Hindi is written in the script called “Devanagari” meaning “the city of the gods.” Very slight variations of this script are used to write several languages in India including Sanskrit, Marathi, Awadhi, and Braj Bhasha, among many others. It derives historically from the Brahmi script, used in the famous inscriptions of Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, in the third century BCE.
Before getting into the nuts and bolts of Devanagari, a brief overview might be helpful. Starting with the most basic feature of Devanagari, it is written from left to right. Second, Devanagari is written and read with a focus on the individual syllable. Each syllable in Devanagari will consist of a single vowel and can include one or more consonants. Vowels come in two forms:
- Stand-alone vowels, which appear at the beginning of words (e.g., एक ek – adj., one) or immediately after another vowel in the middle of a word (e.g., कोई koī – pron., someone)
- Vowel markers, which appear as modifiers to consonant symbols; these vowel markers may be associated with either a single consonant (e.g., तू tū – pron. you [informal]) or a consonant conjunct (e.g., स्त्री strī – f., woman).
One of the neatest features of Devanagari–especially for those who are familiar with the seemingly unpredictable nature of English pronunciation–is its phonetic nature. There is (usually!) only one way to pronounce something when it’s written in Devanagari. Take a look below for a detailed guide through Devanagari and its intricacies. Ultimately, with a little effort, it won’t take you more than a week or two to get used to the new letter shapes and the underlying methods for reading and writing the Hindi language.
Writing vowels in Devanagari requires that you learn two different ways of depicting the same sounds. In essence, Devanagari’s vowel system consists of two parts: stand-alone vowels and vowel markers. The difference between these is orthographic only, meaning that it only affects how the vowels are written, not how they sound.
Stand-alone vowels appear most commonly when a word in Hindi starts with a vowel. For example, the इ i in the word इच्छा icchā (f., wish). Stand-alone vowels can also occur in the middle of words when one vowel sound follows immediately after another. For example, the “ā” and “e” sounds in जाएगा jāegā, ([he] will go). The ए e comes just after the syllable, जा jā, which ends in a vowel⏤specifically, the long “ā” sound. The positioning of these two vowels one after another without a consonant in the middle requires that you write the second vowel using its stand-alone form.
Vowel markers appear as modifications to the written consonant symbols. In जाएगा jāegā, the same example given above, there are two examples of the long “ā” sound represented by a dependent vowel symbol:
- The ा-marker after the consonant ज ja resulting in जा jā
- The same ा-marker after the consonat ग ga resulting in गा gā.
Below is the table of all stand-alone vowel symbols
Vowel pronunciation guide:
अ a – the “a” in abrupt
आ ā – the second “a” in avocado
इ i – the “i” in stick
ई ī – the “ee” in tree
उ u – the “oo” in foot
ऊ ū – the “oe” in shoe
ऋ r̥ – the “ri” in trick
ए e – like the French é sound; e.g., étude
ऐ ai – the “e” in hey, but without leaning into the “y” sound
ओ o – the “o” in note
औ au – the “o” off
For additional information on pronouncing the Hindi vowels and audio excerpts, see the Hindi Pronunciation page.
All consonants as written in the table below include an inherent short “a” (अ) vowel. This vowel completes the syllable represented by the consonant symbol. Thus, the symbol क stands for “ka”, not just “k”. This inherent “a” is not usually pronounced at the end of words. So, the word कल (adv., tomorrow) is pronounced kal and जब (adv., when) is pronounced jab. This inherent short “a” can be replaced by any vowel sound in Hindi by adding the appropriate vowel marker to the consonant (see the “Vowel Markers” section below).
NOTE: Devanagari does not distinguish between upper- and lower-case letters. As such, we use only lower-case letters when transliterating Devanagari into the modified Roman script.
