents an important feature shared with neighbouring Iranian languages of the Hindu Kush region.

[SAWD]

Emphatic /sˁ/ in Classical Arabic; in Munji, this letter is pronounced as plain /s/, merging with س. The pharyngeal emphasis of Arabic ص is not maintained in Munji pronunciation. Retained in writing to preserve the traditional spelling of Arabic loanwords, particularly in Islamic religious vocabulary used in Munji-speaking communities of Badakhshan.

[DAWD]

In Munji, ض is pronounced as /z/, merging with ز. The historically emphatic Arabic /dˁ/ has merged with /z/ in Munji as in all modern Iranian languages. Retained in the traditional spelling of Arabic loanwords used in Munji formal and religious contexts following standard Dari/Afghan orthographic conventions.

[TAW]

Emphatic /tˁ/ in Classical Arabic; in Munji, this letter is pronounced as plain /t/, merging with ت. Retained in writing to preserve the spelling of Arabic loanwords. Munji speakers do not distinguish ط from ت in everyday speech, following the general Iranian pattern.

[ZAW]

Emphatic consonant in Classical Arabic; in Munji, ظ is pronounced as /z/ like ذ، ز، and ض. The letter is preserved in the traditional spelling of Arabic-origin vocabulary used in Munji formal and religious registers; the emphatic quality is not maintained in Munji phonology.

[AYN]

Voiced pharyngeal fricative /ʕ/ in Arabic; in Munji, ع is typically realised as a glottal stop /ʔ/ or simple vowel onset following standard Dari/Persian phonological conventions. The pharyngeal quality of Arabic ع is not systematically preserved in Munji speech, as in other modern Iranian languages of Afghanistan.

[GHAYN]

Voiced uvular fricative /ɣ/, produced at the back of the throat. Present in Munji in Persian/Dari loanwords. The uvular fricative /ɣ/ (غ) contrasts with the velar stop /g/ (گ) in Munji vocabulary, following the standard Dari/Persian phonological distinction found across Afghan languages using the Perso-Arabic script.

[FEH]

Voiceless labiodental fricative /f/, like "f" in "fun". Present in Munji primarily in loanwords from Dari/Persian and Arabic. The /f/ phoneme in Munji appears in borrowed vocabulary from the dominant contact languages of Badakhshan — Dari in Afghanistan and to a lesser extent Pashto further south.

[QAHF]

Voiceless uvular stop /q/ in Classical Arabic; in Munji, ق may be realised as the uvular /q/ in formal or careful speech following Dari convention, or as a glottal stop /ʔ/ in casual speech. ق appears primarily in Arabic loanwords absorbed into Munji through the Islamic religious tradition and Dari contact in Badakhshan.

[KAHF]

Voiceless velar stop /k/, like "k" in "key". Distinct from ق (uvular); consistently represents /k/ in Munji. A productive phoneme in Munji vocabulary across both the inherited East Iranian core lexicon and in loanwords from the Dari contact language of Badakhshan. ک is one of the most frequent consonants in Munji.

[GAHF]

Voiced velar stop /g/, like "g" in "go". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script. In Munji, /g/ appears in inherited East Iranian vocabulary and in Dari/Persian loanwords. The /g/ phoneme is phonemically distinct from the uvular fricative /ɣ/ (غ) in Munji phonology, following the Dari/Persian convention.

[LAHM]

Lateral alveolar approximant /l/, like "l" in "lamp". Fully preserved in Munji. ل participates in the obligatory lam-alef ligature لا in the Perso-Arabic script. One of the most frequent consonants in Munji vocabulary across all lexical layers — inherited East Iranian core words and loanwords from Dari.

[MEEM]

Bilabial nasal /m/, like "m" in "man". A very common consonant in Munji vocabulary. م appears in inherited East Iranian words and in Dari/Arabic loanwords integrated into the Munji lexicon of the Munjan Valley. The bilabial nasal is phonologically stable and highly productive in Munji morphology and vocabulary.

[NOON]

Alveolar nasal /n/, like "n" in "noon". One of the most frequent consonants in Munji vocabulary; ن is productive in inherited East Iranian vocabulary and in loanwords from Dari and Arabic. Munji verbal morphology shows distinctive East Iranian patterns around nasal consonants that reflect its position in the Munji-Yidgha subgroup.

