Azerbaijani

Perso-Arabic Script
Letters of the Alphabet
Initial Medial Final Alone Romanization
‫ا‬ ‫ﺎ‬ ‫ﺎ‬ ‫ا‬ (see Vowels and
Digraphs and
Note 1)
‫ﺑ‬ ‫ﺒ‬ ‫ﺐ‬ ‫ﺏ‬ b
‫ﭘ‬ ‫ﭙ‬ ‫ﭗ‬ ‫ﭖ‬ p
‫ﺗ‬ ‫ﺘ‬ ‫ﺖ‬ ‫ﺕ‬ t
‫ﺛ‬ ‫ﺜ‬ ‫ﺚ‬ ‫ﺙ‬ s
‫ﺟ‬ ‫ﺠ‬ ‫ﺞ‬ ‫ﺝ‬ c
‫ﭼ‬ ‫ﭽ‬ ‫ﭻ‬ ‫ﭺ‬ ç
‫ﺣ‬ ‫ﺤ‬ ‫ﺢ‬ ‫ﺡ‬ ḥ
‫ﺧ‬ ‫ﺨ‬ ‫ﺦ‬ ‫ﺥ‬ x
‫ﺩ‬ ‫ﺪ‬ ‫ﺪ‬ ‫ﺩ‬ d
‫ﺫ‬ ‫ﺬ‬ ‫ﺬ‬ ‫ﺫ‬ z
‫ﺭ‬ ‫ﺮ‬ ‫ﺮ‬ ‫ﺭ‬ r
‫ﺯ‬ ‫ﺰ‬ ‫ﺰ‬ ‫ﺯ‬ z
‫ﮊ‬ ‫ﮋ‬ ‫ﮋ‬ ‫ﮊ‬ j
‫ﺳ‬ ‫ﺴ‬ ‫ﺲ‬ ‫ﺱ‬ s
‫ﺷ‬ ‫ﺸ‬ ‫ﺶ‬ ‫ﺵ‬ ş
‫ﺻ‬ ‫ﺼ‬ ‫ﺺ‬ ‫ﺹ‬ ṣ
‫ﺿ‬ ‫ﻀ‬ ‫ﺾ‬ ‫ﺽ‬ z̤
‫ﻃ‬ ‫ﻄ‬ ‫ﻂ‬ ‫ﻁ‬ ṭ
‫ﻇ‬ ‫ﻈ‬ ‫ﻆ‬ ‫ﻅ‬ ẓ
‫ﻋ‬ ‫ﻌ‬ ‫ﻊ‬ ‫ﻉ‬ ‘ (ayn)
‫ﻏ‬ ‫ﻐ‬ ‫ﻎ‬ ‫ﻍ‬ ğ
‫ﻓ‬ ‫ﻔ‬ ‫ﻒ‬ ‫ﻑ‬ f
‫ﻗ‬ ‫ﻘ‬ ‫ﻖ‬ ‫ﻕ‬ q
‫ﻛ‬ ‫ﻜ‬ ‫ﻚ‬ ‫ﻙ‬ k
‫ﮔ‬ ‫ﮕ‬ ‫ﮓ‬ ‫ﮒ‬ g
‫ﻟ‬ ‫ﻠ‬ ‫ﻞ‬ ‫ﻝ‬ l
‫ﻣ‬ ‫ﻤ‬ ‫ﻢ‬ ‫ﻡ‬ m
‫ﻧ‬ ‫ﻨ‬ ‫ﻦ‬ ‫ﻥ‬ n
‫ﻭ‬ ‫ﻮ‬ ‫ﻮ‬ ‫ﻭ‬ v
‫ﻫ‬ ‫ﻬ‬ ‫ﻪ‬ ‫ه‬ h
‫ﻳ‬ ‫ﻴ‬ ‫ﻰ‬ ‫ﻯ‬ y

