Punjabi/Gurmukhi/Velars

Second row - the Velars

Now that you are armed with the knowledge of letters ੳ, ਅ, ੲ, ਸ and ਹ along with the vowels and the diacritics let us move on to the second row (ਕ ਵਰਗ) of Gurmukhi script. The letters of this row are called velars because they are articulated at velum. Velum is the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth. The back part of the tongue called dorsum touches the velum for their articulation and hence they are also occasionally called dorsals.

The second row of Gurmukhi consists of the following five letters.

ਕ ਖ ਗ ਘ ਙ

These letters are called ਕ - kukka, ਖ - khukha, ਗ - gugga, ਘ - ghugga and ਙ - ngunga. Their pronunciation is ਕ - /k/, ਖ - /kh/, ਗ - /g/, ਘ - /gh/ and ਙ - /ng/. We now consider each of them one by one.

ਕ Kukka

The sixth letter of Gurmukhi is equivalent to /k/ in English. This illustration will explain its usage.

ਕੇ + ਕ = ਕੇਕ = cake

See how ਹ that you learnt in first lesson and ਕ combine to give hook and hockey.

ਹੁ + ਕ = ਹੁਕ = hook

ਹਾ + ਕੀ = ਹਾਕੀ = hockey

ਖ Khukha

The seventh letter of Gurmukhi is equivalent to /kh/ as in Kazakh. This sound is rarely used in English but is quite prevalent in Punjabi. The word khaki contains both the letters ਕ and ਖ

ਖਾ + ਕੀ = ਖਾਕੀ = khaki

If you have difficulty pronouncing ਖ try this - while producing /k/ sound expel much breath from the throat, the resultant sound shall be ਖ. Sounds so produced, that is by throwing breath out with a rush, are called aspirated sounds.

The second letter ਜ਼ in the following example is equivalent to /z/.

ਕ + ਜ਼ਾ + ਖ = ਕਜ਼ਾਖ = Kazakh (Kazakh language or a Kazakhstan national)

ਗ Gugga

The eighth letter of Gurmukhi is equivalent to /g/. The words gas and hug when written in Gurmukhi will further illustrate its use.

ਗੈ + ਸ = ਗੈਸ = gas

ਹੱ + ਗ = ਹੱਗ = hug

ਘ Ghugga

There is no English equivalent of ਘ, the ninth letter of Gurmukhi. ਘ sound is produced by combining ਕ sound with a tone in the initial position and a tone with ਗ sound elsewhere. The nearest English equivalent of ਘ is /gh/ and nearest examples illustrating the use ਘ will be ghost and Ghana. In the examples below the letters ਟ and ਨ represent /t/ and /n/ sounds to be introduced later.

ਘੋ + ਸ + ਟ = ਘੋਸਟ = ghost

ਘਾ + ਨਾ = ਘਾਨਾ = Ghana

ਙ Ngunga

The tenth letter of Gurmukhi is equivalent to /ng/ as in sing. The use of this letter is becoming scarce in Punjabi. It never comes at the initial position in any Punjabi word. The words sing and king will be written in Gurmukhi as

ਸਿੰ + ਙ = ਸਿੰਙ = sing

ਕਿੰ + ਙ = ਕਿੰਙ = king

Exercises

1. Use Practice module to write the letters of the second row in your note book as many times as you may feel comfortable. You can click one of the letters below to go to relevant page of the practice module.

ਕ ਖ ਗ ਘ ਙ

2. Read these English words written in Gurmukhi

1. ਹੁਕ
2. ਹੱਗ
3. ਹਾਂਗਕਾਂਗ
4. ਕੇਕ
5. ਕਾਂਗੋ
6. ਕਿੰਙ
7. ਖਾਕੀ
8. ਸੇਕ
9. ਕਿਸ

Solutions

1. Hook
2. Hug
3. Hongkong
4. Cake
5. Congo
6. King
7. Khaki
8. Sake
9. Kiss

3. Write the above listed words in Gurmukhi and English side by side.

4. Write these English words in Gurmukhi

1. Gas
2. Hockey
3. Case
4. Kiosk
5. Excess
6. Egg
7. Sick
8. Hague

Solutions

1. ਗੈ + ਸ = ਗੈਸ
2. ਹਾ + ਕੀ = ਹਾਕੀ
3. ਕੇ + ਸ = ਕੇਸ
4. ਕਿ + ਔ + ਸ + ਕ = ਕਿਔਸਕ
5. ਇ + ਕ + ਸੈੱ + ਸ = ਇਕਸੈੱਸ
6. ਐੱ + ਗ = ਐੱਗ
7. ਸਿੱ + ਕ = ਸਿੱਕ
8. ਹੇ + ਗ = ਹੇਗ

Summary

In this lesson we have learnt the five letters of the second row (ਕ ਵਰਗ) of Gurmukhi script. These letter are kukka (ਕ = /k/), khukha (ਖ = /kh/), gugga (ਗ = /g/), ghugga (ਘ = /gh/) and ngunga (ਙ = /ng/). We have seen that ਖ and ਘ sounds are rarely used in English and ਙ in Punjabi.