- Arooz
- The science of poetic meter.
- Bahr
- A meter — a fixed pattern of long and short syllables.
- Sheʿr
- A couplet. The fundamental unit of Urdu poetry.
- Misra
- One line of a sheʿr. Each sheʿr has two.
- Rabt
- The principle that a sheʿr's two misras complete a single thought.
- Qafia
- The rhyming word at the end of the second misra.
- Radif
- The refrain repeated after the qafia in every sheʿr.
- Matla
- The opening sheʿr, where both misras rhyme.
- Maqta
- The closing sheʿr, traditionally containing the takhallus.
- Takhallus
- The poet's pen-name.
- Taqti
- Scanning a line — marking each syllable long or short.
- Mauzun
- In-meter; the property of obeying a bahr.
- Ghazal
- A poem of couplets sharing a single meter and rhyme.
- Nazm
- A poem with a unified subject; freer in form than a ghazal.
لغت
Glossary
Reference
Every term you'll meet across these pages — arooz, bahr, sheʿr, misra, qafia, radif, matla, maqta, takhallus, taqti, mauzun, ghazal, nazm — defined in one line each.