Vowels and Digraphs

Value Examples

a َ barakat ‫ﺑﺮﻛﺖ‬
i َ sāḥil ‫ﺳﺎﺣﻞ‬
ı َ bādımcān ‫ﺑﺎدﻣﺠﺎن‬
u َ qudrat ‫ﻗﺪرت‬
ā ‫َا‬ qārdāş ‫ق ارداش‬
ā ‫آ‬ ārām ‫آرام‬
ū ‫َو‬ būğā ‫ﺑﻮﻏﺎ‬
ü ‫َو‬ üzüm ‫أوزوم‬
o ‫َو‬ son ‫سون‬
ö ‫َؤ‬ söz ‫سؤز‬
e ‫َئ‬ tel ‫ﺗئﻞ‬
ī ‫َى‬ dalīl ‫دﻟﻴﻞ‬
ı ‫َى‬ qārānlıq ‫ﻗﺎراﻧﻠﻴﻖ‬
ey ْ‫َى‬ eyvān ‫اﻳﻮان‬
aw ‫َو‬ dawlat ‫دول ت‬

Notes to the Tables

1. In initial position, vowels are preceded by an alif. This alif is not represented in
romanization:

avval ‫اووا‬
īş ‫اي ش‬
on ‫اوون‬

2. As seen in the examples above, vowel harmony, which is found in Modern Turkish,
applies to Azerbaijani as well.

When romanizing vowels represented by َ or ‫َى‬, ı is used rather than i or ī when

required by vowel harmony.
 However, vowels represented by َ alone without a following ‫ و‬are always romanized as u.

3. The letter ‫ ى‬in final position may represent the long vowel romanized á, in addition to the
vowels romanized ī and ı. This occurs in Arabic names, such as:

Muṣṭafá ‫ﻣﺼﻄﻔﻰ‬
al-Musanná ‫اﻟﻤﺜﻨﻰ‬

4. Vowel points are used sparingly in Azerbaijani publications, and additional diacritics used
to differentiate between some vowels may vary or be omitted. For romanization, they
must be supplied from a dictionary.

RULES OF APPLICATION

Letters Which May Be Romanized in Different Ways Depending on Their Context

1. ‫( ء‬hamzah)
(a) When initial, ‫ ء‬is not represented in romanization.
üzdah ‫أوزده‬
(b) When medial or final in words of Perso-Arabic origin, ‫ ء‬is romanized as ’ (alif), except
when it represents the phonetic sound e (as in men), in which case it is romanized by
e.
mas’alah ‫ﻣﺴئﻠﻪ‬
but gecah ‫ﮔئﺠﻪ‬
neçah ‫ﻧئﭽﻪ‬

2. [not available by itself] (maddah)

(a) Initial ‫ آ‬is romanized ā.
ādām ‫آدام‬
(b) Medial ‫آ‬, when it represents the phonetic combination ’ā, is so romanized.
Ḥeydar’ābād ‫ﺣﻴﺪرآﺑﺎد‬

3. َ (shaddah or tashdīd) is represented by doubling the letter or digraph concerned.

sāqqāl ‫ﺳﺎﻗﺎل‬
Note the exceptional case where َ is written over ‫ و‬and ‫ ى‬to represent the combination
of long vowel plus consonants.
madanīyat ‫ﻣﺪﻧﻴﺖ‬
4. Tanvīn, (written َ, َ, َ, ‫)َا‬, which occurs chiefly in Arabic words, is romanized un, in, an,
and an, respectively.

5. The consonant letter ‫ ة‬at the end of Arabic words in the genitive construction ( iz̤āfah) is
romanized by t.
takmilat al-axbār ‫ﺗﻜﻤﻠة االﺧﺒﺎر‬

Grammatical Structure as It Affects Romanization

6. Iz̤āfah. When two Persian words are used in an Azerbaijani context in a relationship
known as iz̤āfah, the first word (the muz̤āf) is followed by an additional letter or syllable in
romanization. This is added according to the following rules:
(a) When the muz̤āf bears no special mark of iz̤āfah, it is followed by -i.
Sāzmān-i Tablīğāt-i Islāmī ‫ﺳﺎزﻣﺎن ﺗﺒﻠﻴﻐﺎت اﺳالﻣﻰ‬
(b) When the muz̤āf is marked by the addition of ‫ء‬, it is followed by -’i.
Nābiğah-’i dahr ‫ﻧﺎﺑﻐۀ دﻫﺮ‬
(c) When the muz̤āf is marked by the addition of ‫ى‬, it is followed by -yi.
daryā-yi nūr ‫درﻳﺎى ﻧﻮر‬
(d) Iz̤āfah is represented in romanization of personal names when implied in the Perso-
Arabic script.
Mucīr-i Beylaqānī ‫ﻣﺠﻴﺮ ﺑﻴﻠﻘﺎﻧﻰ‬
Maktabī-i Şīrāzī ‫ﻣﻜﺘﺒﻰ ﺷﻴﺮازى‬

