Three rules. A syllable is two letters or one. It starts with a consonant if it can. The split follows pronunciation.
The weight law. Two letters → long (=). One letter → short (–).
Invisible to meter: zer/zabar/pesh, the aspiration ھ, the nasal ں. Counts: hamza ء and ع as full consonants; tashdīd doubles its letter; آ is two letters.
A few words split differently than the three rules alone would predict.
Flexibility in Urdu prosody. Many common monosyllables (کو، سے، کا، ہے، میں، بھی، نے، ہوں، یہ، وہ، جو، تو) can count as long (=) or short (–) according to the requirement of the meter.
Final vowels before vowels, the Persian iẓāfat connector (ِ / -e), and the conjunction o ("and") bridge words or alter lengths.
The usual reason a line that looks wrong is right. Tap ▶︎ to hear before → after.
● Counting bahr — one cell repeated; "3 or 4 feet" just means how many times, with the last often clipped. Count the pulses.
◆ Shape bahr — one fixed contour, no clean repeat. Don't dissect it; hold it as a melody.
Pick a family to hear its tune sung as dum (long) and da (short), then sing along as the syllables light up.
Filter through classical meters, rubāʿī forms, and Hindi meters.
Read a ghazal couplet by couplet. Tap any line to see how it scans.
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