| क the “c” in cool; use minimal breath | द like the "d" in breadth |
| ख aspirated form of क | ध aspirated form of द |
| ग the “g” in gold | न the “n” in anthem |
| घ aspirated form of ग; like “g-h” in big-house | प “p” in space; use minimal breath |
| ङ the “n” in king | फ aspirated form of प; like “p-h” in hip-hop |
| च the “ch” in cheese; use minimal breath | ब the “b” in bat |
| छ aspirated form of च; like the “ch” in watch out | भ aspirated form of ब; like “bh” in subheading |
| ज the “j” in jingle | म the “m” in make |
| झ aspirated form of ज; like "ge h" in large house | य the “y” in young |
| ञ the “n” in change | र the “r” in sheetrock |
| ट like “t” in tarp but harder | ल the “l” in love |
| ठ aspirated form of ट; like “t-h” in shirt-hanger | व between the English "v" and "w" |
| ड like “d” in disk but harder | श the “sh” in ship |
| ढ aspirated form of ड; like “dh” in roundhouse | ष a retroflex sibilant pronounced similarly to श; appears only in Sanskrit loanwords |
| ण a hard “n”, retroflex nasal sound | स the “s” in self |
| त the "t" in the phrase "at the" | ह the “h” in how |
| थ aspirated form of त |
Additional letters in Hindi:
| क़ | ख़ | ग़ | ज़ |
| qa | kha | ga | za |
| ड़ | ढ़ | फ़ | |
| ṛa | ṛha | fa |
Aside from ड़ ṛa and ढ़ ṛha, the letters in this chart appear in loanwords from Arabic and/or Persian.
ड़ ṛa and ढ़ ṛha are pronounced with the tongue positioned like ड ḍa / ढ ḍha, but the tongue is “flapped” as with the letter र ra. क़ qa, ख़ kha and ग़ ga are pronounced somewhat like their “undotted” counterparts, but the pronunciation occurs further back in the throat. ज़ za and फ़ fa are pronounced like the English “z” and “f” respectively. In speaking (and periodically in writing), these two letters are often interchanged with their “undotted” counterparts ज ja and फ pha regardless of their linguistic origin. For example:
- फूल phūl – m., flower is sometimes pronounced फ़ूल fūl
- चीज़ cīz – f., thing is sometimes pronounced चीज cīj
For additional information on pronouncing Hindi consonants and audio excerpts, see the Hindi Pronunciation page.
The table below shows each of Devanagari’s stand-alone vowel symbols in the gray rows while the associated vowel marker appears directly below its respective stand-alone vowel. Note, again, that there is no marker for the short “a” sound, which exists as an inherent vowel in all the consonant symbols. Each of the vowel markers from the table, then, serve to replace this inherent short “a” with the new vowel sound.
| Vowel | अ a | आ ā | इ i | ई ī | उ u | ऊ ū | ऋ r̥ |
| Marker | – | ा | ि | ी | ु | ू | ृ |
| Vowel | ए e | ऐ ai | ओ o | औ au | अः aḥ | ||
| Marker | े | ै | ो | ौ | ः |
Here are some examples of a few random consonants modified with each of the vowel markers.
| क ka | का kā | कि ki | की kī | कु ku | कू kū | कृ kr̥ | के ke | कै kai | को ko | कौ kau |
| ज ja | जा jā | जि ji | जी jī | जु ju | जू jū | जृ jr̥ | जे je | जै jai | जो jo | जौ jau |
| त ta | ता tā | ति ti | ती tī | तु tu | तू tū | तृ tr̥ | ते te | तै tai | तो to | तौ tau |
| द da | दा dā | दि di | दी dī | दु du | दू dū | दृ dr̥ | दे de | दै dai | दो do | दौ dau |
| य ya | या yā | यि yi | यी yī | यु yu | यू yū | यृ yr̥ | ये ye | यै yai | यो yo | यौ yau |
| र ra | रा rā | रि ri | री rī | रु ru | रू rū | – | रे re | रै rai | रो ro | रौ rau |
| ह ha | हा hā | हि hi | ही hī | हु hu | हू hū | हृ hr̥ | हे he | है hai | हो ho | हौ hau |
NOTE 1: Notice the unique forms of र् r + उ / ऊ u / ū → रु / रू ru / rū and ह् h + ऋ r̥ → हृ hr̥, which do not follow the typical pattern of consonant-vowel marker pairings.
NOTE 2: The nasalization symbol ँ and the aspirate symbol ः can be combined with all vowels, not just अ (a). Take note of the change in form of ँ with some vowels.
- हाँ hā̃ – yes
- नहीं nahī̃ – no
- हैं haĩ – are (pl.)
- दुःख duḥkh – m., sorrow
NOTE 3: The aspirate ः sound only appears in words of Sanskrit origin and does not appear with the letter ह ha.
