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#REDIRECT [[Shahmukhi alphabet]]
{{short description|Script used to write the Punjabi language}}<!-- Should be 40 characters (including spaces) or fewer see [[WP:SD40]] -->
{{Infobox Writing system
| name        = Shahmukhi
| native_name = {{nq|شاہ مُکھی}}
| languages  = [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] (incl. [[Punjabi dialects|dialects and varieties]])
| time        = 17th century–present
| type        = [[Abjad]]
| fam1        = [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]]
| fam2        = [[Proto-Sinaitic alphabet|Proto-Sinaitic]]
| fam3        = [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]]
| fam4        = [[Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic]]
| fam5        = [[Nabataean alphabet|Nabataean]]
| fam6        = [[Arabic script|Arabic]]
| fam7        = [[Persian alphabet|Perso-Arabic]]
| region      = [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Hazara region|Hazara]], [[Azad Kashmir]]
| unicode    = {{ubl|[https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0600.pdf U+0600 to U+06FF]|
[https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0750.pdf U+0750 to U+077F]|
[https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U08A0.pdf U+08A0 to U+08FF]|
[https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/UFB50.pdf U+FB50 to U+FDFF]|
[https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/UFE70.pdf U+FE70 to U+FEFF]}}
| iso15924    =
| sample      = Standard Shahmukhi alphabets.png
| caption    = Shahmukhi alphabets
}}
{{Arabic-script sidebar|Punjabi}}


[[Category:Unprintworthy redirects]]
'''Shahmukhi''' ({{Langx|pa|{{nq|[[wikt:شاہ مُکھی|شاہ مُکھی]]}}|links=no|label=Shahmukhi}}, {{IPA|pa|ʃäː(ɦ)˦.mʊ.kʰiː|pron}}, {{lit|from the [[Shah |Shah's or King's]] mouth}}, {{langx|pa|ਸ਼ਾਹਮੁਖੀ|links=no|label=[[Gurmukhī]]}}) is the [[right-to-left script|right-to-left]] [[abjad]]-based script developed from the [[Persian alphabet|Perso-Arabic alphabet]] used for the [[Punjabi dialects|Punjabi language varieties]], predominantly in [[Punjab, Pakistan]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2019/19111r-punjabi-lam.pdf|title=Unicode Proposal for ArLaam|last1=Evans|first1=Lorna Priest|last2=Malik|first2=M.G. Abbas|date=1 May 2019|website=Unicode|publisher=Punjabi Parchar|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421191456/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2019/19111r-punjabi-lam.pdf|archive-date=21 April 2020|access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.aclweb.org/anthology/C08-3009/|title=Shahmukhi to Gurmukhī Transliteration System|last1=Singh Saini|first1=Tejineder|last2=Singh Lehal|first2=Gurpreet|date=August 2008|website=Aclweb.org|publisher=Coling 2008 Organizing Committee|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814075221/https://www.aclweb.org/anthology/C08-3009.pdf|archive-date=14 August 2017|access-date=21 April 2020|last3=S Kalra|first3=Virinder|pages=177–180}}</ref> It is generally written in the [[Nastaʿlīq]] [[Calligraphy|calligraphic]] hand,<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Sharma |first1=Saurabh |last2=Gupta |first2=Vishal |date=May 2013 |title=Punjabi Documents Clustering System |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6677/85950119ad00c97dd28ab0799976fee89a5b.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Journal of Emerging Technologies in Web Intelligence |volume=5 |issue=2 |page=174 |doi=10.4304/JETWI.5.2.171-187 |s2cid=55699784 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421200231/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6677/85950119ad00c97dd28ab0799976fee89a5b.pdf |archive-date=21 April 2020 |access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last1=Dhanju |first1=Kawarbir Singh |last2=Lehal |first2=Gurpreet Singh |last3=Saini |first3=Tejinder Singh |last4=Kaur |first4=Arshdeep |date=October 2015 |title=Design and Implementation of Shahmukhi Spell Checker |url=http://www.learnpunjabi.org/pdf/83917-144918-2-PB.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221003652/http://www.learnpunjabi.org/pdf/83917-144918-2-PB.pdf |archive-date=21 December 2018 |access-date=2 May 2020 |website=Learnpunjabi.org}}</ref> which is also used for [[Persian language|Persian]] and [[Urdu]].<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Malik|first1=Muhammad Ghulam Abbas|last2=Boitet|first2=Christian|last3=Bhattcharyya|first3=Pushpak|date=27 June 2012|orig-year=2010|title=Analysis of Noori Nasta'leeq for Major Pakistani Languages|url=https://www.kau.edu.sa/Show_Res.aspx?Site_ID=611&LNG=EN&RN=62787|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170815063825/https://www.kau.edu.sa/Files/611/Researches/62787_33808.pdf|archive-date=15 August 2017|access-date=21 April 2020|website=King AbdulAziz University|page=4|location=Penang, Malaysia}}</ref> Shahmukhi is one of the two standard scripts used for Punjabi, the other being [[Gurmukhī]] used mainly in [[Punjab, India]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Dorren|first=Gaston|title=Babel: Around the World in Twenty Languages|publisher=Profile Books|year=2018|isbn=978-1782832508}}</ref> Shahmukhi is written from right to left and has 36 primary letters with some other additional letters.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last1=Sharma |first1=Saurabh |last2=Gupta |first2=Vishal |date=May 2013 |title=Punjabi Documents Clustering System |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6677/85950119ad00c97dd28ab0799976fee89a5b.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Journal of Emerging Technologies in Web Intelligence |volume=5 |issue=2 |page=174 |doi=10.4304/JETWI.5.2.171-187 |s2cid=55699784 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421200231/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6677/85950119ad00c97dd28ab0799976fee89a5b.pdf |archive-date=21 April 2020 |access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography|publisher=Springer|year=2019|isbn=978-3030059774|pages=142}}</ref>
 
== History ==
Before the advent of Shahmukhi, writing systems were not popular for the [[Punjabi language#History|Old Punjabi varieties]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}
 