[VAWV]

In Munji, و represents /w/ (bilabial approximant), a characteristic East Iranian feature reflecting Old Iranian *w- inherited directly from Proto-Iranian. Unlike standard Dari, which uses /v/ for و, Munji preserves the original bilabial /w/, a feature shared with its sister language Yidgha and representing a phonological archaism of the East Iranian branch. Also serves as long vowel /uː/.

[HEH]

Voiceless glottal fricative /h/, like "h" in "hat". In Munji, final ه can represent /h/, /a/, or /e/ following Dari/Persian orthographic conventions. The glottal fricative is an active phoneme in Munji vocabulary across both the inherited East Iranian core and in loanwords from Dari, the dominant administrative and literary language of Badakhshan.

[YEH]

Palatal approximant /j/ in consonantal position (like "y" in "yes"), or long vowel /iː/ in vocalic position. In Munji, ی participates in the vowel system of this East Iranian language, which preserves some archaic Iranian vowel contrasts. Munji's vowel system reflects its position in the Munji-Yidgha subgroup and shows features inherited from Old Iranian not found in neighbouring Dari.

Munji Vowel Diacritics (Harakat)

Like all Perso-Arabic scripts, Munji is an abjad — a consonantal alphabet where short vowels are not written by default but indicated by optional diacritical marks (harakat). The six harakat marks shown here are used in linguistic documentation and educational materials for Munji, an endangered East Iranian language with a richer vowel system than standard Dari, inherited from Old Iranian. Fully-vocalised Munji texts with harakat are especially valuable for language preservation of this Badakhshan language.

Munji Vowel Diacritics (Harakat)

[FAH-tah]

[KAS-rah]

[DAM-mah]

[SHAD-dah]

[SOO-koon]

[TAN-ween]

[FAH-tah]

Fatha — a small diagonal stroke above a consonant marking the short vowel /a/. In Munji, fatha marks the open front vowel /a/. Munji's East Iranian vowel system is richer than standard Dari, and harakat including fatha are essential for accurately representing Munji vowels in linguistic documentation of this endangered language of the Munjan Valley.

[KAS-rah]

Kasra — a small diagonal stroke below a consonant marking the short vowel /e/ or /i/. In Munji, kasra marks a short front vowel. The Munji vowel inventory includes distinctions inherited from Old East Iranian, and kasra is used in fully-vocalised Munji texts — particularly in linguistic documentation by scholars — to indicate specific vowel qualities.

[DAM-mah]

Damma — a small hook-shaped mark above a consonant marking the short vowel /o/ or /u/. In Munji, damma marks a short back-rounded vowel. Munji preserves vowel contrasts from Old Iranian that have been lost in standard Dari, and damma is used in fully-vocalised texts to represent back vowel qualities in this endangered East Iranian language.

[SHAD-dah]

Shadda — a small diacritical mark indicating gemination (consonant doubling). Geminated consonants occur in Munji vocabulary, primarily in Arabic loanwords used in religious registers. Shadda is important in fully-vocalised Munji texts to distinguish geminated from simple consonants in borrowed Arabic and Dari vocabulary.

[SOO-koon]

Sukun — a small circular mark indicating the absence of a following vowel (a bare consonant). Used in fully-vocalised Munji texts to show consonant clusters and word-final consonants. Munji has consonant clusters reflecting its East Iranian heritage, making sukun particularly useful in accurate linguistic documentation of this Badakhshan language.

[TAN-ween]

Tanwin fath — double fatha marking the -an ending in indefinite accusative Arabic nouns. In Munji, tanwin appears in Arabic loanwords used in formal and religious speech registers, following the standard Perso-Arabic convention shared with Dari in Badakhshan. One of three tanwin markers inherited from the Arabic grammatical tradition.

First letter — alef; represents glottal stop /ʔ/ or long vowel /aː/. Non-connecting letter; foundational letter of the Perso-Arabic alphabet used for Munji writing in Badakhshan.

Second letter — be; voiced bilabial stop /b/. Connecting letter; present in inherited East Iranian and loanword vocabulary of Munji.

Third letter — pe; voiceless bilabial stop /p/. One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script; productive in Munji vocabulary.

Fourth letter — te; voiceless alveolar stop /t/. Common in Munji vocabulary; shares base shape with ب and پ, distinguished by two dots above.

Fifth letter — se; pronounced /s/ in Munji, merging with س. The Arabic value /θ/ is not maintained in Munji pronunciation.

Sixth letter — jim; voiced postalveolar affricate /dʒ/. Present in inherited East Iranian vocabulary and in Dari loanwords in Munji.

