Urdu — Pronunciation for English Speakers
This guide is based on a phoneme-by-phoneme comparison of Urdu and English. Urdu and English share 14 sounds — about 24% of Urdu's inventory. The remaining sounds are where English speakers will need to focus their practice.
Sounds to learn from scratch (44)
These phonemes exist in Urdu but not in English. English speakers will need to learn to produce and perceive them as new categories — not just a variation of an existing English sound.
Familiar sounds (14)
These phonemes exist in both Urdu and English. You already produce and perceive them — though they may appear in different positions or syllable structures.
English sounds not used in Urdu (31)
These English phonemes don't exist in Urdu. Native Urdu speakers learning English will face the reverse challenge with these sounds.