- दुःख duḥkh – m., sorrow
- प्रातः prātaḥ – m., dawn; rarely used except in very specialized, formal circumstances
See below how each dependent vowel connects to the letter क ka
A small mark underneath consonant letters removes their inherent a-vowel, thus turning it into a pure consonant sound. This mark is known as the हलन्त halant.
| क → क् | त → त् | द → द् | म → म् |
| ka → k | ta → t | da → d | ma → m |
Conjunct letters are clusters of two or more consonants with no intervening vowels. Though there are many many different combinations of consonant clusters, the process of creating conjunct clusters is quite intuitive and you can start reading most conjoined letters by keeping a few tips in mind.
1. हलन्त लगाओ ! Put on a halant!
It is possible to create conjunct letters by simply adding a halant (see above) to the consonant symbol (eliminating its inherent a vowel) and writing it next to the succeeding letter without breaking the overhead line.
ड् + ग = ड्ग ⟶ खड्ग khaḍga – m., sword
2. डण्डा हटाओ ! Take out the stick!
Many letters in the Devanagari alphabet have a stick (m., दण्डा daṇḍā) on the extreme right edge of the shape. In many cases, you can make a “half letter” (i.e., a consonant with no vowel) by simply removing that stick and combining it with the next letter.
ण् + ड = ण्ड ⟶ दण्डा daṇḍā – m., stick
न् + द = न्द ⟶ हिन्दी hindī – f., Hindi
च् + छ = च्छ ⟶ अच्छा acchā – adj., good
ब् + द = ब्द ⟶ शब्द śabd – m., word
प् + त = प्त ⟶ प्राप्त prāpt – adj., obtained
स् + थ = स्थ ⟶ स्थान sthān – m., place
ल् + ल = ल्ल ⟶ दिल्ली dillī – f., Delhi
3. स्टैक बनाओ ! Make a stack!
In some instances, especially when the first, vowelless letter is ट (ṭa), ठ (ṭha), ड (ḍa), ढ (ḍha), or ष (ṣa) clusters are written with one consonant on top of the other. In these cases, the full letter (i.e., the one with the vowel) goes on the bottom.
ट् + ठ = ट्ठ ⟶ इकट्ठा ikaṭṭhā – adj., collected
ष् + ट = ष्ट ⟶ दृष्टि dr̥ṣṭi – f., sight
ष् + ठ = ष्ठ ⟶ प्रतिष्ठा pratiṣṭhā – f., fame
Similarly, when placed after द् (d), some letters—particularly the aspirates ध (dha) and भ (bha)—are placed without their stick at an angle on the द्’s rounded edge.
द् + ध = द्ध ⟶ बुद्धि buddhi – f., intellegence
द् + भ = द्भ ⟶ अद्भुत adbhut – adj., wonderful
4. पास लाओ ! Bring it close!
A couple of letters—क (ka) and फ (pha)—participate as a first member of a conjunct by simply attaching a shortened version of the small appendage on their right side to the left side of the next letter.
क् + य = क्य ⟶ क्या kyā – pron., what
फ़् + ल = फ़्ल ⟶ फ़्लैट flaiṭ – m., flat/apartment
क् + त = क्त ⟶ भक्ति bhakti – f., devotion
There are a few more rules that apply to specific letters in the Devanagari alphabet. They are detailed here:
Conjuncts with the letter र ra
The Devanagari letter र ra participates somewhat unusually in conjuncts. Its precise appearance depends on whether it is the first letter in a conjunct a subsequent letter.
1. When र ra comes first
When र ra is the first element in a conjunct, it transforms into a small hook that appears above the letter it precedes. This can be a bit confusing when readers first encounter it, but it becomes easier to recognize with time.
र् + म = र्म ⟶ धर्म dharma – m., duty, dharma
र् + द = र्द ⟶ उर्दू urdū – f., Urdu
र् + फ़ = र्फ़ ⟶ सिर्फ़ sirf – adv., only
When the final consonant in a cluster is modified by a vowel that extends the width of the letter (i.e., ा ā, ी ī, ो o, ौ au), the “hook” of the र ra will go over the top of the stick as far to the right of the syllable as possible.
