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Hindi/Speaking and Writing

< Hindi
The latest reviewed version was checked on 21 August 2022. There are 8 pending changes awaiting review.

Example of Hindi writing:

मनमोहन सिंह मंत्रिमंडल में मंत्रालयों का बटवारा पूरा हो गया है। कपिल सिब्बल को मानव संसाधन विकास और आनंद शर्मा को वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग विभाग दिया गया है।

Hindi consists of 11 vowels, 40 consonants, and two sound modifiers.

The Hindi syllabary is ordered according to how the sounds are created in the mouth.

Vowels

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First are the vowels, which, with one exception, come in pairs:

अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ए ऐ ओ औ अं अः

Using the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST), these vowels would be represented thus:

a ā i ī u ū ṛ e ai o au

  • अ (a) is pronounced as a default vowel, similar to a schwa.
  • आ (ā) is like the vowel a in father.
  • इ (i) is like the vowel in tin.
  • ई (ī) is like the vowel in see.
  • उ (u) is like the vowel in book.
  • ऊ (ū) is like the vowel in tool.
  • ए (e) is like the vowel in May except there is no diphthong.
  • ऐ (ai) is one of the only two diphthong vowels in Hindi, and pronounced differently depending on regional accent. Often it is pronounced like the vowel in hat.
  • ओ (o) is like the vowel in hole.
  • औ (au) is the other diphthong vowel, also with varying pronunciation. It is often pronounced like the vowel in saw or awe.
  • ऋ (rri) It is pronounced like the vowel sound in brittle.

All vowels in Hindi have two forms: Their standalone form and their mātrā form. The mātrā form modifies consonants. Here are the eleven vowels paired with the syllable क (k):

क का कि की कु कू कृ के कै को कौ
ka kā ki kī ku kū kṛ ke kai ko kau
  • Note that there is no mātrā form for the first vowel, अ -- a. This is because all Hindi consonants, unless part of a conjunct (see below), or they appear at the end of a word, automatically contain this vowel. So, the letter क is pronounced ka.

Regular Consonants

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There are 25 regular consonants (consonants that stop air from moving out of the mouth) in Hindi, and they are organized into groups (vargas) of five. The vargas are ordered according to where the tongue is in the mouth. Each successive varga refers to a successively forward position of the tongue. The vargas are ordered and named thus (with an example of a corresponding consonant):

  • Velar (k)
  • Palatal (j)
  • Retroflex (English t)
  • Dental (Spanish t)
  • Labial (p)

The five consonants in each group are ordered thus:

  • unaspirated, unvoiced
  • aspirated, unvoiced
  • unaspirated, voiced
  • aspirated, voiced
  • nasal

The difference between voiced and unvoiced consonants is as simple for an English speaker to understand as understanding the difference between the consonants "k" and "g" or "j" and "ch." However, aspiration is a distinction foreign to most English speakers. To understand the difference, do this simple exercise:

Hold your palm about an inch in front of your mouth. Say the word "pit." Notice that your hand will likely feel a short burst of air coming from your mouth. Now say the word "spit" and notice that there is little or no burst of air. Now attempt to say "pit" again, this time without letting the burst of air happen.

Here are the five vargas of regular consonants, followed by their corresponding IAST characters:

क ख ग घ ङ
च छ ज झ ञ
ट ठ ड ढ ण
त थ द ध न
प फ ब भ म
k kh g gh ṅ
c ch j jh ñ
ṭ ṭh ḍ ḍh ṇ
t th d dh n
p ph b bh m

Notes:

  • The nasal consonants in the first two vargas are almost never found written alone; they are usually conjuncted (more on conjuncts later) with another consonant in their corresponding vargas, as the other nasal consonants often are.
  • The consonants in the first two vargas, as well as the last, are pronounced exactly as they are in English. In other words, a Hindi k sounds like an English "k" (without aspiration).
  • The consonant written 'c' can be confusing; it is pronounced like the first sound in the word chair but without aspiration. The consonant ch is virtually indistinguishable from c to the untrained English speaker, but is indeed a different letter.
  • The English consonants "t" and "d" fall somewhere in between the Hindi consonants t and d, and ṭ and ḍ. They are closer to the latter (retroflex), so when Hindi speakers say or speak English words containing t or d, they almost always use the retroflex version. To achieve these sounds, curl the tongue back and touch the tip to the roof of the mouth.
  • The dental consonants are pronounced exactly like the "t" and "d" in Spanish, with the tongue touching the back of the upper teeth.
  • Voiced, aspirated consonants (gh, bh, etc.) are by far the hardest sounds for the English speaker to learn how to make; however, with some practice they are not overly difficult.

Semivowels

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There are four semivowels in Hindi:

य र ल व

y r l w (v)

  • y is very similar to its corresponding English sound.
  • r, like most non-English "r" sounds, is flipped, but not rolled.
  • l is the same as the English "l".
  • w (v) has a somewhat flexible pronunciation, depending on context and regional dialects. Sometimes it is pronounced like the English "w" (as in the word swami), and other times it is closer to the English "v". It is often pronounced somewhere in between the two sounds.

Sibilants

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There are three sibilants:

श ष स

ś ṣ s

  • ś is the same as "sh" in English.
  • ṣ is also similar to "sh" in English, and though it is technically pronounced farther back in the mouth, functionally there is very little or no difference between the two in spoken Hindi.
  • s is the same as "s" in English.

Fricative

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There is one fricative consonant:

हh

  • h is pronounced the same as "h" in English.

Modified Consonants

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There are many sounds found in Hindi that are not part of the traditional listing. These all have a नुक़्ता (nuqta) - a dot below the letter - with one exception:

  • क़ (q) is pronounced farther back in the throat than क. For example, the Arabic word Qu'ran begins with this letter.
  • ग़ (ġ) is pronounced in the back of the throat, similar to the French "r."
  • ख़ (kh) is pronounced like "ch" in German words like Bach or Reich.
  • ज़ (z) is the same as the English "z."
  • ड़ (ṛ) is difficult to describe, except by example. The Hindi word गाड़ी (gaṛī) sounds very much like "gardee." Notice that the character used to denote this character is the same as denotes ऋ. The only way to tell the difference is context; if ṛ is followed by a consonant, it corresponds to ऋ (example: ऋषि -- ṛṣi or "Rishi"). If it is followed by a vowel or falls at the end of a word, is is most likely ड़.
  • ढ़ (ṛh) is the aspirated version of ड़.
  • फ़ (f) is the same as the English sound "f."
  • ऑ (ô) is used only in transliterating English, for the vowel in hall.

Sound Modifiers

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The anusvara is notated with a small dot above the corresponding letter. In IAST, it is notated ṃ. It can have two different effects:

  • In mid-word, when it appears before a consonant, it has the same effect as if that consonant's corresponding nasal consonant were placed right before it. For example, if placed before the "k" sound in the English word "buck," it would make the word change to "bunk." Hindi example: संग -- saṃga (group, association) is often transliterated as sanga. It should not be confused with the reduced form of candrabindu.
    • At the end of a word, it generally denotes m. Example: स्वयं -- swayaṃ (self). This is extremely rare and generally only seen in Sanskrit loans.
    • For the eight consonants remaining, it uses the nasals of the closest varga. For य, र, ल, श, ष, and स (y, r, l, ś, ṣ, s), this is न (n). For व (v) it is म (m) and for ह (h) it is ङ (ṅ). Example: अंश (anś), meaning part.
  • The candrabindu (meaning "moon dot") is very similar to the anusvara and is notated with a dot and a small crescent (see below). When placed above a vowel, the vowel becomes nasalized.
    • If it is placed above one of the ascending mātrās, it is reduced to a dot visually identical to an anusvara (there is not enough space to write out the entire sign above the line). It is difficult to tell which sign is being used in such cases. In general, at the end of the word, it's a reduced candrabindu, but there are exceptions: स्वयं -- swayaṃ (self), for instance, has an anusvara, as noted above.
    • Word-centrally, it can have two different effects: same as anusvara - महँगा -- mahaṃgā (expensive) is pronounced very closely to mahaṅgā - or just ignored - हँसी -- haṃsī (laughter) is pronounced very closely to hasī.
  • The visarga is notated with what looks like an English colon. It is transliterated with ḥ. It is only found at the end of words, and only found on Sanskrit loan words. It has the effect of adding a h as well as a lighter version of the preceding vowel. For example, नमः is pronounced namaha, with the last a having as little emphasis as possible.

