Learn the Hindi Alphabet

हिन्दी वर्णमाला

Learn to read the Hindi Alphabet (हिन्दी वर्णमाला): all 44 letters with names, sounds and audio, plus flashcards, listening, typing and matching practice.

Letter	Name	Latin letters	Sound
अ	a	a	a as in about (a short, relaxed uh)
आ	aa	ā	a as in father
इ	i	i	i as in sit
ई	ee	ī	ee as in see
उ	u	u	u as in put
ऊ	oo	ū	oo as in food
ऋ	ri	r̥	ri as in rich; a vowel borrowed from Sanskrit, said ri in Hindi
ए	e	e	ay as in say, but without gliding into a y
ऐ	ai	ai	a as in cat, but held longer
ओ	o	o	o as in go, but pure, without gliding into a w
औ	au	au	aw as in saw
क	ka	k	k as in skin (no puff of air)
ख	kha	kh	k with a strong puff of air, like the k in kite
ग	ga	g	g as in go
घ	gha	gh	a breathy g, like the g-h in doghouse said together
ङ	nga	ṅ	ng as in sing; it never starts a word
च	cha	c	ch as in church (no puff of air)
छ	chha	ch	ch with a strong puff of air, like church-hall said fast
ज	ja	j	j as in jam
झ	jha	jh	a breathy j, like the dge-h in hedgehog said together
ञ	nya	ñ	ny as in canyon; it never starts a word
ट	tta	ṭ	a hard t with the tongue curled back to the roof of the mouth (retroflex)
ठ	ttha	ṭh	retroflex t (tongue curled back) with a strong puff of air
ड	dda	ḍ	a hard d with the tongue curled back to the roof of the mouth (retroflex)
ढ	ddha	ḍh	a breathy retroflex d (tongue curled back), with a puff of breath
ण	nna	ṇ	n with the tongue curled back (retroflex); it never starts a word
त	ta	t	a soft t with the tongue touching the back of the top teeth (dental)
थ	tha	th	dental t with a puff of air; not the th in think
द	da	d	a soft d with the tongue touching the back of the top teeth (dental)
ध	dha	dh	a breathy dental d, with a puff of breath
न	na	n	n as in no
प	pa	p	p as in spin (no puff of air)
फ	pha	ph	p with a strong puff of air, like the p in pot; often said like f
ब	ba	b	b as in bat
भ	bha	bh	a breathy b, like the b-h in clubhouse said together
म	ma	m	m as in mother
य	ya	y	y as in yes
र	ra	r	a light tapped r, as in Spanish pero
ल	la	l	l as in leaf
व	va	v	between v and w: lips close lightly, no teeth
श	sha	ś	sh as in ship
ष	ssa	ṣ	in everyday Hindi sounds like sh in ship; in careful speech the tongue curls back
स	sa	s	s as in sun
ह	ha	h	h as in ahead, slightly voiced

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