Persian script, orthography, and correct pronunciation/recitation
Domain 8 - Script, orthography and recitation (رسم الخط و تلفظ). Questions test letter shapes, the Persian additions to the Arabic alphabet, dictation-style spelling choices, and reading a verse aloud with correct vowels and pauses.
The alphabet, precisely
32 letters. Persian adds پ چ ژ گ to the Arabic 28. Seven letters never join the following letter: ا د ذ ر ز ژ و۔ Letters have up to four shapes (isolated, initial, medial, final); ه shows the widest range: ه هـ ـهـ ـه.
Spell with the Persian letter, not the Urdu one
Write خانہ, نامہ, بندہ with Persian ہ (ہوز), never the Urdu ہ۔ Same-sound sets decide dictation marks: س ص ث; ز ذ ض ظ; ت ط; ہ ح; ق غ.
Pronunciation rules
- Silent و in خواہر، خواب، خواندن، خواستن → khahar, khab, khandan, khastan.
- Final ہ is silent: خانہ = khane; but نہ = na and دہ = deh.
- آ carries the madda; the ezafe kasra links nouns: کتابِ من = ketab-e man. Never pause inside an ezafe.
- تشدید doubles a consonant; سکون closes a syllable; in وقف the final short vowel is dropped.
Worked example
خوابِ خواہرِ کوچکِ من در خانہ است۔ Read: Khab-e khahar-e kuchak-e man dar khane ast. Reasoning: three ezafe links; the خواندن family gives silent و in both خواب and خواہر; the final ہ of خانہ is silent; است remains ast after a consonant.
Traps
- Urdu ہ or ے written in place of Persian ہ / ی.
- Writing the ezafe as a separate word.
- Omitting تشدید and reading مکہ as "Maka" instead of "Makke".
- Pausing between a noun and its ezafe complement, which breaks both metre and sense.