Seventh letter — che; voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/. One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script; present in Munji vocabulary.

Eighth letter — he-jimi; pronounced /h/ in Munji. The pharyngeal quality of Arabic /ħ/ is not preserved in Munji spoken phonology.

Ninth letter — khe; voiceless velar fricative /x/. Well-preserved in Munji; common in East Iranian vocabulary and Dari loanwords.

Tenth letter — dal; voiced alveolar stop /d/. Non-connecting letter; common in Munji vocabulary from the East Iranian core lexicon.

Eleventh letter — zal; pronounced /z/ in Munji. Non-connecting letter; the Arabic voiced dental fricative /ð/ has merged with /z/ in Munji.

Twelfth letter — re; alveolar tap or trill /r/. Non-connecting letter; one of the most frequent consonants in Munji.

Thirteenth letter — ze; voiced alveolar fricative /z/. Non-connecting; in Munji, ز، ذ، ض، ظ all represent /z/.

Fourteenth letter — zhe; voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/. One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script; present primarily in Dari loanwords in Munji.

Fifteenth letter — sin; voiceless alveolar fricative /s/. Frequent in Munji; ث، س، and ص all represent /s/ in Munji pronunciation.

Sixteenth letter — shin; voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/. Fully preserved in Munji; common in East Iranian vocabulary and Dari loanwords.

Seventeenth letter — sad; pronounced /s/ in Munji. The emphatic /sˁ/ of Classical Arabic is not maintained; retained for spelling Arabic loanwords.

Eighteenth letter — dad; pronounced /z/ in Munji. The historically emphatic Arabic /dˁ/ has merged with /z/ in Munji/Iranian pronunciation.

Nineteenth letter — ta; pronounced /t/ in Munji. The emphatic /tˁ/ of Classical Arabic merges with plain /t/ in Munji; retained in Arabic-origin vocabulary.

Twentieth letter — za; pronounced /z/ in Munji. Like ذ، ز، and ض, this letter represents /z/ in Munji pronunciation.

Twenty-first letter — ayn; voiced pharyngeal /ʕ/ in Arabic; in Munji realised as glottal stop /ʔ/ or vowel onset following Dari conventions.

Twenty-second letter — ghayn; voiced uvular fricative /ɣ/. Present in Dari/Persian loanwords in Munji vocabulary.

Twenty-third letter — fe; voiceless labiodental fricative /f/. Present primarily in Dari/Arabic loanwords in Munji.

Twenty-fourth letter — qaf; uvular stop /q/ in formal speech or glottal stop /ʔ/ in casual Munji following Dari conventions.

Twenty-fifth letter — kaf; voiceless velar stop /k/. Very frequent in Munji across East Iranian core vocabulary and Dari loanwords.

Twenty-sixth letter — gaf; voiced velar stop /g/. One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script; present in Dari loanwords and inherited Munji vocabulary.

Twenty-seventh letter — lam; lateral alveolar approximant /l/. One of the most frequent consonants in Munji; participates in the obligatory lam-alef ligature لا.

Twenty-eighth letter — mim; bilabial nasal /m/. Common in Munji across East Iranian core vocabulary and Dari loanwords.

Twenty-ninth letter — nun; alveolar nasal /n/. One of the most frequent consonants in Munji; productive in both inherited and borrowed vocabulary.

Thirtieth letter — vav; represents /w/ (bilabial approximant) in Munji — a conservative East Iranian feature preserving Old Iranian *w, contrasting with Dari's /v/. Also serves as long vowel /uː/. Non-connecting letter.

Thirty-first letter — he; voiceless glottal fricative /h/. Multi-functional in Munji orthography; can represent /h/, /a/, or /e/ in word-final position following Dari/Persian conventions.

Thirty-second letter — ye; palatal approximant /j/ in consonantal use or long vowel /iː/ in vocalic use. Munji preserves archaic East Iranian vowel features around ی that reflect its position in the Munji-Yidgha subgroup.

Eastern Arabic Digits (۰–۹)

[SI-fer]

[YEK]

[DOH]

[SEH]

[CHAR]

[PANJ]

[SHESH]

[HAFT]

[HASHT]

[NOH]

[SI-fer]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit zero (۰), corresponding to Western 0. Used in Munji texts following Dari/Afghan numeral conventions. The word صفر (sifr) is the Arabic origin of the English words "cipher" and "zero", transmitted through medieval Islamic mathematics. Written left to right within otherwise RTL Munji text.