र् + थी = र्थी ⟶ विद्यार्थी vidyārthī – m., student
र् + फ़ी = र्फ़ी ⟶ बर्फ़ी barfī – f., barfi, an Indian sweet
र् + चा = र्चा ⟶ चर्चा carcā – f., discussion
2. When र ra comes second
When र ra is the final element in a conjunct, it often appears as a short, straight line extending out of the lower portion of a letter at an approximately 45 degree angle. The exact appearance of the letter can take a few forms.
When the half-letter has a stick that runs from the top of the letter to the bottom (e.g., क ka, प pa, च ca, ज ja, ब ba, भ bha, etc.), the र ra extends out of the lower part of that stick.
श् + र = श्र ⟶ श्री śrī – f., prosperity; used as an honorific
म + र = म्र ⟶ उम्र umra – f., age
प् + र = प्र ⟶ प्रेम prem – m., love
क् + र = क्र ⟶ क्रिकेट krikeṭ – m., cricket (sport)
When that stick is not there, it often appears beneath the letter, periodically taking the form of an inverted “v” shape when paired with certain Devanagari letters (e.g., ट ṭa, ड ḍa).
द् + र = द्र ⟶ द्रोण droṇ – prop. noun m., Droṇa, a character in the Mahābhārata
ट् + र = ट्र ⟶ ट्रेन ṭren – f., train
Conjuncts with the letter ह ha
When ह is the first letter in a conjunct, the second letter typically either attaches to the “hook” in the middle of the ह ha in various ways or appears inside the loop in the center of the ह ha.
ह् + म = ह्म ⟶ ब्राह्मण brāhmaṇ – m., Brahmin
ह् + न = ह्न ⟶ चिह्न cihn – f., sign
Special forms with the letter श (śa)
The letter श śa has a few special forms to learn when combined with र ra, व va, and च ca.
श् + र = श्र ⟶ श्री śrī – f. prosperity; used as an honorific
श् + व = श्व ⟶ अश्व aśva – m., horse
श् + च = श्च ⟶ आश्चर्य āścarya – m., surprise
Some other forms to learn
Some other conjunct forms are a bit harder to recognize and you simply need to memorize them; two (क्ष (kṣa) and ज्ञ (jña)) have already been highlighted above.
क् + ष = क्ष ⟶ क्षमा kṣamā – f., forgiveness
ज् + ञ = ज्ञ ⟶ ज्ञान jñān – m., knowledge; note: the conjunct ज्ञ jña is often pronounced “gya”
त् + र = त्र ⟶ पुत्र putra – m., son
त् + त = त्त ⟶ आपत्ति āpatti – f., misfortune
द् + द = द्द ⟶ रद्दी raddī – adj., worthless, unwanted
द् + य = द्य ⟶ विद्या vidyā – f., knowledge
द् + म = द्म ⟶ पद्म padma – m., lotus
Conjuncts with multiple letters
It is possible for more than two letters to combine in a single conjuncted syllable. In general, the same rules highlighted above apply here as well. Simply keep adding them together and applying the relevant rules as you go.
न् + द् + र = न्द्र ⟶ इन्द्र indra – prop. noun m., Indra
स् + त् + र = स्त्र ⟶ स्त्री strī – f., woman
There are two different types of nasalized sounds that occur in Hindi: nasal consonants and nasalized vowels. There are five nasal consonants in the Hindi alphabet:
ङ ṅa
ञ ña
ण ṇa
न na
म ma
The first two (ङ ṅa and ञ ña), however, appear only rarely in Hindi as standalone letters. While the letters themselves do not often appear, their sounds are very common in Hindi and are represented by the small dot that appears above letters. How to pronounce those dots is discussed below:
ं vs. ँ
A single dot without a “half-moon” that appears above a Devanagari letter represents a nasal consonant. The precise sound of that nasal is actually determined by the letter that comes after the dot. You’ll notice that in the chart above, all nasals are placed at the end of a row of consonants. The nasalization dot assimilates to the nasal sound that occurs in the same row as the consonant that comes after the dot. It sounds more complicated than it is. Here are a few examples:
कंघा kaṅghā – m., comb
The dot occurs before the letter घ gha, meaning it takes on the nasal sound that appears in घ’s row (i.e., ङ ṅa).
