Alphabet in Hindi Language

Knowing the Hindi alphabet is critical in mastering the Hindi Language. Hindi alphabet configuration is put into use in a day-to-day conversation. Without the Hindi alphabet, it is extremely hard to say the Hindi words correctly even if anyone learn how to write those phrases in Hindi. Learn More

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As in any language, the better you pronounce a letter in a word, the more understood you’ll be in conversing in the Hindi language. Here are a few website links that directs you to the Hindi alphabet and exactly how it’s pronounced in English.

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Vowels in Hindi Alphabet

The key distinction is the difference between short and long vowels. In this phrase book, long vowels are noted with a macron (ā), whereas short vowels are listed without one. You will often come across non-standard romanizations, noted in parentheses below when applicable.
Devanagari Transliteration Equivalent/Comments
अ	a as	in about
आ	ā	as in father
इ	i	as in sit
ई	ī (ee)	as in elite
उ	u	as in put
ऊ	ū (oo)	as in flute
ऋ	ṛ	as in Scottish heard, trip. Rarely used in modern Hindi.
ए	e	long e. It is not a diphthong; the tone does not fall.
ऐ	ai	as in Mail, sometimes a longer ए. As in bright (IPA ıj).
ओ	o	not a diphthong; tone does not fall.
औ	au	as in town.
The key distinction is the difference between short and long vowels. In this phrase book, long vowels are noted with a macron (ā), whereas short vowels are listed without one. You will often come across non-standard romanizations, noted in parentheses below when applicable.
Devanagari Transliteration Equivalent/Comments
अ	a as	in about
आ	ā	as in father
इ	i	as in sit
ई	ī (ee)	as in elite
उ	u	as in put
ऊ	ū (oo)	as in flute
ऋ	ṛ	as in Scottish heard, trip. Rarely used in modern Hindi.
ए	e	long e. It is not a diphthong; the tone does not fall.
ऐ	ai	as in Mail, sometimes a longer ए. As in bright (IPA ıj).
ओ	o	not a diphthong; tone does not fall.
औ	au	as in town.

Consonants in Hindi 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.

Semi Vowels/ Diphthongs in Hindi Alphabet

For emphasizing words don't stress them by voice (which would be regarded as a sign of aggressiveness) but add a to after them.
yeh kyā hai? ("what's this?") → yeh to kyā hai? - ("what is this?")
Voice should always be very low and with few changes in pitch, loudness and stress, so please: relax!.
One of the only stresses found in Hindi is the last long syllable prior to the last syllable (e.g. in "dhānyavād" stress "dhā"). But it is a mild stress which occurs naturally, so don't force it. Don't even think about it!
शुभकामनाएँ! / śubhkāmnāen! / Good luck
For emphasizing words don't stress them by voice (which would be regarded as a sign of aggressiveness) but add a to after them.
yeh kyā hai? ("what's this?") → yeh to kyā hai? - ("what is this?")
Voice should always be very low and with few changes in pitch, loudness and stress, so please: relax!.
One of the only stresses found in Hindi is the last long syllable prior to the last syllable (e.g. in "dhānyavād" stress "dhā"). But it is a mild stress which occurs naturally, so don't force it. Don't even think about it!
शुभकामनाएँ! / śubhkāmnāen! / Good luck