The name 'Shahmukhi' is a recent coinage, imitating its counterpart 'Gurmukhī'.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Shackle|first=Christopher|title=Punjabi language|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Punjabi-language|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> However, the writing of Punjabi in the [[Perso-Arabic script]] is well-attested from the 17th century onwards.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Shackle|first=Christopher|chapter=Panjabi|title=The Indo-Aryan Languages|publisher=Routledge|year=2007|isbn=978-0-415-77294-5|editor-last=Cardona|editor-first=George|pages=655|editor-last2=Jain|editor-first2=Dhanesh}}</ref> According to Dhavan, Punjabi began to adopt the script as a "side effect" of educational practices in [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]]-era [[Punjab]], when Punjabi Muslims learned the [[Persian language]] in order to participate in Mughal society. Educational materials taught Persian to Punjabi speakers by using Punjabi written in Persian's alphabet, which was a novel innovation. This was one of the first attempts at standardising the Punjabi language; prior to this, Punjabi was primarily a spoken language, not formally taught in schools.<ref>{{Citation|last=Dhavan|first=Purnima|title=Marking Boundaries and Building Bridges: Persian Scholarly Networks in Mughal Punjab|date=2019-12-31|work=The Persianate World|pages=168–169|editor-last=Green|editor-first=Nile|publisher=University of California Press|doi=10.1525/9780520972100-009|isbn=978-0-520-97210-0|s2cid=211601323 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
 
Shackle suggests that the Gurmukhī script was not favoured by [[Punjabi Muslims]] due to its religious ([[Sikh]]) connotations.<ref name=":3" /> Shahmukhi Punjabi was added to [[Google Translate]] in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 June 2024 |title=110 new languages are coming to Google Translate |url=https://blog.google/products/translate/google-translate-new-languages-2024/ |access-date=6 June 2025 |website=Google |quote=Here are some of the newly supported languages in Google Translate ... Punjabi (Shahmukhi) is the variety of Punjabi written in Perso-Arabic script (Shahmukhi), and is the most spoken language in Pakistan.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Shah |first=Aditi |date=28 June 2024 |title=Google Translate Now Supports 110 New Languages Including Marwari, Awadhi, Shahmukhi And More |url=https://www.ndtvprofit.com/technology/google-translate-now-supports-110-new-languages-including-marwari-awadhi-shahmukhi-and-more |access-date=6 June 2025 |work=NDTV}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2 June 2024 |title=Milestone for Punjabi-speaking community, Google translate now supports Shahmukhi script |url=https://www.babushahi.com/view-news.php?id=187134&headline=Milestone-for-Punjabi-speaking-community,-Google-translate-now-supports%C2%A0Shahmukhi-script%C2%A0%C2%A0 |access-date=6 June 2025 |work=Babushahi}}</ref>
 
==Alphabet==
Shahmukhi script is a modified version of the [[Arabic script]]'s [[Persian alphabet]]. It is identical to the [[Urdu alphabet]], but contains additional letters representing the [[Punjabi phonology]]. For writing [[Saraiki language|Saraiki]], an [[Saraiki alphabet#Arabic script|extended Shahmukhi]] is used that includes 4 additional letters for the [[implosive consonants]] ({{Nq|ٻ, ڄ, ݙ, ڳ}}).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bashir |first1=Elena |title=A descriptive grammar of Hindko, Panjabi, and Saraiki |last2=Conners |first2=Thomas J. |last3=Hefright |first3=Brook |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |others=Hefright, Brook |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-61451-296-7 |location= |pages=62; 77 |oclc=1062344143 |author-link=Elena Bashir}}</ref>
 
=== Vowel diacritics ===
Like Urdu, Shahmukhi also has diacritics, which are implied - a convention retained from the original [[Arabic script]], to express short vowels.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bhardwaj |first=Mangat |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-NDmDAAAQBAJ&q=diacritics+in+shahmukhi&pg=PA377 |title=Panjabi: A Comprehensive Grammar |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=978-1317643265 |pages=378 |quote=It is an ancient Arabic writing tradition (carried on in Persian, Urdu and Shahmukhi) to omit the diacritics (except the Hamza) in ordinary writing and to depend on the context to interpret a word.}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
Diacritics used in Shahmukhi
!Name
!Symbol
!Usage
![[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
!Notes
!Examples
|-
! colspan="6" |Short vowels
|-
| align="center" |Zabar
| align="center" |{{Nastaliq|◌َ‎ }}
| align="center" |a
| align="center" |{{IPAlink|ə|[ə]}}
| align="center" colspan="2" |Written above a letter
|-
| align="center" |Zer
| align="center" |{{Nastaliq|◌ِ‎ }}
| align="center" |i
| align="center" |{{IPAlink|ɪ|[ɪ]}}
| align="center" colspan="2" |Written below a letter
|-
| align="center" |Pesh
| align="center" |{{Nastaliq|◌ُ‎ }}
| align="center" |u
| align="center" |{{IPAlink|ʊ|[ʊ]}}
| align="center" colspan="2" |Written above a letter
|-
| align="center" |Nūn Ġunna
| align="center" |{{Nastaliq|◌٘‎}}
| align="center" |ṉ
| align="center" |{{IPAlink|◌̃|[◌̃]}}, {{IPAlink|ŋ|[ŋ]}}
| align="center" |Nasal vowel diacritic
|‘{{nastaliq|مُون٘ہہ‎}}’ (‘face’)
|-
| align="center" |Tashdīd
| align="center" |{{Nastaliq|◌ّ‎}}
| align="center" |[[Gemination|Geminate]]
| align="center" |{{IPAlink|ː|[ː]}}
| align="center" |Doubles a consonant - goes above the letter being prolonged
|‘{{Nq|کّ}}’ ('kk')
|-
! colspan="6" |Loan diacritics
|-
| align="center" |Khaṛī Zabar
| align="center" |{{Nastaliq|◌ٰ}}
| align="center" |á
| align="center" |{{IPA link|ä|[äː]}}
| rowspan="2" align="center" |Used in certain Arabic loanwords only
|‘{{nastaliq|عیسیٰ}}’ (‘Jesus’)
|-
| align="center" |Zabar Tanwīn
| align="center" |{{Nastaliq|◌ً}}
| align="center" |an
| align="center" |[ən]
|‘{{nastaliq|فوراً}}’ (‘Immediately’)
|-
! colspan="6" |Other diacritics
|-
| align="center" |Hamza
| align="center" |{{nastaliq|◌ٔ}}
| colspan="2" align="center" |{{strong|varied}}
| colspan="2" align="center" |Indicates a [[diphthong]] between two vowels, examples such as: ‘{{nq|{{strong|ئ}}}}’, ‘{{nq|{{strong|ۓ}}}}’, ‘{{nq|{{strong|ؤ}}}}‘, and {{nq|{{strong|أ}}}} , not written as a separate diacritic
|-
|}
 
=== Consonants ===
 
{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|-
|-
!No.
!colspan="2"|Name<ref>{{cite book |last1=Delacy |first1=Richard |title=Beginner's Urdu Script |date=2003 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=007141987X |pages=xv–xvi}}</ref>
![[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
!Final glyph
!Medial glyph
!Initial glyph
!Isolated glyph
|-
| 1
| {{Nastaliq|الف}}
| ''alif''
| {{IPA|/äː/, /ə/, /ɪ/, /ʊ/}}
|{{Nq|ـا}}
|{{Nq|ـا}}
|{{Nq|ا}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ا]]}}}}
|-
| 2
| {{Nastaliq|بے}}
| ''bē''
| {{IPA|/b/}}
|{{Nq|ـب}}
|{{Nq|ـبـ}}
|{{Nq|بـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ب]]}}}}
|-
| 3
| {{Nastaliq|پے}}
| ''pē''
| {{IPA|/p/}}
|{{Nq|ـپ}}
|{{Nq|ـپـ}}
|{{Nq|پـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[پ]]}}}}
|-
| 4
| {{Nastaliq|تے}}
| ''tē''
| {{IPA|/t/}}
|{{Nq|ـت}}
|{{Nq|ـتـ}}
|{{Nq|تـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ت]]}}}}
|-
| 5
| {{Nastaliq|ٹے}}
| ''ṭē''
| {{IPA|/ʈ/}}
|{{Nq|ـٹ}}
|{{Nq|ـٹـ}}
|{{Nq|ٹـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ٹ]]}}}}
|-
| 6
| {{Nastaliq|ثے}}
| ''s̱ē''
| {{IPA|/s/}}
|{{Nq|ـث}}
|{{Nq|ـثـ}}
|{{Nq|ثـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ث]]}}}}
|-
| 7
| {{Nastaliq|جيم}}
| ''jīm''
| {{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}}
|{{Nq|ـج}}
|{{Nq|ـجـ}}
|{{Nq|جـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ج]]}}}}
|-
| 8
| {{Nastaliq|چے}}
| ''cē''
| {{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}}
|{{Nq|ـچ}}
|{{Nq|ـچـ}}
|{{Nq|چـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[چ]]}}}}
|-
| 9
| {{Nastaliq|وڈّی حے}}
| ''waḍḍi ḥē''
| {{IPA|/ɦ/}}
|{{Nq|ـح}}
|{{Nq|ـحـ}}
|{{Nq|حـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ح]]}}}}
|-
| 10
| {{Nastaliq|خے}}
| ''k͟hē''
| {{IPA|/x/}}
|{{Nq|ـخ}}
|{{Nq|ـخـ}}
|{{Nq|خـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[خ]]}}}}
|-
| 11
| {{Nastaliq|دال}}
| ''dāl''
| {{IPA|/d/}}
|{{Nq|ـد}}
|{{Nq|ـد}}
|{{Nq|د}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[د]]}}}}
|-
| 12
| {{Nastaliq|ڈال}}
| ''ḍāl''
| {{IPA|/ɖ/}}
|{{Nq|ـڈ}}
|{{Nq|ـڈ}}
|{{Nq|ڈ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ڈ]]}}}}
|-
| 13
| {{Nastaliq|ذال}}
| ''ẕāl''
| {{IPA|/z/}}
|{{Nq|ـذ}}
|{{Nq|ـذ}}
|{{Nq|ذ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ذ]]}}}}
|-
| 14
| {{Nastaliq|رے}}
| ''rē''
| {{IPA|/r/}}
|{{Nq|ـر}}
|{{Nq|ـر}}
|{{Nq|ر}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ر]]}}}}
|-
| 15
| {{Nastaliq|ڑے}}
| ''ṛē''
| {{IPA|/ɽ/}}
|{{Nq|ـڑ}}
|{{Nq|ـڑ}}
|{{Nq|ڑ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ڑ]]}}}}
|-
| 16
| {{Nastaliq|زے}}
| ''zē''
| {{IPA|/z/}}
|{{Nq|ـز}}
|{{Nq|ـز}}
|{{Nq|ز}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ز]]}}}}
|-
| 17
| {{Nastaliq|ژے}}
| ''žē''
| {{IPA|/ʒ/}}
|{{Nq|ـژ}}
|{{Nq|ـژ}}
|{{Nq|ژ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ژ]]}}}}
|-
| 18
| {{Nastaliq|سین}}
| ''sīn''
| {{IPA|/s/}}
|{{Nq|ـس}}
|{{Nq|ـسـ}}
|{{Nq|سـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[س]]}}}}
|-
| 19
| {{Nastaliq|شین}}
| ''shīn''
| {{IPA|/ʃ/}}
|{{Nq|ـش}}
|{{Nq|ـشـ}}
|{{Nq|شـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ش]]}}}}
|-
| 20
| {{Nastaliq|صاد}}
| ''ṣwād''
| {{IPA|/s/}}
|{{Nq|ـص}}
|{{Nq|ـصـ}}
|{{Nq|صـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ص]]}}}}
|-
| 21
| {{Nastaliq|ضاد}}
| ''ẓwād''
| {{IPA|/z/}}
|{{Nq|ـض}}
|{{Nq|ـضـ}}
|{{Nq|ضـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ض]]}}}}
|-
| 22
| {{Nastaliq|طوئیں}}
| ''t̤o{{hamza}}ēṉ''
| {{IPA|/t/}}
|{{Nq|ـط}}
|{{Nq|ـطـ}}
|{{Nq|طـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ط]]}}}}
|-
| 23
| {{Nastaliq|ظوئیں}}
| ''z̤o{{hamza}}ēṉ''
| {{IPA|/z/}}
|{{Nq|ـظ}}
|{{Nq|ـظـ}}
|{{Nq|ظـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ظ]]}}}}
|-
| 24
| {{Nastaliq|عین}}
| ''{{okina}}ain''
