ا a
ا a, the first letter of the Arabic, Persian, and Urdū alphabets. Its pronunciation depends on the vowel which accompanies it; e.g. ا with fatḥa (اَ)=the Devanāgarī अ = the English a, as in cedar (or =the English u in fun); ا with kasra (اِ)=the Devanāgarī इ=the English i, as in fin; ا with ẓamma (اُ)=the Devanāgarī उ=the English u, as in bull.—ا with fatḥa, followed by ا, (i.e. اَا, which is usually written آ)=the Devanāgarī आ=the English ā, as in father; ا with fatḥa, followed by the letter و, (i.e. اَو)=the Devanāgarī औ=the English au (sounded like ou in house); ا with fatḥa, followed by the letter ي, (i.e. اَي),=the Devanāgarī ऐ=the English ai, as in aisle.—ا with ẓamma, followed by the letter و, (i.e. اُو),=1˚, the Devanāgarī ऊ=the English u, as in rule (or=the oo in pool), and, 2˚, =the Devanāgarī ओ=the English o, as in pole.—ا with kasra, followed by ي, (i.e. اِي), = 1˚, the Devanāgarī ई=the English ī, as in caprice; and, 2˚, =the Devanāgarī ए=the French e, as in fête.
ا is used,— 1˚ (arithmetically, according to the Abjad, q.v.) for the number one. 2˚ (for अ, in Almanacks and Astrology) for Sunday, and Aries. 3˚ (for अ) as a name of the god Vishnu. 4˚ as an inseparable prefix to a word beginning with a consonant, to signify negation or privation: e.g. aśuddha, 'impure,' 'incorrect.' As in Greek, a becomes an before a vowel; e.g. ananta, 'without end,' 'endless.'
ع ʻain called ʻain-ě-mǒhmala, or ʻain-ě-gair-manqūt̤a
ع ʻain (called ʻain-ě-mǒhmala, or ʻain-ě-gair-manqūt̤a), is the twenty-fourth letter of the Urdū alphabet (the eighteenth of the Arabic). This letter is peculiarly Arabic or Semitic, and occurs only in such Hindūstānī words as are borrowed from the Arabic, and in the secondary formations from these; or in the arabicized form of Persian words in which it has replaced an original alif (e.g. لعل laʻl, for لال lāl). It is a strong (but, to Europeans and most other people, unpronounceable) guttural, related in its nature to the hamza, and ḥ; and is described as produced by a smart compression of the fauces and forcible emission of breath. By the common people of India it is sounded like alif. As a numeral it stands for 70.