गंजा gañjā – adj., bald
The dot occurs before the letter ज ja, meaning it takes on the nasal sound that appears in ज’s row (i.e., ञ ña).
घंटा ghaṇṭā – m., bell
The dot occurs before the letter ट ṭa, meaning it takes on the nasal sound that appears in ट’s row (i.e., ण ṇa).
संतरा santarā – m., orange (fruit)
The dot occurs before the letter त ta, meaning it takes on the nasal sound that appears in त’s row (i.e., न na).
नींबू nīmbū – m., lime/lemon
The dot occurs before the letter ब ba, meaning it takes on the nasal sound that appears in ब’s row (i.e., म ma).
The dot is often, though not always, interchangeable with the nasal consonant it represents. When the nasal is written instead of the dot, there will be a conjunct.
हिंदी or हिन्दी hindī – f., Hindi
आरंभ or आरम्भ ārambh – m., beginning
It is not possible to use a dot in place of a nasal in a conjunct of like nasals (e.g., म्म, न्न)
मम्मी mammī – f., mother (affectionate); not मंमी
पन्नी pannī – f., foil, plastic bag; not पंनी
The dot with the half-moon under it will always occur in conjunction with a vowel. Instead of assimilating to the next sound (as is done with the dot), you actually nasalize the vowel itself by vocalizing it through the roof of your mouth/nose.
जाऊँ jāū̃ – v. (I) should go
हँसी hãsī – f., laughter
खाँसी khā̃sī – f., cough
If there is space restriction on the top of a letter (i.e., due to a flag, hook, etc. from any of the vowel markers used), the “half moon” dot shows up as a simple dot. But it is still a nasalized vowel, and not a half nasal consonant. For example:
हैं haĩ – v., is (plural)
दोनों donõ – adj., both
दंत vs. दाँत
दंत dant and दाँत dā̃t are both words meaning “tooth” but they each utilize a different type of nasalization. In दंत dant, the dot represents the letter न् n. In दाँत dā̃t, on the other hand, the dot with the half-moon requires the nasalization of the long आ ā vowel rather than a pronounced nasal consonant.
This transliteration scheme is used when Hindi speakers use Roman script to communicate via text messages, emails, etc. It is extremely irregular—different people will utilize the Roman script differently to represent their Hindi. Below are some common renderings of Devanagari letters in this informal transliteration, but you will certainly encounter variations not represented here.
| अ | आ | इ | ई | उ | ऊ | ऋ |
| a | a / aa | i | i / ee | u | u / oo | ri / r |
| ए | ऐ | ओ | औ | ं / ँ | ः | |
| e / ey | ai | o | au / ou | – / n / m | – | |
| क | ख | ग | घ | ङ | ||
| ka | kha | ga | gha | – | ||
| च | छ | ज | झ | ञ | ||
| cha | cha / chha | ja | jha | – | ||
| ट | ठ | ड | ढ | ण | ||
| ta | tha | da | dha | na | ||
| त | थ | द | ध | न | ||
| ta | tha | da | dha | na | ||
| प | फ | ब | भ | म | ||
| pa | pha | ba | bha | ma | ||
| य | र | ल | व | |||
| ya | ra | la | va | |||
| श | ष | स | ह | |||
| sha | sha | sa | ha | |||
| क्ष | ज्ञ | |||||
| ksha | gya | |||||
| क़ | ख़ | ग़ | ज़ | ड़ | ढ़ | फ़ |
| ka / qa | kha | ga | za | ra / da | dha | fa |
| Hindi | Academic Transliteration | Popular Transliteration |
| यार तू क्या कर रहा है? What are you doing, man? | yār tū kyā kar rahā hai? | yaar tu kya kar (raha/rahaa) hai? |
| घर में कोई नहीं है । There is no one at home. | ghar mẽ koī nahī̃ hai. | ghar (me/mei/mein) koi (nahin/nahi/nai) hai. |
| हाँ जी, मैं कल आ सकती हूँ । Yes, I can come tomorrow. | hā̃ jī, maĩ kal ā saktī hū̃. | haan ji, main kal aa (sakti/saktee)(hoon/hun/hu). |
| घंटा ले कर जाएगा । He will leave with nothing. | ghaṇṭā le kar jāegā. | ghanta le kar (jaaega/jaega/jayega) |