| {{IPA|/∅/, /äː/, /ə/, /eː/, /oː/, }}
|{{Nq|ـع}}
|{{Nq|ـعـ}}
|{{Nq|عـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ع]]}}}}
|-
| 25
| {{Nastaliq|غین}}
| ''ġain''
| {{IPA|/ɣ/}}
|{{Nq|ـغ}}
|{{Nq|ـغـ}}
|{{Nq|غـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[غ]]}}}}
|-
| 26
| {{Nastaliq|فے}}
| ''fē''
| {{IPA|/f/}}
|{{Nq|ـف}}
|{{Nq|ـفـ}}
|{{Nq|فـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ف]]}}}}
|-
| 27
| {{Nastaliq|قاف}}
| ''qāf''
| {{IPA|/q/}}
|{{Nq|ـق}}
|{{Nq|ـقـ}}
|{{Nq|قـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ق]]}}}}
|-
| 28
| {{Nastaliq|کاف}}
| ''kāf''
| {{IPA|/k/}}
|{{Nq|ـک}}
|{{Nq|ـکـ}}
|{{Nq|کـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[Kāf|ک]]}}}}
|-
| 29
| {{Nastaliq|گاف}}
| ''gāf''
| {{IPA|/ɡ/}}
|{{Nq|ـگ}}
|{{Nq|ـگـ}}
|{{Nq|گـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[گ]]}}}}
|-
| 30
| {{Nastaliq|لام}}
| ''lām''
| {{IPA|/l/}}
|{{Nq|ـل}}
|{{Nq|ـلـ}}
|{{Nq|لـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ل]]}}}}
|-
| 31<ref name=":4">Rarely used in literature, except when a distinction between the pronunciation of the non-retroflex character is needed</ref>
| {{Nastaliq|ࣇام}}
| ''ḷām''
| {{IPA|/ɭ/}}
|{{Nq|ـࣇ}}
|{{Nq|ـࣇـ}}
|{{Nq|ࣇـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ࣇ|لؕ]]}}}}
|-
| 32
| {{Nastaliq|میم}}
| ''mīm''
| {{IPA|/m/}}
|{{Nq|ـم}}
|{{Nq|ـمـ}}
|{{Nq|مـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[م]]}}}}
|-
| 33
| {{Nastaliq|نون}}
| ''nūn''
| {{IPA|/n, ɲ/}}
|{{Nq|ـن}}
|{{Nq|ـنـ}}
|{{Nq|نـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ن]]}}}}
|-
| 34<ref name=":4" />
| {{Nastaliq|ݨون}}
| ''ṇūn''
| {{IPA|/ɳ/}}
|{{Nq|ـݨ}}
|{{Nq|ـݨـ}}
| {{Nq|ݨـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | <div style="direction:rtl; font-family:Mehr Nastaliq Saraiki">[[ݨ]]</div>
|-
| 35
| {{Nastaliq|نون غنّہ}}
| ''nūn ġunnah''
| {{IPA|/[[Nasal vowel|◌̃]], ŋ/}}
|{{Nq|ـں}}
|{{Nq|ـن٘ـ}}
|{{Nq|ن٘ـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ں]]}}}}
|-
| 36
| {{Nastaliq|واؤ}}
| ''vā{{hamza}}o''
| {{IPA|/ʋ, uː, ʊ, oː, ɔː/}}
|{{Nq|ـو}}
|{{Nq|ـو}}
|{{Nq|و}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[و]]}}}}
|-
| 37
| {{Nastaliq|نکی ہے}}<br>{{Nastaliq|گول ہے}}
| ''nikkī hē''<br>''gol hē''
|{{IPA|/ɦ, ɑː, e:/}}
|{{Nq|ـہ}}
|{{Nq|ـہـ}}
|{{Nq|ہـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ہ]]}}}}
|-
| 38
| {{Nastaliq|دو چشمی ہے}}
| ''do-cashmī hē''
| {{IPA|/ʰ/}} or {{IPA|/ʱ/}}
|{{Nq|ـھ}}
|{{Nq|ـھـ}}
|{{Nq|ھ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ھ]]}}}}
|-
| 39
| {{Nastaliq|ہمزہ}}
| ''hamzah''
| {{IPA|/ʔ/}}, {{IPA|/∅/}}
|{{Nq|ء}}
|{{Nq|ء}}
|{{Nq|ء}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" |{{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ء]]}}}}
|-
| 40
|{{Nastaliq|چھوٹی يے}}
|''choṭī yē''
|{{IPA|/j, iː/}}
|{{Nq|ـی}}
|{{Nq|ـیـ}}
|{{Nq|یـ}}
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" |{{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ی]]}}}}
|-
| 41
|{{Nastaliq|وڈّی يے}}
|''waḍḍi yē''
|{{IPA|/ɛː, eː/}}
|{{Nq|ـے}}
|N/A
|N/A
| style="height:150%;padding:10px;font-size: 160%;" | {{lang|pa|{{Nastaliq|[[ے]]}}}}
|}
 
No Punjabi words begin with {{lang|pnb|ں}}, {{lang|pnb|ھ}}, or {{lang|pnb|ے}}. Words which begin with {{lang|pnb|ڑ}} are exceedingly rare, but some have been documented in Shahmukhi dictionaries such as Iqbal Salahuddin's ''Waddi Punjabi Lughat''.<ref name="rh-words">{{cite Q|Q113450202|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/salah-ud-din_query.py?qs=%DA%91&searchhws=yes&matchtype=default|access-date=2022-08-29|volume=2|pages=1672-1673}}</ref>
The [[Digraph (orthography)|digraphs]] of [[aspirated consonant]]s are as follows. In addition, {{Nastaliq|ل}} and {{Nastaliq|لؕ}} form ligatures with {{Nastaliq|ا}}: {{Nastaliq|لا}} ({{Nastaliq|ـلا}}) and {{Nastaliq|لؕا}} ({{Nastaliq|ـلؕا}}).
 
