Compound Postpositions and the Persian Izafat Construction
Source Images:
57.jpg,58.jpg(Book Pages: 57–58)
Two ways to link words. In گھر کے سامنے (ghar ke sāmne), “in front of the house,” a postposition marks a spatial relationship. In گلِ سرخ (gul-e surkh), “red rose,” Persian izafat joins a noun to its modifier.
1. Compound Postpositions (مرکب حروفِ جار)
In addition to simple postpositions (ne, ko, se, meñ, par, tak), Urdu makes extensive use of compound postpositions. These consist of an adverbial or prepositional noun preceded almost exclusively by the oblique masculine genitive marker:
کے (ke) + Adverbial / Relational Word
Comprehensive Reference Table of Compound Postpositions
| # | Compound Postposition | Roman Urdu | English Meaning | Example Sentence | Roman Urdu | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | کے پاس | ke pās | Near / Beside / In possession of | اس کے پاس | us ke pās | Near him / He has |
| 2 | کے پہلے / کے قبل | ke pahle / ke qabl | Before / Prior to | تھوڑی دیر کے پہلے | thoṛī der ke pahle | A short while before |
| 3 | کے بعد | ke ba'd | After / Following | اس کے بعد | us ke ba'd | After that |
| 4 | کے آگے | ke āge | In front of / Ahead of | گھر کے آگے | ghar ke āge | In front of the house |
| 5 | کے پیچھے | ke pīchhe | Behind | کالج کے پیچھے | kālij ke pīchhe | Behind the college |
| 6 | کے اوپر | ke ūpar | On top of / Above | مسجد کے اوپر | masjid ke ūpar | Above the mosque |
| 7 | کے نیچے | ke nīche | Under / Below | میرے نیچے | mere nīche | Below me |
| 8 | کے مطابق | ke muṭābiq | According to | اس کے مطابق | us ke muṭābiq | According to that |
| 9 | کے متعلق | ke muta'alliq | Concerning / About | حمید کے متعلق | Ḥamīd ke muta'alliq | Regarding Hameed |
| 10 | کے ساتھ | ke sāth | Along with / Together with | آپ کے ساتھ | āp ke sāth | With you |
| 11 | کے طور پر | ke ṭawr par | By way of / In manner of | انکسار کے طور پر | inkisār ke ṭawr par | By way of humility |
| 12 | کے ذریعہ | ke zarī'ah | Through / By means of | میرے ذریعہ | mere zarī'ah | Through me |
| 13 | کے لائق | ke lā'iq | Worthy of / Deserving of | اس کے لائق | us ke lā'iq | Worthy of him/it |
| 14 | کے قابل | ke qābil | Suitable for / Capable of | اس کے قابل | us ke qābil | Suitable for it |
| 15 | کے واسطے | ke wāsṭe | For / For the sake of | اس کے واسطے | us ke wāsṭe | For his/its sake |
| 16 | کے بارے میں | ke bāre meñ | Regarding / About | میرے بارے میں | mere bāre meñ | About me |
| 17 | کے برابر | ke barābar | Equal to / Level with | اس کے برابر | us ke barābar | Equal to it |
| 18 | کے علاوہ | ke 'alāwah | Apart from / Besides | اس کے علاوہ | us ke 'alāwah | In addition to that |
Special Exception: بجائے (Bajā'e — Instead of)
Unlike other compound postpositions that require کے, بجائے can be preceded by either کے (ke) or کی (kī):
- اس کے بجائے (us ke bajā'e)
- اس کی بجائے (us kī bajā'e) — "Instead of that / him" (both are grammatically valid).
2. The Persian Izafat Construction (اضافت)
In formal, literary, and classical Urdu, possessive and descriptive relations between two Persian/Arabic words are constructed using the اضافت (Iẓāfat / Persian Ezafeh).
Structure and Vocalization
The possessed noun (مضاف) precedes the possessor (مضاف الیہ), linked by a short vowel /i/ sound represented by a Zer (-ِ) or a Hamzah (ء) if ending in a vowel:
مضاف + Zer / Hamzah + مضاف الیہ
Classical Examples:
| Urdu Script | Roman Urdu | Literal Meaning | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| رحمتِ عالم | Raḥmat-e-'Ālam | Mercy to the World / Universe | Honorific title of the Prophet Muhammad |
| دیوانِ غالب | Dīwān-e-Ghālib | The Poetry Collection of Ghalib | The renowned collection of Mirza Ghalib's Urdu ghazals |