Glossary · glossary · 1 min read
Qafia
क़ाफ़िया; the rhyme of a ghazal
Qafia is the rhyming word or syllable just before the radif, the refrain repeated word for word. You hear it in sung ghazals, poems built from self-contained pairs of lines joined by rhyme and a shared pattern of length and rhythm.
By John, Music lover from Bangalore · Reviewed by BRR · Last reviewed 29 Sept 2026
Qafia
Qafia is the rhyming word or syllable just before the radif, the repeated refrain, in a ghazal. A ghazal is poetry built from self-contained couplets, or pairs of lines. When you hear a ghazal sung, listen for this rhyme before the refrain.
The radif repeats word for word at the end of every second line. The qafia changes but keeps the rhyme, giving the poet room to surprise within a pattern you recognise.
Both lines of the matla, the opening couplet, carry the qafia and radif. Each later couplet carries them only in its second line.
An example of qafia
Take a ghazal, a poem built from self-contained pairs of lines, with endings such as “dil kaa”, “mehfil kaa” and “saahil kaa”. Here, “dil”, “mehfil” and “saahil” supply the qafia, the rhyming words. “Kaa” is the radif, the refrain repeated word for word.
Both lines of the matla, the opening pair of lines, carry this rhyme and refrain. In each later couplet, or pair of lines, only the second line carries them.
The refrain stays fixed, but the rhyming word changes. That gives the poet room to surprise you while keeping a pattern you can recognise.
Keep going
- What is a ghazal? Structure explained with two BeatRootRaga originals · A ghazal is poetry built from self-contained couplets, or pairs of lines, joined by rhyme and a shared pattern of line length and rhythm. When sung, a returning melody connects the couplets, while repeated lines, melodic changes and pauses give listeners time to hear the meaning.