[YEK]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit one (۱), corresponding to Western 1. Munji written numerals follow Dari/Persian convention (یک, yek), reflecting the dominant influence of Dari as the literary and administrative language of Badakhshan Province.

[DOH]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit two (۲), corresponding to Western 2. The name is دو (do), shared with Dari Persian, cognate with Sanskrit dvi and Latin duo. Eastern Arabic-Indic numerals are standard across Munji written materials following Afghan script conventions.

[SEH]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit three (۳), corresponding to Western 3. The name is سه (se), shared with Dari, cognate with Sanskrit tri and Latin tres. Munji written texts use standard Dari/Afghan numeral conventions in Badakhshan Province.

[CHAR]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit four (۴), corresponding to Western 4. The name is چهار (char/chahar), shared with Dari, cognate with Sanskrit catur. Standard across Munji written materials following Afghan/Dari script conventions.

[PANJ]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit five (۵), corresponding to Western 5. The name is پنج (panj), shared with Dari Persian, cognate with Sanskrit panca and Greek pente. The Eastern Arabic-Indic five (۵) has a characteristic shape different from the Western Arabic 5.

[SHESH]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit six (۶), corresponding to Western 6. The name is شش (shesh), shared with Dari Persian. Standard in Munji written materials following the Dari numeral conventions of Badakhshan.

[HAFT]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit seven (۷), corresponding to Western 7. The name is هفت (haft), shared with Dari, cognate with Sanskrit sapta and Latin septem. Standard across Munji written materials.

[HASHT]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit eight (۸), corresponding to Western 8. The name is هشت (hasht), shared with Dari, cognate with Sanskrit ashta and Latin octo. Used in Munji written texts following Dari/Afghan numeral conventions.

[NOH]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit nine (۹), corresponding to Western 9. The name is نه/نو (noh/naw), shared with Dari Persian, cognate with Sanskrit nava and Latin novem. Standard in Munji written materials following Dari conventions of Badakhshan.

‌

Arabic comma — the standard comma in Munji/Dari texts, mirrored horizontally from the Western comma to suit right-to-left reading. Used to separate clauses, list items, and coordinate phrases in Munji written texts following Dari typographic conventions of Badakhshan Province.

Arabic question mark — the standard interrogative marker in Munji texts, reflected horizontally from the Western question mark. Placed at the end of a question sentence (which, in RTL text, appears on the right side of the line). Standard across Dari and Munji writing traditions in Afghanistan.

Arabic semicolon — used in Munji/Dari texts to separate independent clauses more strongly than a comma. The Arabic semicolon ؛ is the mirrored form of the Western semicolon and is used in formal Munji writing following Dari typographic conventions.

Left guillemet — used as a quotation mark in Munji/Dari texts following Afghan Persian publishing conventions. In RTL text, « appears at the end of the quoted text (visually on the right). Guillemets are the standard quotation marks in Dari and Munji publications.

Right guillemet — used as a quotation mark in Munji/Dari texts. In Dari/Munji typographic convention, » opens the quotation and « closes it — the reverse of Western usage. Standard across Munji and Dari publications in Afghanistan.

Arabic percent sign — used in Munji texts for percentages, following the Arabic-script convention used in Afghanistan. Often interchangeable with the Western % sign in modern Munji digital and print texts.

Arabic full stop — used to terminate sentences in Munji/Dari texts. Follows the traditional Perso-Arabic typographic standard for sentence termination in formal Munji writing and publications in Badakhshan.

‌

Zero-width non-joiner (ZWNJ) — an invisible Unicode character (U+200C) used in Perso-Arabic texts to prevent two letters from joining where they would normally connect. Essential in Munji digital typography for certain compound words and grammatical constructions in the Munji writing system.

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How many letters does the Munji alphabet have?

What language is Munji?

What are the distinctive features of the Munji language?

Where is Munji spoken?

Is Munji related to Dari or Pashto?

Is the Munji script read from right to left?

References:

[1] Glottolog 5.1. "Munji [munj1244]". Retrieved from Glottolog: Munji
[2] Unicode Consortium. "Arabic Unicode Block (U+0600-U+06FF)". Retrieved from Unicode Arabic Block
[3] SIL International. "ISO 639-3 Language Code: mnj — Munji". Retrieved from SIL ISO 639-3: mnj
[4] Encyclopaedia Iranica (Columbia University). "MUNJI". Retrieved from Encyclopaedia Iranica: Munji