Prefixes & Suffixes: With the words for "yes" and "no" jī (जी) may be added before to give it a more polite tone. Sometimes, speakers will simply reply with jī, as an affirmation of something someone says. Jī is added to a person's name as a sign of respect. For example; in India, Mahatma Gandhi is known simply as Gandhiji (गांधीजी). Another suffix which is indispensable is vāla (-वाला), often rendered in English as "-wallah". Many books devote whole chapters to vāla. With nouns, it gives the meaning "the one or thing that does" and with verbs, it indicates something is about to happen. Examples:
noun – shop (दुकान dukān) + vāla = shopkeeper (दुकानवाला dukānvāla)
verb – to come (आना āna) + vāla = (the) ... is coming (... आनेवाला है ... ānevāla hay)
English Loan Words: The British Empire's influence spread into the language itself, and this continues today with American culture being exported throughout the world. So, an English word or phrase may almost always be inserted into any Hindi sentence. You will often hear Indians, whom while talking in Hindi, pepper their sentences with English words. Sometimes, they'll even alternate sentences, going from Hindi to English, and back to Hindi! Upon meeting an Indian, many times you may not even get to practice your Hindi, because they want to practice their English on you! English loan words are particularly used for modern inventions/technologies, so words like TV, computer and microwave are the same as in English apart from the slight change of accent. However; this is mostly in the cities, and learning some Hindi will have been all the more rewarding when in rural or non-tourist areas, as well as allowing you to communicate with a wider variety of people in the cities.
Gender & The 2nd Person Pronoun: Certain words have different endings depending on your gender. If you are a man, say these with an -a suffix, and if you're a woman, -ī. However; when addressing the person respectively with āp (आप), the masculine ending takes the plural form. This is not all that different from the behavior of other Indo-European languages, c.f. German Sie, which like āp is also both the respectful 2nd person pronoun and plural form of address. The other two forms are the familiar tum (तुम) and intimate tū (तू). These change the forms of certain words. Tum is for friends and peers, tū for small children (within the family); between 'significant others' in private; traditionally to lower castes; in the past, slaves; and, paradoxically, when supplicating to the gods/God (c.f. Greek mythology). As a general rule, stick with āp, until you become more familiar with the language and culture. Forget about tū altogether, at the best using it would be a faux pas and at the worst, very offensive. For those reasons as well as practical ones, this section will only use the āp form.
Prefixes & Suffixes: With the words for "yes" and "no" jī (जी) may be added before to give it a more polite tone. Sometimes, speakers will simply reply with jī, as an affirmation of something someone says. Jī is added to a person's name as a sign of respect. For example; in India, Mahatma Gandhi is known simply as Gandhiji (गांधीजी). Another suffix which is indispensable is vāla (-वाला), often rendered in English as "-wallah". Many books devote whole chapters to vāla. With nouns, it gives the meaning "the one or thing that does" and with verbs, it indicates something is about to happen. Examples:
noun – shop (दुकान dukān) + vāla = shopkeeper (दुकानवाला dukānvāla)
verb – to come (आना āna) + vāla = (the) ... is coming (... आनेवाला है ... ānevāla hay)
English Loan Words: The British Empire's influence spread into the language itself, and this continues today with American culture being exported throughout the world. So, an English word or phrase may almost always be inserted into any Hindi sentence. You will often hear Indians, whom while talking in Hindi, pepper their sentences with English words. Sometimes, they'll even alternate sentences, going from Hindi to English, and back to Hindi! Upon meeting an Indian, many times you may not even get to practice your Hindi, because they want to practice their English on you! English loan words are particularly used for modern inventions/technologies, so words like TV, computer and microwave are the same as in English apart from the slight change of accent. However; this is mostly in the cities, and learning some Hindi will have been all the more rewarding when in rural or non-tourist areas, as well as allowing you to communicate with a wider variety of people in the cities.
Gender & The 2nd Person Pronoun: Certain words have different endings depending on your gender. If you are a man, say these with an -a suffix, and if you're a woman, -ī. However; when addressing the person respectively with āp (आप), the masculine ending takes the plural form. This is not all that different from the behavior of other Indo-European languages, c.f. German Sie, which like āp is also both the respectful 2nd person pronoun and plural form of address. The other two forms are the familiar tum (तुम) and intimate tū (तू). These change the forms of certain words. Tum is for friends and peers, tū for small children (within the family); between 'significant others' in private; traditionally to lower castes; in the past, slaves; and, paradoxically, when supplicating to the gods/God (c.f. Greek mythology). As a general rule, stick with āp, until you become more familiar with the language and culture. Forget about tū altogether, at the best using it would be a faux pas and at the worst, very offensive. For those reasons as well as practical ones, this section will only use the āp form.

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Alphabet in Hindi Language