Badi YAY
ی ے
| Urdu Letter | Letter Name | Sound | Hindi Equivalent | Teacher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badi YAY | Long vowel “a” | ए and ऐ | Teacher Icon |
| Final | Medial | Initial | Detached | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Forms | fill-in | fill-in | fill-in | ے |
| In Context | fill-in | fill-in | fill-in | fill-in |
| Write in Context | fill-in | fill-in | fill-in | fill-in |
Sounds
Badi YAY (“Big YAY”) can represent two different vowel sounds:
| Sound | Example (transliteration) | Example (Urdu) | Hindi Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| a long vowel sound like Spanish ‘e” or the “a” in the English word “say” (often transliterated as “e” but we use “ay” at the end of a word) | se (say) | ے | ए |
| a long vowel sound like the “a” in the English word “dad” (usually transliterated as “ai”) | kaisā | fill-in | ऐ |
Special Note:
When Badi YAY comes at the end of a word, it can represent either of the two long vowel sounds “ay” or “ai”.
| Sound | Example (transliteration) | Example (Urdu) | Hindi Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chhoti YAY and Badi YAY look the same in their initial and medial forms. Only their final forms look different. So when YAY comes in the middle of a word, it can represent any of the three long vowel sounds “e”, “ai”, or “ee”. Diacritic marks may be used to indicate which sound YAY represents, but these are usually omitted. The special sign under initial or medial YAY indicates the long vowel “ee” (Chhoti YAY). This sign is not used in any other context. |
“lenā” | fill-in | लेना |
| “Lailā” | fill-in | लैला | |
| “Lilā” (Leela) | fill-in | लीला | |
| Remember, any word starting with a vowel sound must begin with ALIF. So for words beginning with “e” or “ai”, Badi YAY must be preceded by ALIF: | “ek” (Leela) | fill-in | एक |
| “aisā” (Leela) | fill-in | ऐसा |
Two vowels cannot come together without an intervening Hamza. So if you see YAY followed by itself or another vowel letter, then it must be the consonant “y”.
| Example (transliteration) | Example (Urdu) | Hindi Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| jiyā | fill-in | जिया |
| jiyo | fill-in | जियो |
Special Cases:
Hindi words ending in य should be transliterated into Urdu with final Badi YAY:
| Example (transliteration) | Example (Urdu) | Hindi Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| gāay (gai) | fill-in | गाय |
| chāay (chai) | fill-in | चाय |
| Akshay | fill-in | अक्षय |
| samay | fill-in | समय |
Connections
Badi YAY can connect from both sides: Thus it has four forms: detached, initial, medial, and final.
Badi YAY is a member of the “point system” family. The letters in this family consist only of a point or cusp in their initial and medial forms. Dots or symbols above or below the cusp differentiate the members of this family. For aesthetic reasons the initial form of these letters can assume one of three slightly different shapes depending on which letter follows. The use of these three different shapes will come naturally with experience. Here are examples of three different initial shapes of ے:
| fill-in | fill-in | fill-in |
Chhoti YAY and Badi YAY look the same in their initial and medial forms. Only their final and detached forms look different.