Reference
The Hindi alphabet
All 55 Devanagari letters that Eloqa teaches, each with its romanization (how it's spelled in English letters), its IPA (the International Phonetic Alphabet, a precise way to write sounds) and a plain-English guide to saying it.
Counts of the Hindi alphabet vary from book to book, depending on whether they include the joined letters and the dotted letters for borrowed sounds. This page includes both.
Vowels
Each vowel has two forms: the full letter, used at the start of a word, and a small vowel sign that attaches to a consonant. Every consonant already carries a short "a" sound, so अ has no sign of its own.
Short and long vowels
Most vowels come in pairs: a short one and a longer, fuller one. The length matters, because it can change the meaning of a word.
- अ a IPA /ə/ Like the 'u' in 'but', a short, neutral vowel
- आ aa IPA /aː/ Like the 'a' in 'father', open and long Vowel sign ा, as in का
- इ i IPA /ɪ/ Like the 'i' in 'bit', short and quick Vowel sign ि, as in कि
- ई ee IPA /iː/ Like 'ee' in 'feet', long and held Vowel sign ी, as in की
- उ u IPA /ʊ/ Like the 'u' in 'put', short and rounded Vowel sign ु, as in कु
- ऊ uu IPA /uː/ Like 'oo' in 'moon', long and rounded Vowel sign ू, as in कू
- ए e IPA /eː/ Like the 'a' in 'say' but pure, no glide at the end Vowel sign े, as in के
- ऐ ai IPA /ɛː/ Like the 'a' in 'cat' but longer and more open Vowel sign ै, as in कै
- ओ o IPA /oː/ Like 'o' in 'go' but pure, no 'w' glide at the end Vowel sign ो, as in को
- औ au IPA /ɔː/ Like 'aw' in 'law', open and rounded Vowel sign ौ, as in कौ
A vowel with an r in it (vocalic r)
Mostly seen in words borrowed from Sanskrit. In Hindi it sounds like a quick "ri".
- ऋ ri IPA /ɾɪ/ A vowel-R: tongue flaps lightly, like a quick 'ri' Vowel sign ृ, as in कृ
Nasal hum, nasal vowel and soft breath (anusvara, chandrabindu and visarga)
Three marks that change the vowel they sit on. A dot on top adds a hum through your nose, a moon with a dot sends the vowel itself through your nose, and two dots after it add a light breath. They are shown here on अ.
- अं an IPA /ə̃/ A dot above the top line that adds a nasal hum after the vowel. Before a consonant it usually sounds like a full n or m: ठंडा (thandaa), हिंदी (hindee).
- अँ ã IPA /ə̃/ The moon with a dot. The vowel itself goes through your nose, with no n sound after it: हाँ (haan, yes), माँ (maan, mother), चाँद (chaand, moon). If a vowel sign already sits above the top line, only the dot is written: मैं (main), नहीं (naheen).
- अः ah IPA /əh/ A light breathy 'h' echo after the vowel, like a soft exhale
Consonants
The first five groups are ordered by where your tongue touches, from the back of your mouth to your lips. Each follows the same pattern: a plain sound, the same sound with a puff of air (aspirated), a voiced version where your voice box buzzes, a voiced version with a puff, and a nasal sound where air goes through your nose.
Back of the mouth (velar)
The back of your tongue presses against the soft palate, the soft part at the very back of the roof of your mouth. English k and g are made here too.
- क ka IPA /kə/ Like 'k' in 'skill', no puff of air
- ख kha IPA /kʰə/ Like 'k' in 'key' with a strong puff of air
- ग ga IPA /ɡə/ Like 'g' in 'go'
- घ gha IPA /ɡʱə/ Like 'g' with a breathy voiced puff, say 'g' and breathe out at the same time
- ङ nga IPA /ŋə/ Like 'ng' in 'sing', tongue at the back, sound hums through the nose
Roof of the mouth (palatal)
The middle of your tongue presses against the hard palate, the firm part of the roof of your mouth. Close to English ch and j, but the plain ones have no puff of air.
- च cha IPA /tɕə/ Like 'ch' in 'cheese' but with no puff of air
- छ chha IPA /tɕʰə/ Like 'ch' with a strong puff, breathe out forcefully as you say it
- ज ja IPA /dʑə/ Like 'j' in 'joy'
- झ jha IPA /dʑʱə/ Like 'j' with a breathy voiced puff, voice on and breathe out together
- ञ nya IPA /ɲə/ Like 'ny' in 'canyon', a nasal sound made at the hard palate
Tongue curled back (retroflex)
Curl the tip of your tongue back and touch the roof of your mouth, behind the ridge above your teeth. English has no sounds like these, so they take the most practice.