==== Aspirates ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
! {{abbr|No.|Number}}
! Digraph<ref name="LoC">{{cite web|title=Urdu romanization|url=https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/urdu.pdf|publisher=The Library of Congress}}</ref>
! Transcription<ref name="LoC" />
! IPA
! Example
|-
|1
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|بھ}}
| ''bh''
| {{IPA|[bʱ]}}
| {{Nastaliq|بھاری}}
|-
|2
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|پھ}}
| ''ph''
| {{IPA|[pʰ]}}
| {{Nastaliq|پھل}}
|-
|3
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|تھ}}
| ''th''
| {{IPA|[t̪ʰ]}}
| {{Nastaliq|تھم}}
|-
|4
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|ٹھ}}
| ''ṭh''
| {{IPA|[ʈʰ]}}
| {{Nastaliq|ٹھیس}}
|-
|5
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|جھ}}
| ''jh''
| {{IPA|[d͡ʒʱ]}}
| {{Nastaliq|جھاڑی}}
|-
|6
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|چھ}}
| ''ch''
| {{IPA|[t͡ʃʰ]}}
| {{Nastaliq|چھوکرا}}
|-
|7
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|دھ}}
| ''dh''
| {{IPA|[d̪ʱ]}}
| {{Nastaliq|دھوبی}}
|-
|8
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|ڈھ}}
| ''ḍh''
| {{IPA|[ɖʱ]}}
| {{Nastaliq|ڈھول}}
|-
|9
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|رھ}}
| ''rh''
| {{IPA|[ɾʰ]}}
|{{Nastaliq|بارھویں}}
|-
|10
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|ڑھ}}
| ''ṛh''
| {{IPA|[ɽʰ]}}
| {{Nastaliq|کڑھنا}}
|-
|11
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|کھ}}
| ''kh''
| {{IPA|[kʰ]}}
| {{Nastaliq|کھولنا}}
|-
|12
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|گھ}}
| ''gh''
| {{IPA|[ɡʱ]}}
| {{Nastaliq|گھبراہٹ}}
|-
|13
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|لھ}}
| ''lh''
| {{IPA|[lʰ]}}
|{{Nastaliq|کولھ}}
|-
|14
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|مھ}}
| ''mh''
| {{IPA|[mʰ]}}
| {{Nastaliq|سامھنا}}
|-
|15
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|نھ}}
| ''nh''
| {{IPA|[nʰ]}}
| {{Nastaliq|چنھاں}}
|-
|16
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|وھ}}
| ''wh''
| {{IPA|[ʋʰ]}}
| {{Nastaliq|وھایا}}
|-
|17
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|یھ}}
| ''yh''
| {{IPA|[jʰ]}}
| {{Nastaliq|یھاوا}}<ref name="waddi-yhawa">{{cite Q|Q113450202|volume=3|page=2958|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/salah-ud-din_query.py?qs=%DB%8C%DA%BE%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%A7&searchhws=yes&matchtype=exact|access-date=2022-08-29}}</ref>
|}
 
* {{lang|pnb-Arab|{{nq|ے}}}} (waddi ye) is only found in the final position, when writing the sounds e (ਏ) or æ (ਐ), and in initial and medial positions, it takes the form of {{lang|pnb-Arab|{{nq|ی}}}}.
* Vowels are expressed as follows:
 
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! colspan="2" |Final
!Middle
!Initial
|-
| colspan="2" |ـہ
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|ـَ}}
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|اَ}}
|-
| style="font-size: 150%" |یٰ
| colspan="2" |{{Nastaliq|ـَا}}
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|آ}}
|-
| colspan="2" |N/A
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|ـِ}}
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|اِ}}
|-
| colspan="2" style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|ـِى}}
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|ـِيـ}}
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|اِی}}
|-
| colspan="2" style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|ـے‬}}
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|ـيـ}}
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|اے}}
|-
| colspan="2" style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|ـَے‬}}
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|ـَيـ}}
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|اَے}}
|-
| colspan="2" |N/A
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|ـُ}}
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|اُ}}
|-
| colspan="3" style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|ـُو}}
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|اُو}}
|-
|-
| colspan="3" style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|ـو}}
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|او}}
|-
| colspan="3" style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|ـَو}}
| style="font-size: 150%" |{{Nastaliq|اَو}}
|}
 
=== Difference from Persian and Urdu ===
{{See also|Persian alphabet|Urdu alphabet}}
Shahmukhi has more letters than its Persian base and related Urdu alphabet, to represent the special sounds that are only in Punjabi, which already have additional letters added to the Arabic base itself to represent sounds not present in Arabic. Characters added which differ from Persian but not Urdu include: {{lang|ur|{{Nastaliq|[[ٹ]]}}}} to represent [[voiceless retroflex stop|/ʈ/]], {{lang|ur|{{Nastaliq|[[ڈ]]}}}} to represent [[voiced retroflex stop|/ɖ/]], {{lang|ur|{{Nastaliq|[[ڑ]]}}}} to represent [[retroflex flap|/ɽ/]], {{lang|ur|{{Nastaliq|[[ں]]}}}} to represent [[nasal vowel|/◌̃/]], and {{lang|ur|{{Nastaliq|[[ے]]}}}} to represent [[open-mid front unrounded vowel|/ɛ:/]] or [[Close-mid front unrounded vowel|/e:/]]. Furthermore, a separate do-cashmi-[[He (letter)|he]] letter, {{lang|ur|{{Nastaliq|ھ}}}}, exists to denote a [[aspirated consonant|/ʰ/]] or a [[murmured voice|/ʱ/]], this letter is mainly used as part of the multitude of digraphs, detailed above. Characters added which differ from Urdu include: [[ࣇ| لؕ]] to represent [[Voiced retroflex lateral approximant|/ɭ/]] and [[ݨ]] to represent [[Voiced retroflex nasal|/ɳ/]]. These characters, however are seldom used.
 
