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About Hindi Consonants Chart
Wish to know do you know the consonants when it comes to Hindi language? In articulatory phonetics, a Hindi consonant is usually a speech sound that’s articulated by using full or simply partial closure in the vocal region. The word consonant is also employed to relate to a letter of the Hindi alphabet which represents a consonant sound. Learn More
Hindi Consonants Chart
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Hindi Consonants in Alphabet
| Many Hindi consonants come in three different forms: aspirated, unaspirated and retroflex. | ||
| Aspiration means "with a puff of air", and is the difference between the sound of the letter "p" in English pin (aspirated) and spit (unaspirated). In this phrasebook, aspirated sounds are spelled with an h (so English "pin" would be phin) and unaspirated sounds without it (so "spit" is still spit). Hindi aspiration is quite forceful and it's OK to emphasize the puff: bharti. | ||
| Hindi retroflex consonants, on the other hand, are not really found in English. They should be pronounced with the tongue tip curled back. Practice with a native speaker, or just pronounce as usual — you'll usually still get the message across. | ||
| Devanagari | Transliteration | Equivalent/Comments |
| क | k | as in skip. |
| ख | kh | as in sinkhole. |
| ग | g | as in go. |
| घ | gh | as in doghouse. |
| ङ | ṅ | as in sing. Used only in Sanskrit loan words, does not occur independently. |
| च | c | as in church. |
| छ | ch | as in pinchhit. |
| ज | j | as in jump. |
| झ | jh | as in dodge her. |
| ञ | ñ | as in canyon. Used only in Sanskrit loan words, does not occur independently. |
| ट | ṭ | as in tick. Retroflex, but still a "hard" t sound similar to English. |
| ठ | ṭ | as in lighthouse. Retroflex |
| ड | ḍ | as in doom. Retroflex |
| ढ | ḍ | as in mudhut. Retroflex |
| ण | ṇ | retroflex n. Used only in Sanskrit loan words. |
| त | t | does not exist in English. more dental t, with a bit of a th sound. Softer than an English t. |
| थ | th | aspirated version of the previous letter, not as in thanks or the. |
| द | d | dental d, as in the. |
| ध | dh | aspirated version of the above. |
| न | n | dental n. |
| प | p | as in spin. |
| फ | ph | as in u'ph'ill. |
| ब | b | as in be. |
| भ | bh | as in abhor. |
| म | m | as in mere. |
| य | y | as in yet. |
| र | r | as in Spanish pero, a tongue trip. Don't roll as in Spanish rr, German or Scottish English. |
| ल | l | as in lean. |
| व | v | as in Spanish vaca, between English v and w, but without the lip rounding of an English w. (IPA: ʋ). |
| श | ś | as in shoot. |
| ष | ṣ | almost indistinguishable retroflex of the above. slightly more aspirated. Used only in Sanskrit loan words. |
| स | s | as in see. |
| ह | h | as in him. |
| Many Hindi consonants come in three different forms: aspirated, unaspirated and retroflex. | ||
| Aspiration means "with a puff of air", and is the difference between the sound of the letter "p" in English pin (aspirated) and spit (unaspirated). In this phrasebook, aspirated sounds are spelled with an h (so English "pin" would be phin) and unaspirated sounds without it (so "spit" is still spit). Hindi aspiration is quite forceful and it's OK to emphasize the puff: bharti. | ||
| Hindi retroflex consonants, on the other hand, are not really found in English. They should be pronounced with the tongue tip curled back. Practice with a native speaker, or just pronounce as usual — you'll usually still get the message across. | ||
| Devanagari | Transliteration | Equivalent/Comments |
| क | k | as in skip. |
| ख | kh | as in sinkhole. |
| ग | g | as in go. |
| घ | gh | as in doghouse. |
| ङ | ṅ | as in sing. Used only in Sanskrit loan words, does not occur independently. |
| च | c | as in church. |
| छ | ch | as in pinchhit. |
| ज | j | as in jump. |
| झ | jh | as in dodge her. |
| ञ | ñ | as in canyon. Used only in Sanskrit loan words, does not occur independently. |
| ट | ṭ | as in tick. Retroflex, but still a "hard" t sound similar to English. |
| ठ | ṭ | as in lighthouse. Retroflex |
| ड | ḍ | as in doom. Retroflex |
| ढ | ḍ | as in mudhut. Retroflex |
| ण | ṇ | retroflex n. Used only in Sanskrit loan words. |
| त | t | does not exist in English. more dental t, with a bit of a th sound. Softer than an English t. |
| थ | th | aspirated version of the previous letter, not as in thanks or the. |
| द | d | dental d, as in the. |
| ध | dh | aspirated version of the above. |
| न | n | dental n. |
| प | p | as in spin. |
| फ | ph | as in u'ph'ill. |
| ब | b | as in be. |
| भ | bh | as in abhor. |
| म | m | as in mere. |
| य | y | as in yet. |
| र | r | as in Spanish pero, a tongue trip. Don't roll as in Spanish rr, German or Scottish English. |
| ल | l | as in lean. |
| व | v | as in Spanish vaca, between English v and w, but without the lip rounding of an English w. (IPA: ʋ). |
| श | ś | as in shoot. |
| ष | ṣ | almost indistinguishable retroflex of the above. slightly more aspirated. Used only in Sanskrit loan words. |
| स | s | as in see. |
| ह | h | as in him. |
Hindi Diphthongs in Alphabet
Select the links below to find a list of practical Hindi travel keyword phrases which are arranged by group. For each holiday word or phrase in Hindi, you will find the English interpretation.
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