
Qaafiya dictionary
Search from a library of 10,000+ words from more than 30,000 Ghazals available on Rekhta
Learn how to use Qaafiya Dictionary
Qaafiyaa is an essential component in a Ghazal and creates its rhyming pattern.
While in English, the rhymes are rather simple and are classified based...

ILM-E-AROOZ
Ilm-e-Arooz is Urdu counterpart of Prosody which is used to determine if a couplet follows a particular metric pattern or not. Under Arooz, various metric patterns have been classified with each metric pattern known as ‘Bahr’. Each ‘bahr’ constitutes of a few ‘arkaan’ (sing.-rukn) or part which are used to determine the metric pattern of a couplet. It is divided in to its ‘arkaan’ with the process known as taqtii’ (Scansion)
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Introduction
Qaafiyaa is an essential component in a Ghazal and creates its rhyming pattern.
While in English, the rhymes are rather simple and are classified based on no of syllables, in Urdu the rhymes are a bit more involved as is explained later.koii ummiid bar nahii.n aatii
koii suurat nazar nahii.n aatiimaut kaa ek din muayyan hai
niind kyu.n raat bhar nahii.n aatiiaage aatii thii haal-e-dil pe ha.nsi
ab kisii baat par nahii.n aatiijaantaa hu.n savaab-e-taa.at-o-zohd
par tabii.at idhar nahii.n aatiIn most ghazals, the matla (i.e. first sher of the ghazal) has qaafiyaa in both lines (misras). Thereafter the qaafiyaa is essential in the second misra of each sher.
In the above ghazal, the first sher is the matla and the qaafiyaa are highlighted : bar, nazar, bhar, par, idharRekhta Qaafiyaa Dictionary is an online tool which enables one to find similar sounding qaafiyas for the given word. This is primarily meant for aspiring poets and can also be a reference for established poets.
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How to use Qaafiyaa Dictionary
The search results are presented based on rhyming pattern and on their weight (which is critical in Urdu poetry)
1) RHYMING PATTERN:
Search results of similar rhyming words will be broadly divided into categories based on the rhyming pattern of the searched word.
- Exact
- close
- Open
example FOR THE WORD
SAAQIYAA
- Exact qaafiyas will be “Daakiyaa”, “vaaqiyaa”, etc (ending with –aaqiyaa)
- Close qaafiyas will be “piyaa”, “ziyaa”, “shukriyaa”, “marsiyaa”, “auliyaa” etc (ending with –iyaa)
- Open qaafiyas will be “fazaa”, “KHafaa”, “jho.nkaa”, “aa.inaa”, “muqaabalaa” etc (ending with –aa)
i) WEIGHT:
Results are segregated according to their weight
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To understand how to calculate weight
The basic units in the calculation of weight of a word: syllables, and letters.
Words are made of syllables, and syllables are made of letters.
In word “baat” – “baa” & “t” are syllables while “b”, “a”, “a” and “t” are letters.A Syllable can have weight of either 2 or 1.
A syllable has a weight of 2 in two cases
i) when it is composed of a consonant and a long vowel – such as “baa” in “baat”, “gii” in “giit”, “nuu” in “nuur”
ii) when it is composed of two consonants and a small vowel such as “bar” in “bartan”, “kis” in “kismat”, “gul” in “gulshan”A syllable has a weight of 1 in two cases
i) when it is composed of one consonant - such as “t” in “baat”, “d” in “dard”
ii) when it is composed of one consonant and one vowel - such as “ka” in “kalam”
example
word “baat” has weight of : 21
Baa
2 t
1word “Kalaam” has weight of : 121
ka
1 laa
2m
1word “dard” has weight of : 21
Dar
2 d
1
To understand weight of the words more clearly, take below example:
- “baat (21)”, “raat (21), “salaat (121)” can be used together in one Ghazal,
- “baat (21)”, “raat (21), “barsaat (221)” can also be used together in one Ghazal,
- “salaat (121)” and “barsaat (221)” cannot be used in same Ghazal
Except in certain cases, as is done by advanced poets by combining the dissonant sound with its previous sound. This is not a subject for the Qaafiyaa Dictionary.
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Guidelines for Qaafiyaa selection
As in indicated earlier, qaafiyaa can be exact, nearby or open. This is clearly mentioned in the search results.
The selection of a set of qaafiyas for a ghazal is closely linked to the matla (first sher of the ghazal).The same type of qaafiyaa (exact or close or open) that is used in the matla should follow in the rest of the misras.1) Example of Exact Qaafiyaa:
If matla is...
ab kyaa soche.n kyaa haalat the kis kaaran ye zahr piyaa hai
hum ne us ke shahr ko chhoDaa aur aankho.n ko mund liyaa haiAs we can see above sher that both misras has used qaafiyas which has rhyming pattern of --yaa thus all other qaafiyas in the ghazal will follow this pattern such as:
piyaa, liyaa, kiyaa, liyaa ,jiyaa, diyaa
2) Example of close Qaafiyaa:
If matla is...
aa.ina samne rakhoge to yaad aa.u.ngaa
apni zulfon ko sanwaroge to yaad aaungaAs we can see above sher that both misras has used qaafiyas which has rhyming pattern of --oge, thus all other qaafiyas in the ghazal will follow this pattern such as:
KHaridoge, chaahoge, baiThoge, bhigoge, nikaloge, guzroge
3) Example of open Qaafiyaa:
If matla is...
aadmii aadmii se miltaa hai
dil magar kam kisii se miltaa haiAs we can see above sher that both misras has used qaafiyas which has rhyming pattern of --ii, thus all other qaafiyas in the ghazal will follow this pattern such as:
Saadgii, hansii, KHush-qaamatii, be-KHuudii, ham-saaegii
If the matla is not written first then, the poet should take care that the above rules are followed for the matla based on the qaafiyas used in other shers.
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Features
For the convenience of users, the Rekhta Qaafiyaa Dictionary has following additional features
1) Qaafiyaa can be seen in three different scripts – Persian, Devanagari and Roman.
2) By clicking on any word you can see -- the meaning of the word
- weight of the word
- list of shers where such word has been used as a qaafiyaa
- you can see full ghazal of such listed shers
- list of other qaafiyas used by a poet in a ghazal with the search word qaafiyaa
Note
This is the Beta version of Qaafiyaa Dictionary; A pool of around 11,000 qaafiyaa words from 30,000 Ghazals have been provided.
This is the beta version of the Rekhta Qaafiya Dictionary. It has some errors & taqtii mistakes. If you notice any, please click on the word & inform us through “REPORT” button.
We welcome your feedback & suggestions.