घ
+
र
Alphabets
The Hindi alphabet वर्णमाला
Meet every letter of Hindi, hear how it sounds, and learn how letters join to make words.
About Hindi
Hindi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by hundreds of millions of people in India and around the world, and it is one of the two official languages of the Government of India, alongside English. It is written in the Devanagari script (देवनागरी), which is also used for Sanskrit, Marathi and Nepali. Devanagari is written from left to right, and the letters of a word hang from a horizontal line along the top called the headline (शिरोरेखा). The script is phonetic – each letter stands for one sound, so words are almost always written the way they are spoken. Every consonant carries a built-in "a" sound, and small vowel signs called matras (मात्रा) change that sound, which is why learning the vowels, the consonants and the matras is all you need to start reading Hindi.
- 11
- vowels स्वर
- 33
- consonants व्यंजन
- 4
- conjunct letters
- L → R
- writing direction
Vowels स्वर
A vowel can stand on its own at the start of a word. After a consonant it is written as a vowel sign (matra) instead – shown here on क. Tap a letter to hear it.
Two extra signs
Anusvāra – a nasal sound (n / m) after the vowel.
Visarga – a short breathy "h" after the vowel.
Consonants व्यंजन
The 33 consonants are arranged by where in the mouth the sound is made. In each of the first five groups the letters go: plain, breathy, voiced, voiced + breathy, nasal.
Velar क-वर्ग
from the back of the throat
Palatal च-वर्ग
tongue against the hard palate
Retroflex ट-वर्ग
tongue curled back to the roof of the mouth
Dental त-वर्ग
tongue touching the upper teeth
Labial प-वर्ग
with the lips
Semivowels अन्तःस्थ
between a vowel and a consonant
Sibilants & h ऊष्म
hissing sounds made with breath
Conjunct letters संयुक्त व्यंजन
two consonants joined – taught as letters of their own
Flapped letters उत्क्षिप्त
ड and ढ with a dot, a quick flap of the tongue
A dot under a letter (नुक़्ता) marks sounds borrowed from Persian, Arabic and English: क़ ख़ ग़ ज़ फ़ – as in ज़मीन (zamīn, land) and फ़ोन (fon, phone).
How letters join to make words
Hindi words are built syllable by syllable. Three simple rules cover almost everything.
-
1
Every consonant has a built-in "a"
On its own, क is read ka, not just k.
क् +अ =क -
2
A matra replaces the "a"
Add a vowel sign to change the vowel: ka becomes kā, ki, ku…
क +◌ा =का -
3
A halant removes the "a"
The small stroke ् (halant) makes a half letter that joins the next one.
स् +त =स्त
Where does the matra go?
After
का की को कौ
Written to the right, after the consonant.
Before
कि
Written first, but said after the consonant.
Below
कु कू कृ
Hangs under the consonant.
Above
के कै कं कँ
Sits on top of the headline.
Build real words
क
+
म
+
ल
प + ◌ा
पा
+
न + ◌ी
नी
क + ◌ि
कि
+
त + ◌ा
ता
+
ब
फ + ◌ू
फू
+
ल
म + ◌े
मे
+
ल + ◌ा
ला
स् + क + ◌ू
स्कू
+
ल
प् + य + ◌ा
प्या
+
र
Good to know
The last "a" is usually silent
कमल is said kamal, not kamala. In most words the built-in "a" of the final consonant is dropped.
Dot or moon?
ं (bindu) adds an "n/m" sound; ँ (chandrabindu) makes the vowel nasal. हंस (hans, swan) and हँस (hãs, laugh) are different words.
र changes shape
After a consonant it becomes a small stroke – प्र (pra). Before a consonant it becomes a hook on top – धर्म (dharm).
Ready to type in Hindi?
Use the on-screen keyboard to write these letters, or translate your first sentence.