The halant is a small diagonal line which indicates that the default vowel अ -- a is not to be pronounced. It only appears at the end of words. In Hindi, however, this symbol is almost never seen, as, unlike Sanskrit, the default vowel is almost never pronounced on the final consonants of words. Example: नाम् -- nām (name).

Conjuncts

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Very often, two or more consonants are combined. This is done by physically connecting it to the next one, in various different ways.

  • For most consonants, the vertical line on the right side is dropped:
    • This works for all consonants with such a line:
Original consonant Romanized Combined with क Romanized Original consonant Romanized Combined with क Romanized
ख kh ख्क khk न n न्क nk
ग g ग्क gk प p प्क pk
घ gh घ्क ghk ब b ब्क bk
च c च्क ck भ bh भ्क bhk
ज j ज्क jk म m म्क mk
झ jh झ्क jhk य y य्क yk
ञ ñ ञ्क ñk ल l ल्क lk
ण ṇ ण्क ṇk व v or w व्क vk or wk
त t त्क tk श ś श्क śk
थ th थ्क thk ष ṣ ष्क ṣk
ध dh ध्क dhk स s स्क sk
  • The consonants क (k) and फ (ph) shorten the curve on the right side.
    • Examples: सिक्का -- sikkā (coin), वक्त -- vakt (time), हफ़्ता -- haftā (week)
  • ट (ṭ) and ड (ḑ) become smaller, with the other letter going below.
    • Examples: मिट्टी -- miṭṭī (soil), अड्डा -- aḍḍā (station)
  • द (d) forms very unusual conjuncts, varyingly consisting of a combination of both letters and of the second letter hanging onto the 'foot' at the bottom. The most common are below:
Second consonant Romanized Combined with द Romanized
द d द्द dd
ध dh द्ध ddh
म m द्म dm
य y द्य dy
व w or v द्व dv or dw
न n द्न dn
  • र (r) has several forms.
    • If it is the first letter in a conjunct, it turns into a small hook above the line, like this: र्क (combined with k)
      • Examples: सतर्क -- satark (cautious), गर्व -- garv (pride)
      • The hook will move for some mātrās: दुर्भाग्य -- durbhāgya (bad luck) has the hook on the ā.
    • If it is the last letter, it takes two different forms, depending on the letter. These are a short diagonal line (क्र, kr) and a symbol resembling a caret that is placed beneath the letter (ट्र, ṭr).
      • Examples: ड्रम -- ḍram (drum), क्रोध -- krodh (anger)
      • It only takes the caret form for ट, ठ, ड, and ढ (ṭ, ṭh, ḍ, and ḍh).
  • There are four special conjuncts, generally listed at the end of the alphabet:
    • त्र (tr), त् + र
    • श्र (śr), श् + र
    • ज्ञ (jñ), ज् + ञ (read gy, although ग्य (gy) is also a conjunct)
    • क्ष (kṣ), क् + ष
    • Examples:
      • त्रिलोचन -- trilocan (three-eyed), नेत्र -- netr (eye)
      • श्रुति -- śruti (that which is heard), परिश्रम -- pariśram (labor)
      • ज्ञान -- jñān (knowledge), प्रतिज्ञा -- pratijñā (promise)
      • क्षमा -- kṣamā (forgiveness), विपक्ष -- vipakṣ (opposition)
  • Finally, note that there can be conjuncts of more than 2 letters, such as in स्वास्थ्य -- svāsthya (health).
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