Key Pashto consonants (including the retroflex and affricate letters), vowel sounds, and dialect variation for accurate pronunciation. Front: the sound pattern or example word. Back: meaning plus a plain-English pronunciation note.
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- ړ sound
- A retroflex "r," pronounced with the tongue curled back, distinct from the tapped ر. Example word: غړی (member).
- ښ sound
- A sound between "kh" and "sh," pronounced differently across dialects, for example Kandahari "sh" versus Peshawari "kh." Example word: ښه (good).
- ږ sound
- The voiced counterpart of ښ, pronounced as "g" or "zh" depending on dialect. Example word: غږ (voice).
- ګ sound
- A plain "g" sound, distinct from ق. Example word: ګل (flower).
- ڼ sound
- A retroflex "n," pronounced with the tongue curled back. Example word: پاڼه (leaf).
- ټ sound
- A retroflex "t," pronounced with the tongue curled back against the roof of the mouth. Example word: ټوپک (gun).
- ډ sound
- A retroflex "d," pronounced with the tongue curled back. Example word: ډوډۍ (bread, food).
- ځ sound
- An affricate pronounced like "dz" in "adze." Example word: ځمکه (land).
- څ sound
- An affricate pronounced like "ts" in "cats." Example word: څلور (four).
- Word-final ی
- Often pronounced "ai" or "ay" at the end of masculine nouns and adjectives. Example word: سړی (man).
- Word-final ې
- A vowel similar to the "e" in "bed," common at the end of feminine words. Example word: ښځې (women).
- Kandahari versus Peshawari dialects
- Pashto has notable dialect variation, especially in how ښ and ږ are pronounced across regions.
- Word stress
- Pashto word stress can fall on different syllables and may distinguish otherwise similar-looking words.
- Vowel و
- Can represent "o," "u," or the consonant "w," depending on its position in a word.
- Letter ح
- An Arabic-derived letter, in everyday speech usually pronounced the same as a plain ه.
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