=== Pronunciation ===
The letter {{lang|pnb-Arab|{{nq|ژ}}}} is pronounced 'j' in French or as vi{{strong|si}}on in English and the letter {{lang|pnb-Arab|{{nq|ع}}}} is often transliterated in many ways due to its changing sound in various Arabic and Persian words.
 
== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Modern_Shahmukhi_alphabets_in_Nastaliq.png|Modern Shahmukhi alphabet table in Mehr Nastaliq Saraiki font
File:Standard_Shahmukhi_alphabets.png|Standard Shahmukhi alphabets
File:Shahmukhi nastaliq.png|"Shahmukhi" written in Shahmukhi script
File:Bhulay Shah.jpg|Another example of poetry by Bulleh Shah in Shahmukhi
</gallery>
 
==See also==
*[[Gurmukhī alphabet]]
*[[Saraiki alphabet]]
 
==References==
{{Notelist}}
{{Reflist}}
 
==Further reading==
* {{cite Q|Q113235868|language=pa}} <!-- Punjabi reader in Arabic script -->
* {{cite Q|Q113450202|language=pa}} <!-- Waddi Punjabi Lughat -->
* {{cite Q|Q113270613|language=pa,ur}} <!-- Gulshan-e-Urdu -->
* {{cite Q|Q113301763|language=pa}} <!-- PILAC Dictionary -->
* {{cite Q|Q112672112|language=en,pa}} <!-- Conversion of Scripts -->
 
==External links==
* [http://www.cicling.org/2008/RCS-vol-33/12-Saini.pdf Shahmukhi to Gurmukhi Transliteration System: A Corpus based Approach]
* [https://sangam.learnpunjabi.org/ Online Shahmukhi - Gurmukhi and Gurmukhi - Shahmukhi text Conversion tool]
* [https://dic.learnpunjabi.org/default.aspx Online Punjabi Dictionary in both Shahmukhi and Gurmukhi]
* [http://www.user.uni-hannover.de/nhtcapri/western-panjabi-alphabet.html The Western Panjabi Alphabet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130213535/http://www.user.uni-hannover.de/nhtcapri/western-panjabi-alphabet.html |date=2017-11-30 }}
* [http://www.apnaorg.com/shahmukhi/ Learn Shahmukhi]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040315071212/http://www.likhari.org/shamukhi.htm Likhari in Shahmukhi]
* [http://apnaorg.com/poetry/nanak/ Kalam-e-Baba Nanak]
* [http://www.punjabiandpunjab.com/ Punjabi and Punjab]
* [http://www.apnaorg.com/books/hazarasingh/ E-Book on Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20180903075218/https://saanjhpunjab.org/ PDF on Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi]}}
 
{{Arabic alphabets}}
{{Punjabi language topics}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shahmukhi alphabet}}
[[Category:Arabic alphabets]]
[[Category:Orthographies by language]]
[[Category:Punjabi language in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Arabic alphabets for South Asian languages]]
[[Category:Shahmukhi alphabet| ]]

Latest revision as of 18:11, 1 May 2026

Shahmukhi
شاہ مُکھی
Shahmukhi alphabets
Script type
Time period
17th century–present
RegionPunjab, Hazara, Azad Kashmir
LanguagesPunjabi (incl. dialects and varieties)
Related scripts
Parent systems
Unicode
 This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.
Shahmukhi alphabet
Extended Perso-Arabic script

Shahmukhi (Shahmukhi: شاہ مُکھی, pronounced [ʃäː(ɦ)˦.mʊ.kʰiː], lit. 'from the Shah's or King's mouth', Gurmukhī: ਸ਼ਾਹਮੁਖੀ) is the right-to-left abjad-based script developed from the Perso-Arabic alphabet used for the Punjabi language varieties, predominantly in Punjab, Pakistan.[1][2] It is generally written in the Nastaʿlīq calligraphic hand,[3][4] which is also used for Persian and Urdu.[5] Shahmukhi is one of the two standard scripts used for Punjabi, the other being Gurmukhī used mainly in Punjab, India.[6] Shahmukhi is written from right to left and has 36 primary letters with some other additional letters.[7][8]

History[edit | edit source]

Before the advent of Shahmukhi, writing systems were not popular for the Old Punjabi varieties.[citation needed]

The name 'Shahmukhi' is a recent coinage, imitating its counterpart 'Gurmukhī'.[9] However, the writing of Punjabi in the Perso-Arabic script is well-attested from the 17th century onwards.[10] According to Dhavan, Punjabi began to adopt the script as a "side effect" of educational practices in Mughal-era Punjab, when Punjabi Muslims learned the Persian language in order to participate in Mughal society. Educational materials taught Persian to Punjabi speakers by using Punjabi written in Persian's alphabet, which was a novel innovation. This was one of the first attempts at standardising the Punjabi language; prior to this, Punjabi was primarily a spoken language, not formally taught in schools.[11]

Shackle suggests that the Gurmukhī script was not favoured by Punjabi Muslims due to its religious (Sikh) connotations.[10] Shahmukhi Punjabi was added to Google Translate in 2024.[12][13][14]

Alphabet[edit | edit source]

Shahmukhi script is a modified version of the Arabic script's Persian alphabet. It is identical to the Urdu alphabet, but contains additional letters representing the Punjabi phonology. For writing Saraiki, an extended Shahmukhi is used that includes 4 additional letters for the implosive consonants (ٻ, ڄ, ݙ, ڳ).[15]

Vowel diacritics[edit | edit source]