Affixes and Compounds

7. Affixes.
(a) When the affix and the word with which it is connected grammatically are written
separately in Azerbaijani, the two are separated in romanization by a single prime ( ʹ ).
gecahʹlar ‫ﮔئﺠﻪ ﻟﺮ‬
‘ālimʹlar ‫ﻋﺎﻟﻢ ﻟﺮ‬
Nacafʹzādah ‫ﻧﺠﻒ زاده‬
Vahābzādahʹnīn ‫وﻫﺎﺑﺰاده ﻧﻴﻦ‬
yāzıçıʹīdī ‫ﻳﺎزﻳﭽي اﻳﺪى‬
o ādāmlārʹīdīlār ‫او آداﻣالر اﻳﺪﻳالر‬
ḥayaṭdahʹkī ‫ﺣﻴﻄﺪه ﻛي‬
(b) The Arabic article al is separated by a hyphen, in romanization, from the word to
which it is prefixed.
maqbarat al-şu‘arā ‫ﻣﻘﺒﺮة اﻟﺸﻌﺮا‬
 ‘Abd al-Karīm ‫ﻋﺒﺪ اﻟﻜﺮﻳﻢ‬

8. Compounds. When the elements of a compound (except a compound personal name)

are written separately in Azerbaijani, they are separated in romanization by a single
prime ( ʹ ).
Islāmʹşinās ‫اﺳالم ﺷﻨﺎس‬
but Naqd ‘Alī ‫ﻧﻘﺪ ﻋﻠﻰ‬
‘Avaz̤ ‘Alī ‫ﻋﻮﺿﻌﻠﻰ‬

Orthography of Azerbaijani in Romanization

9. Capitalization.
(a) Rules for the capitalization of English are followed, except that the Arabic article al is
lowercased in all positions.
(b) Diacritics are used with both upper and lower case letters in romanization.

10. Foreign words. Foreign words in an Azerbaijani context, including Persian and Arabic
words, are romanized according to the rules for Azerbaijani. For short vowels not
indicated in the script, the Azerbaijani vowels nearest the original pronunciation of the
word are supplied in romanization.
safīnat al-nacāt ‫ﺳﻔﻴﻨة اﻟﻨﺠﺎت‬
şāhanşāhī ‫ﺷﺎﻫﻨﺸﺎﻫﻰ‬
kāpītālāsyon ‫ﻛﺎﭘﻴﺘﺎالﺳﻴﻮن‬
Cyrillic script
Vernacular Romanization Vernacular Romanization
Upper case letters Lower case letters

А A а a
Б B б b
В V в v
Г G г g
Ғ Gh ғ gh
Д D д d
Е E е e
Ё Ë ё ë
Ә Ă ә ă
Ж Zh ж zh
З Z з z
И I и i
Й Ĭ й ĭ
Ј I̐ ј i̐
К K к k
Ҝ Ġ ҝ( ) ġ
Л L л l
М M м m
Н N н n
О O о o
Ө ө ȯ
П P п p
Р R р r
С S с s
Т T т t
У U у u
Ү U̇ ү u̇
Ф F ф f
Х Kh х kh
Һ Ḣ һ ḣ
Ц TS͡ ц ts͡
Ч Ch ч ch
Ҹ J ҹ j
 Ш Sh ш sh
Щ Shch щ shch
Ъ ʺ (hard sign) ъ ʺ (hard sign)
Ы Y ы y
Ь ʹ (soft sign) ь ʹ (soft sign)
Э Ė э ė
Ю IU͡ ю iu͡
Я IA͡ я ia͡
’ ’ (apostrophe) ’ ’ (apostrophe)
The letters Ј, ј replaced Й, й in 1959.

Roman script

When transcribing roman-script Azerbaijani, the letter ә is represented by ä.1

1
Per LC-PCC PS 1.4