- ट tta IPA /ʈə/ Curl your tongue tip BACK to the roof of your mouth, completely different from English 't'
- ठ ttha IPA /ʈʰə/ Same curled-back tongue as ट but with a strong puff of air
- ड dda IPA /ɖə/ Like ट but voiced, tongue curled back, voice box on
- ढ ddha IPA /ɖʱə/ Tongue curled back, voiced, with a breathy puff, the most complex retroflex
- ण nna IPA /ɳə/ Like 'n' but with your tongue curled back, a nasal from the roof of your mouth
Tongue against the teeth (dental)
The tip of your tongue touches the back of your upper teeth. These are softer than English t and d, which are made further back. Hindi keeps the two places apart: त and ट are different letters.
- त ta IPA /t̪ə/ Touch your tongue to the BACK of your upper teeth, softer than English 't'
- थ tha IPA /t̪ʰə/ Dental 't' with a puff, tongue behind teeth, then breathe out. NOT like English 'th'!
- द da IPA /d̪ə/ Touch tongue to back of upper teeth, voice box on, softer than English 'd'
- ध dha IPA /d̪ʱə/ Dental 'd' with a breathy voiced puff, tongue at teeth, voice on, breathe out
- न na IPA /nə/ Like 'n' in 'no' but tongue touches the back of upper teeth, not the ridge
Lips together (labial)
Both lips come together, as in English p, b and m.
- प pa IPA /pə/ Like 'p' in 'spin', lips together, no puff of air
- फ pha IPA /pʰə/ Like 'p' in 'pot' with a strong puff of air, or like 'ph' in 'phone' in some borrowed words
- ब ba IPA /bə/ Like 'b' in 'boy'
- भ bha IPA /bʱə/ Like 'b' with a breathy voiced puff, lips together, voice on, breathe out
- म ma IPA /mə/ Like 'm' in 'mom'
Flowing sounds (semivowels)
Sounds that flow instead of stopping: y, a lightly tapped r, l, and a soft v that sits between English v and w.
- य ya IPA /jə/ Like 'y' in 'yes'
- र ra IPA /ɾə/ A light flap, tongue briefly taps behind teeth, like the 'r' in British 'butter'
- ल la IPA /lə/ Like 'l' in 'love'
- व va IPA /ʋə/ Between 'v' and 'w', lower lip lightly touches upper teeth, softer than English 'v'
Hissing sounds, and h (sibilants)
Air hisses through a narrow gap: sh, a deeper sh with the tongue curled back, and s. The group ends with ह, a breathy h.
- श sha IPA /ɕə/ Like 'sh' in 'shoe', very similar to English
- ष shha IPA /ʂə/ Like 'sh' but with tongue curled back, a retroflex 'sh', sounds deeper
- स sa IPA /sə/ Like 's' in 'sun'
- ह ha IPA /ɦə/ Like 'h' in 'hello' but voiced, your vocal cords vibrate as you breathe out
Other letters
Joined letters (compound consonants)
Common pairs of consonants written as a single shape. It is easiest to learn them as whole letters.
- क्ष ksha IPA /kʂə/ A compound of क + ष, sounds like 'ksh' blended together
- त्र tra IPA /t̪ɾə/ A compound of त + र, sounds like 'tr', the dental 't' followed by 'r'
- ज्ञ gya IPA /dʑɲə/ Written as ज + ञ but pronounced 'gya' in modern Hindi, one of Hindi's irregular compounds
- श्र shra IPA /ɕɾə/ A compound of श + र, sounds like 'shr' as in 'shri' (an honorific)
Dotted letters for borrowed sounds (nukta)
A dot under a letter changes its sound to one used in words borrowed from Persian, Arabic and English.
- ज़ za IPA /zə/ Like 'z' in 'zero', the nukta (dot) under ज changes j to z. Used in borrowed words.
- फ़ fa IPA /fə/ Like 'f' in 'fun', the nukta (dot) under फ changes ph to f. Used in borrowed words.
Dotted letters with a tongue flick (flapped consonants)
ड and ढ with a dot under them. Your tongue curls back and flicks forward once, a bit like a quick r. They never start a word.
- ड़ rra IPA /ɽə/ Start as if saying ड with the tongue curled back, then flick the tongue forward so it taps the roof of your mouth once, a bit like a quick 'r'. It never starts a word: पेड़ (ped, tree), लड़का (ladkaa, boy).
- ढ़ rrha IPA /ɽʱə/ The breathy partner of ड़: the same quick flick of the tongue, with a puff of air after it. It never starts a word either: पढ़ना (padhnaa, to read), बढ़िया (badhiyaa, great).