Functions as a long vowel /ā/ carrier or as a consonant with hamza above (/ʔ/). The first letter of the alphabet. Appears at the start of many words with initial vowel sounds in Pashto.
Voiced bilabial stop /b/, like "b" in "bed". One of the shared Arabic-Persian-Pashto letters. Very common in Pashto vocabulary inherited from Old Iranian as well as loanwords from Arabic and Persian.
Voiceless bilabial stop /p/, like "p" in "pen". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Pashto script, absent from classical Arabic. Common in native Pashto words and inherited Iranian vocabulary.
Voiceless dental stop /t/, like "t" in "top". One of the standard Arabic letters used in Pashto. Appears alongside the retroflex ټ, which represents a distinct sound unique to Pashto.
Voiceless retroflex stop /ʈ/, like the "t" in some South Asian pronunciations. One of the letters unique to Pashto, representing a retroflex consonant inherited from proto-Iranian. Contrasts phonemically with plain ت (/t/).
Pronounced as /s/ in Pashto, identical to س in most contexts. The original Arabic /θ/ sound is not preserved. Retained primarily in the spelling of Arabic loanwords in formal and religious Pashto.
Voiced postalveolar affricate /dʒ/, like "j" in "jump". One of the standard Arabic letters shared across Pashto, Persian, and Arabic. Common in both native Pashto vocabulary and loanwords.
Voiced alveolar affricate /dz/ in standard Eastern Pashto (or /z/ in some western dialects). One of the letters unique to Pashto, representing a phoneme absent from Arabic and Persian.
Voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/, like "ch" in "church". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Pashto script. Common in Pashto vocabulary and distinct from the ج sound.
Historically a pharyngeal fricative /ħ/ in Arabic; in Pashto realised as the glottal fricative /h/. Found primarily in Arabic loanwords and Islamic terminology in Pashto.
Voiceless velar fricative /x/, like "ch" in Scottish "loch". One of the characteristic Iranian sounds shared across Persian and Pashto. Very common in Pashto words.
Voiced dental/alveolar stop /d/, like "d" in "door". One of the most frequent consonants in Pashto. Contrasts with the retroflex ډ, which is unique to Pashto.
Voiced retroflex stop /ɖ/, like the "d" in some South Asian pronunciations. One of the letters unique to Pashto. Represents a retroflex consonant inherited from proto-Iranian, contrasting phonemically with plain د (/d/).
Historically the Arabic interdental /ð/; in Pashto pronounced as /z/. Appears in Arabic loanwords absorbed into the Pashto literary tradition.
Voiced alveolar tap or trill /r/. Fundamental to Pashto phonology. One of the non-connecting letters. Contrasts with the retroflex ړ, which is unique to Pashto.
Voiced retroflex lateral flap /ɺ/ or retroflex flap. One of the letters unique to Pashto, representing a retroflex sound absent from Arabic and Persian. Contrasts phonemically with plain ر (/r/).
Voiced alveolar fricative /z/, like "z" in "zebra". Primary /z/ letter in Pashto. One of the standard Arabic letters shared in Pashto writing. Common in both inherited vocabulary and Arabic loanwords.
Voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/, like "s" in "measure". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Pashto script. Used in Pashto loanwords from Persian and in some native phonological contexts.
A fricative sound varying dialectally — /ʐ/ (retroflex) in Eastern Pashto or /ʣ/ in other varieties. One of the letters unique to Pashto, representing a sound not found in Arabic or Persian.
Voiceless alveolar fricative /s/, like "s" in "sun". Primary /s/ letter in Pashto. Very common in native vocabulary and loanwords. One of the standard Arabic letters.
Voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, like "sh" in "ship". Common in Pashto vocabulary. Contrasts with the retroflex ښ, which is unique to Pashto.
Voiceless retroflex fricative /ʂ/ in Eastern Pashto. One of the letters unique to Pashto, representing a retroflex fricative absent from Arabic and Persian. Contrasts phonemically with plain ش (/ʃ/).
Arabic emphatic /sˤ/; in Pashto merges with plain /s/. Used in Arabic loanwords and Islamic terminology. The emphatic quality is not phonemically active in Pashto.
Arabic emphatic /dˤ/; in Pashto pronounced as /z/ or /d/. Used in Arabic loanwords. Not phonemically distinct from ز in spoken Pashto.
Arabic emphatic /tˤ/; in Pashto merges with plain /t/. Found in Arabic loanwords retained in standard spelling of Arabic-origin words.
Arabic emphatic /ðˤ/; in Pashto pronounced as /z/. Appears in formal Arabic loanwords used in literary, religious, and academic Pashto contexts.
The Arabic pharyngeal fricative /ʕ/; in Pashto realised as a glottal stop /ʔ/ or a vowel onset. Occurs in Arabic loanwords and Islamic terminology.
Voiced uvular fricative /ɣ/ or /ʁ/. Phonemically active in Pashto, contrasting with خ. Appears in words like غر (ghar, mountain) and native Pashto vocabulary.
Voiceless labiodental fricative /f/, like "f" in "fan". Common in Pashto, found in native words and numerous Arabic and Persian loanwords.
Voiceless uvular stop /q/. Retains the Arabic pronunciation more consistently than in Persian. Occurs in Arabic loanwords and Islamic vocabulary, contrasting with ک in many Pashto dialects.
Voiceless velar stop /k/, like "k" in "key". One of the most common consonants in Pashto. Appears in core vocabulary such as کور (kor, house) and کال (kāl, year).
Voiced velar stop /ɡ/, like "g" in "go". One of the letters unique to Pashto (a modified form with a ring marker). Represents the same /ɡ/ sound as Persian گ but uses a distinct letterform in standard Pashto orthography.
Voiced alveolar lateral approximant /l/, like "l" in "light". One of the most frequent consonants in Pashto. Appears across all word positions in common vocabulary.
Voiced bilabial nasal /m/, like "m" in "mother". Very frequent across all word positions in Pashto. Appears in core vocabulary like ما (mā, us) and common nouns and verbs.
Voiced alveolar nasal /n/, like "n" in "no". Essential to Pashto morphology. Contrasts with the retroflex ڼ, which is unique to Pashto.
Voiced retroflex nasal /ɳ/. One of the letters unique to Pashto, representing a retroflex nasal absent from Arabic and Persian. Contrasts phonemically with plain ن (/n/).
Voiceless glottal fricative /h/, like "h" in "hat". Also serves as a silent word-final letter indicating a preceding vowel in certain Pashto words.
Represents an unstressed neutral vowel /ə/ or a reduced vowel in Pashto. One of the letters unique to Pashto, used to indicate a neutral vowel quality not marked in Arabic or Persian script.
Functions as consonant /w/ and as long vowels /uː/ or /o/ in Pashto. Pashto uses /w/ where Persian uses /v/ — an important distinction. Also serves as the conjunction "and" (او, aw).
Functions as consonant /j/ (like "y" in "yes") and as long vowels /iː/ or /e/. Essential to Pashto morphology, appearing in common words and verb forms.
A ye letter with hamza above, representing a vowel onset or glottal stop before /i/ in Pashto. Used in certain word-initial and word-medial positions where the ye functions as a vowel carrier.
Represents the feminine noun ending and the vowel sound /əi/ or /ai/ in Pashto. One of the letters unique to Pashto, used to mark feminine gender and specific vowel qualities in final position.
Glottal stop marker /ʔ/. Used in Arabic loanwords in Pashto. Can appear independently or on a carrier letter. Occurs in formal written Pashto in Arabic-origin words and Islamic terminology.
Sambhu Raj Singh ·