Like Urdu, Shahmukhi also has diacritics, which are implied - a convention retained from the original Arabic script, to express short vowels.[4][16]

Diacritics used in Shahmukhi
Name Symbol Usage IPA Notes Examples
Short vowels
Zabar ◌َ‎ a [ə] Written above a letter
Zer ◌ِ‎ i [ɪ] Written below a letter
Pesh ◌ُ‎ u [ʊ] Written above a letter
Nūn Ġunna ◌٘‎ ṉ [◌̃], [ŋ] Nasal vowel diacritic ‘مُون٘ہہ‎’ (‘face’)
Tashdīd ◌ّ‎ Geminate [ː] Doubles a consonant - goes above the letter being prolonged ‘کّ’ ('kk')
Loan diacritics
Khaṛī Zabar ◌ٰ á [äː] Used in certain Arabic loanwords only ‘عیسیٰ’ (‘Jesus’)
Zabar Tanwīn ◌ً an [ən] ‘فوراً’ (‘Immediately’)
Other diacritics
Hamza ◌ٔ varied Indicates a diphthong between two vowels, examples such as: ‘ئ’, ‘ۓ’, ‘ؤ‘, and أ , not written as a separate diacritic

Consonants[edit | edit source]

No. Name[17] IPA Final glyph Medial glyph Initial glyph Isolated glyph
1 الف alif /äː/, /ə/, /ɪ/, /ʊ/ ـا ـا ا ا
2 بے bē /b/ ـب ـبـ بـ ب
3 پے pē /p/ ـپ ـپـ پـ پ
4 تے tē /t/ ـت ـتـ تـ ت
5 ٹے ṭē /ʈ/ ـٹ ـٹـ ٹـ ٹ
6 ثے s̱ē /s/ ـث ـثـ ثـ ث
7 جيم jīm /d͡ʒ/ ـج ـجـ جـ ج
8 چے cē /t͡ʃ/ ـچ ـچـ چـ چ
9 وڈّی حے waḍḍi ḥē /ɦ/ ـح ـحـ حـ ح
10 خے k͟hē /x/ ـخ ـخـ خـ خ
11 دال dāl /d/ ـد ـد د د
12 ڈال ḍāl /ɖ/ ـڈ ـڈ ڈ ڈ
13 ذال ẕāl /z/ ـذ ـذ ذ ذ
14 رے rē /r/ ـر ـر ر ر
15 ڑے ṛē /ɽ/ ـڑ ـڑ ڑ ڑ
16 زے zē /z/ ـز ـز ز ز
17 ژے žē /ʒ/ ـژ ـژ ژ ژ
18 سین sīn /s/ ـس ـسـ سـ س
19 شین shīn /ʃ/ ـش ـشـ شـ ش
20 صاد ṣwād /s/ ـص ـصـ صـ ص
21 ضاد ẓwād /z/ ـض ـضـ ضـ ض
22 طوئیں t̤oTemplate:Hamzaēṉ /t/ ـط ـطـ طـ ط
23 ظوئیں z̤oTemplate:Hamzaēṉ /z/ ـظ ـظـ ظـ ظ
24 عین Template:Okinaain /∅/, /äː/, /ə/, /eː/, /oː/, ـع ـعـ عـ ع
25 غین ġain /ɣ/ ـغ ـغـ غـ غ
26 فے fē /f/ ـف ـفـ فـ ف
27 قاف qāf /q/ ـق ـقـ قـ ق
28 کاف kāf /k/ ـک ـکـ کـ ک
29 گاف gāf /ɡ/ ـگ ـگـ گـ گ
30 لام lām /l/ ـل ـلـ لـ ل
31[18] ࣇام ḷām /ɭ/ ـࣇ ـࣇـ ࣇـ لؕ
32 میم mīm /m/ ـم ـمـ مـ م
33 نون nūn /n, ɲ/ ـن ـنـ نـ ن
34[18] ݨون ṇūn /ɳ/ ـݨ ـݨـ ݨـ
35 نون غنّہ nūn ġunnah /◌̃, ŋ/ ـں ـن٘ـ ن٘ـ ں
36 واؤ vāTemplate:Hamzao /ʋ, uː, ʊ, oː, ɔː/ ـو ـو و و
37 نکی ہے
گول ہے 		nikkī hē
gol hē 		/ɦ, ɑː, e:/ ـہ ـہـ ہـ ہ
38 دو چشمی ہے do-cashmī hē /ʰ/ or /ʱ/ ـھ ـھـ ھ ھ
39 ہمزہ hamzah /ʔ/, /∅/ ء ء ء ء
40 چھوٹی يے choṭī yē /j, iː/ ـی ـیـ یـ ی
41 وڈّی يے waḍḍi yē /ɛː, eː/ ـے N/A N/A ے

No Punjabi words begin with ں, ھ, or ے. Words which begin with ڑ are exceedingly rare, but some have been documented in Shahmukhi dictionaries such as Iqbal Salahuddin's Waddi Punjabi Lughat.[19] The digraphs of aspirated consonants are as follows. In addition, ل and لؕ form ligatures with ا: لا (ـلا) and لؕا (ـلؕا).

Aspirates[edit | edit source]

No. Digraph[20] Transcription[20] IPA Example
1 بھ bh [bʱ] بھاری
2 پھ ph [pʰ] پھل
3 تھ th [t̪ʰ] تھم
4 ٹھ ṭh [ʈʰ] ٹھیس
5 جھ jh [d͡ʒʱ] جھاڑی
6 چھ ch [t͡ʃʰ] چھوکرا
7 دھ dh [d̪ʱ] دھوبی
8 ڈھ ḍh [ɖʱ] ڈھول
9 رھ rh [ɾʰ] بارھویں
10 ڑھ ṛh [ɽʰ] کڑھنا
11 کھ kh [kʰ] کھولنا
12 گھ gh [ɡʱ] گھبراہٹ
13 لھ lh [lʰ] کولھ
14 مھ mh [mʰ] سامھنا
15 نھ nh [nʰ] چنھاں
16 وھ wh [ʋʰ] وھایا
17 یھ yh [jʰ] یھاوا[21]
  • ے (waddi ye) is only found in the final position, when writing the sounds e (ਏ) or æ (ਐ), and in initial and medial positions, it takes the form of ی.
  • Vowels are expressed as follows:
Final Middle Initial
ـہ ـَ اَ
یٰ ـَا آ
N/A ـِ اِ
ـِى ـِيـ اِی
ـے‬ ـيـ اے
ـَے‬ ـَيـ اَے
N/A ـُ اُ
ـُو اُو
ـو او
ـَو اَو

