The Gurmukhi alphabet traditionally contains 35 basic letters.
These 35 letters are commonly known as the painti, meaning thirty-five. Gurmukhi was standardized for writing Punjabi and became strongly associated with Sikh scripture and literature. Its letter forms provide the foundation for reading the Guru Granth Sahib in its original script.
The traditional count refers to the core consonant letters, not every modern symbol used to represent additional sounds. Later additions and vowel signs allow Gurmukhi to write sounds and words beyond the basic set, including sounds found in borrowed vocabulary.
Gurmukhi is often linked with Guru Angad, the second Sikh Guru, who is traditionally credited with standardizing the script used by the Sikh community. The script is not identical to Punjabi as a language: Punjabi can also be written in Shahmukhi, especially in Pakistan.