Punjabi/Gurmukhi/Vowels

Now that you have learnt the first five letters of the Gurmukhi script, it is time to turn attention to the vowels. Please recall that matras are used in Gurmukhi to represent vowels and that the letters ੳ, ਅ and ੲ are not consonants but are merely the matra carriers. Armed with this knowledge you can now proceed to learn the 10 matras.

Punjabi Vowels

The following are the ten matras of Punjabi

ਅ ਆ ਇ ਈ ਉ ਊ ਏ ਐ ਓ ਔ

Here we have used letters ੳ, ਅ or ੲ only to demostrate how matras combine with other letters. In reality they can combine with any other letter as well. However when they combine with matra carriers they can individually combine with only the matras they have above. We now explain each of the above matras.

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Mukta : Mukta literally means free and therefore, has no symbol. It is equivalent to a in above or e in dancer. Hence forth in this module mukta vowel will be denoted by /a/.

ਅ + ਸ = ਅਸ /as/ = us

Kanna : Kanna is equivalent to a in master or father. Hence forth in this module we will denote kanna vowel with /aa/.

ਸਾ /saa/ = saw

ਹਾ + ਉ = ਹਾਉ /hau/ = how

ਹਾ + ਉ + ਸ = ਹਾਉਸ /haaus/ = house

ਆ + ਇ = ਆਇ = eye

Vowels in Punjabi come in pairs, a short vowel and a long vowel. Here mukta and kanna form one such pair where mukta is the short vowel and kanna the long one. ਇ and ਈ; ਉ and ਊ; ਏ and ਐ; ਓ and ਔ are other pairs.

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Sihari : Sihari is equivalent to i in pin or thin. Hence forth in this module we will denote sihari vowel with /i/.

ਹਿ + ਸ = ਹਿਸ = hiss

ਆ + ਇ + ਸ = ਆਇਸ /aais/ = ice

ਆ + ਇ = ਆਇ = eye

ਉ + ਏ + ਸਿ + ਸ = ਉਏਸਿਸ = oasis

Bihari : Bihari is equivalent to ea in teacher or ee in seek. We will denote bihari vowel with /ii/ in this module. See the following examples of use of bihari.

ਸੀ = see

ਈ = the letter 'e'

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Aunkarh : Aunkarh is equivalent to u put or oo in book. We will denote aunkarh vowel with /u/ in this module. See the following examples of use of aunkarh in Punjabi words.

ਹਾ + ਉ + ਸ = ਹਾਉਸ /haaus/ = house

ਸਿ + ਉ = ਸਿਉ = sew

Dulenkarh : Dulenkarh is equivalent to oo in hoot or boot. We will denote dulenkarh vowel with /oo/ in this module. See the following examples of use of dulenkarh in Punjabi words.

ਹੂ /hoo/ = who

ਸੂ = sue

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Lanv : Lanv is equivalent to a as in hate or rate. We will denote lanv vowel with /e/ in this module.See the following examples of use of lanv.

ਏ + ਸ = ਏਸ = ace

ਹੇ = hey

Dulanvan : Dulanvan is equivalent to a in matter or hat. We will denote dulanvan vowel with /ae/ in this module. See the following examples of use of dulanvan.

ਅ + ਸੈ + ਸ = ਅਸੈਸ = assess

ਐ + ਸੇ = ਐਸੇ = essay

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Horha : Horha is equivalent to o sound as in English home. Horha vowel will be denoted with /o/ in this wikibook. See the following examples of use of horha in Punjabi words.

ਸੋ = sow

ਹੋ = hoe

NB : We have used ਹ in the animation diagram whereas we have ealier stated that horha is used with ੳ. The reason is simple. There is no space left above ੳ for placing horha and therefore whenever horha has to be used with ੳ the upper semi-circle is left open to denote horha matra. In all other cases horha is written as in animated diagram.

Knaorha : Knourha is equivalent to o as in hot. Knaourha will be denoted with /ao/ in this wikibook. See the following examples of use of knaorha in Punjabi words.

ਸੌ + ਸ = ਸੌਸ = sauce

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Each one of the matras can be attached with one and only one vowel carrier besides the consonants. Thus ੳ is used with aunkarh (ਉ), dulenkarh (ਊ) and horha (ਓ), ਅ is used with mukta (ਅ), kanna (ਆ), dolawan (ਐ), kanaurha (ਔ), and ੲ is used with sihari (ਇ), bihari (ਈ) and laan (ਏ)

Exercises

1. Read these English words written in Gurmukhi.

1. ਸੋ
2. ਏਸ
3. ਆਇ
4. ਸੌਸ
5. ਉਏਸਿਸ

Solutions

1. So/Sow
2. Ace
3. Eye
4. Sauce
5. Oasis

2. Write the above listed words in Gurmukhi and English alongside each.

3. Write these English words in Gurmukhi.

1. He
2. Sew
3. Assess
4. Cess
5. Essay

Solutions

1. ਹੀ
2. ਸਿ + ਉ = ਸਿਉ
3. ਅ + ਸੈ + ਸ = ਅਸੈਸ
4. ਸੈ + ਸ = ਸੈਸ
5. ਐ + ਸੇ = ਐਸੇ

Summary

We have devoted this lesson to learning of the ten matras which represent the vowels. However we have still not touched the diacritics which form integral part of Gurmukhi script. We will learn the diacritics in the next lesson.