ଘ
+
ର
Alphabets
The Odia alphabet ବର୍ଣ୍ଣମାଳା
Meet every letter of Odia, hear how it sounds, and learn how letters join to make words.
About Odia
Odia is the language of Odisha, spoken by about 37 million people. Its Odia script (ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଲିପି) comes from the same Brahmi family as Devanagari and Bengali, but its letters are round and topped with a curve instead of a straight line – a shape that suited writing with an iron stylus on palm leaves. The script is written from left to right and is phonetic. Every consonant carries a built-in "a" sound, and small vowel signs called matras change that sound.
- 11
- vowels ସ୍ୱର
- 33
- consonants ବ୍ୟଞ୍ଜନ
- 5
- extra letters
- L → R
- writing direction
Vowels ସ୍ୱରବର୍ଣ୍ଣ
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 କ. Tap a letter to hear it.
Three extra signs
Anusvara – a nasal sound (n / m).
Visarga – a short breathy "h".
Chandrabindu – makes the vowel nasal.
Consonants ବ୍ୟଞ୍ଜନବର୍ଣ୍ଣ
The consonants are arranged by where in the mouth the sound is made. Tap a letter to hear it.
Velar କ-ବର୍ଗ
from the back of the throat
Palatal ଚ-ବର୍ଗ
tongue against the hard palate
Retroflex ଟ-ବର୍ଗ
tongue curled back to the roof of the mouth
Dental ତ-ବର୍ଗ
tongue touching the upper teeth
Labial ପ-ବର୍ଗ
with the lips
Semivowels ଅନ୍ତଃସ୍ଥ
between a vowel and a consonant
Sibilants & h ଉଷ୍ମ
hissing sounds made with breath
Extra letters ଅତିରିକ୍ତ ବର୍ଣ୍ଣ
flapped sounds, ya, wa and the retroflex l
Conjunct letters ଯୁକ୍ତାକ୍ଷର
two consonants joined
In Odia ଯ is said "ja", and ୟ is the "ya" sound: ଯାତ୍ରା (jātrā, journey) but ବିଦ୍ୟାଳୟ (bidyāḷaya, school).
How letters join to make words
Odia words are built syllable by syllable. Three simple rules cover almost everything.
-
1
Every consonant has a built-in "a"
On its own, କ is read ka.
କ୍ +ଅ =କ -
2
A matra replaces the "a"
Add a vowel sign to change the vowel: ka becomes kā, ki, ku…
କ +◌ା =କା -
3
A halanta joins consonants
The sign ୍ (halanta) removes the "a" so that two consonants join.
ସ୍ +ତ =ସ୍ତ
Where does the matra go?
After
କା କୀ
Written after the consonant.
Before
କେ କୈ
Written first, but said after the consonant.
Both sides
କୋ କୌ
One part before and one after.
Below
କୁ କୂ କୃ
Hangs under the consonant.
Build real words
ପ + ◌ା
ପା
+
ଣ + ◌ି
ଣି
ବ
+
ହ + ◌ି
ହି
ଫ + ◌ୁ
ଫୁ
+
ଲ
ମ + ◌ା
ମା
+
ଛ
ଓ
+
ଡ + ◌଼ + ◌ି
ଡ଼ି
+
ଆ
ବ
+
ନ୍ + ଧ + ◌ୁ
ନ୍ଧୁ
ପ୍ + ର + ◌େ
ପ୍ରେ
+
ମ
Good to know
Round tops
Most Odia letters have a curved top – the shape of the stylus stroke on a palm leaf.
The final "a" is said
Odia often keeps the last vowel: ଘର is ghara, not ghar.
Joined letters
Two consonants join with the halanta: ନ୍ଧ in ବନ୍ଧୁ (bandhu, friend).
Ready to type in Odia?
Use the on-screen keyboard to write these letters, or translate your first sentence.