Difference from Persian and Urdu[edit | edit source]

See also: Persian alphabet and Urdu alphabet

Shahmukhi has more letters than its Persian base and related Urdu alphabet, to represent the special sounds that are only in Punjabi, which already have additional letters added to the Arabic base itself to represent sounds not present in Arabic. Characters added which differ from Persian but not Urdu include: ٹ to represent /ʈ/, ڈ to represent /ɖ/, ڑ to represent /ɽ/, ں to represent /◌̃/, and ے to represent /ɛ:/ or /e:/. Furthermore, a separate do-cashmi-he letter, ھ, exists to denote a /ʰ/ or a /ʱ/, this letter is mainly used as part of the multitude of digraphs, detailed above. Characters added which differ from Urdu include: لؕ to represent /ɭ/ and ݨ to represent /ɳ/. These characters, however are seldom used.

Pronunciation[edit | edit source]

The letter ژ is pronounced 'j' in French or as vision in English and the letter ع is often transliterated in many ways due to its changing sound in various Arabic and Persian words.

Gallery[edit | edit source]

  • Modern Shahmukhi alphabet table in Mehr Nastaliq Saraiki font
    Modern Shahmukhi alphabet table in Mehr Nastaliq Saraiki font
  • Standard Shahmukhi alphabets
    Standard Shahmukhi alphabets
  • "Shahmukhi" written in Shahmukhi script
    "Shahmukhi" written in Shahmukhi script
  • Another example of poetry by Bulleh Shah in Shahmukhi
    Another example of poetry by Bulleh Shah in Shahmukhi

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Evans, Lorna Priest; Malik, M.G. Abbas (1 May 2019). "Unicode Proposal for ArLaam" (PDF). Unicode. Punjabi Parchar. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  2. ↑ Singh Saini, Tejineder; Singh Lehal, Gurpreet; S Kalra, Virinder (August 2008). "Shahmukhi to Gurmukhī Transliteration System". Aclweb.org. Coling 2008 Organizing Committee: 177–180. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  3. ↑ Sharma, Saurabh; Gupta, Vishal (May 2013). "Punjabi Documents Clustering System" (PDF). Journal of Emerging Technologies in Web Intelligence. 5 (2): 174. doi:10.4304/JETWI.5.2.171-187. S2CID 55699784. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dhanju, Kawarbir Singh; Lehal, Gurpreet Singh; Saini, Tejinder Singh; Kaur, Arshdeep (October 2015). "Design and Implementation of Shahmukhi Spell Checker" (PDF). Learnpunjabi.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  5. ↑ Malik, Muhammad Ghulam Abbas; Boitet, Christian; Bhattcharyya, Pushpak (27 June 2012) [2010]. "Analysis of Noori Nasta'leeq for Major Pakistani Languages". King AbdulAziz University. Penang, Malaysia. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  6. ↑ Dorren, Gaston (2018). Babel: Around the World in Twenty Languages. Profile Books. ISBN 978-1782832508.
  7. ↑ Sharma, Saurabh; Gupta, Vishal (May 2013). "Punjabi Documents Clustering System" (PDF). Journal of Emerging Technologies in Web Intelligence. 5 (2): 174. doi:10.4304/JETWI.5.2.171-187. S2CID 55699784. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  8. ↑ Handbook of Literacy in Akshara Orthography. Springer. 2019. p. 142. ISBN 978-3030059774.
  9. ↑ Shackle, Christopher. "Punjabi language". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Shackle, Christopher (2007). "Panjabi". In Cardona, George; Jain, Dhanesh (eds.). The Indo-Aryan Languages. Routledge. p. 655. ISBN 978-0-415-77294-5.
  11. ↑ Dhavan, Purnima (2019-12-31), Green, Nile (ed.), "Marking Boundaries and Building Bridges: Persian Scholarly Networks in Mughal Punjab", The Persianate World, University of California Press, pp. 168–169, doi:10.1525/9780520972100-009, ISBN 978-0-520-97210-0, S2CID 211601323{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  12. ↑ "110 new languages are coming to Google Translate". Google. 27 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2025. Here are some of the newly supported languages in Google Translate ... Punjabi (Shahmukhi) is the variety of Punjabi written in Perso-Arabic script (Shahmukhi), and is the most spoken language in Pakistan.
  13. ↑ Shah, Aditi (28 June 2024). "Google Translate Now Supports 110 New Languages Including Marwari, Awadhi, Shahmukhi And More". NDTV. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  14. ↑ "Milestone for Punjabi-speaking community, Google translate now supports Shahmukhi script". Babushahi. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  15. ↑ Bashir, Elena; Conners, Thomas J.; Hefright, Brook (2019). A descriptive grammar of Hindko, Panjabi, and Saraiki. Hefright, Brook. De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 62, 77. ISBN 978-1-61451-296-7. OCLC 1062344143.
  16. ↑ Bhardwaj, Mangat (2016). Panjabi: A Comprehensive Grammar. Routledge. p. 378. ISBN 978-1317643265. It is an ancient Arabic writing tradition (carried on in Persian, Urdu and Shahmukhi) to omit the diacritics (except the Hamza) in ordinary writing and to depend on the context to interpret a word.
  17. ↑ Delacy, Richard (2003). Beginner's Urdu Script. McGraw-Hill. pp. xv–xvi.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Rarely used in literature, except when a distinction between the pronunciation of the non-retroflex character is needed
  19. ↑
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Urdu romanization" (PDF). The Library of Congress.
  21. ↑

Further reading[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

Template:Arabic alphabets

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