Pashto Alphabet

If you're trying to learn the Pashto Alphabet which is also called Pashtu, check our courses about pronunciation, and sound of all letters... to help you with your Pashto grammar. Try to concentrate on the lesson and memorize the sounds. Also don't forget to check the rest of our other lessons listed on Learn Pashto. Enjoy the rest of the lesson!

Pashto Alphabet

Learning the Pashto alphabet is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. Without it, you will not be able to say words properly even if you know how to write those words. The better you pronounce a letter in a word, the more understood you will be in speaking the Pashto language.
Below is a table showing the Pashto alphabet and how it is pronounced in English, and finally examples of how those letters would sound if you place them in a word.

Pashto Alphabet	English Sound	Pronunciation Example
آ ,ا	ā / ʾ	as in apple
ب	b	as in boat
پ	p	as in pool
ت	t	as in time
ټ	ṭ (or 'tt')	as in tower
ث	s	as in smile
ج	ǰ	as in pleasure
ځ	j (or 'dz') / z	as in sad zebra
چ	č	as in cheer
څ	c (or 'ts')	as in cats
ح	h	as in home
خ	x	as in the scottish loch
د	d	as in day
ډ	ḍ (or 'dd')	as in midday
ﺫ	z	'th' as in this
ﺭ	r	as in room
ړ	ṛ (or 'rr')	as in sparrow
ﺯ	z	as in zebra
ژ	ž	as in leisure
ږ	ẓ̌	watch video below
س	s	as in smile
ش	š	as in shine
ښ	ṣ̌	as in sheet
ص	s	as in sold
ض	z, d	'th' as in that
ط	t	as in toy
ظ	z	'th' as in this
ع	ʻ	watch video below
غ	γ	watch video below
ف	f	as in fine
ق	q	as in queue
ك	k	as in kid
ګ	g	as in gold
ل	l	as in life
م	m	as in moon
ن	n	as in now
ڼ	ṇ (or 'nn')	as in manure
و	w, u, o	as in wind, moon
ه	h, a, ə/ë	as in have
ۀ	ə (or 'ë')	as in meet
ي	y, i	as in year
ې	e	as in elephant
ى	ai, y	as in hi
ۍ	əi (or 'ëi')	as in hay
ئ	əi (or 'ëi')	as in hay

Pashto Pronunciation

You saw how a letter is written and might be pronounced, but there is nothing better than hearing the sound of the letters in a video or audio. Below you will be able to hear how the letters above are pronounced, just press the play button: