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

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

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,

But

• “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.

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 hai

As 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 aaunga

As 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 hai

As 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.

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