How to read Marathi script — a step-by-step guide

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The SAME script as Hindi — if you read Hindi, you can sound out Marathi on day one. Only two surprises wait: ळ (retroflex L, unknown in Hindi) and a few spelling habits of its own. Below is the path that gets you from "those are just shapes" to reading a real Marathi sentence, in six steps you can work through in a fortnight of short sessions.

Step 1 — Meet the vowels

The Devanagari (Balbodh) has 13 vowels, shown below with the sound each one makes.

Read the table left to right, out loud. Do not try to memorise it in one pass: recognition first, recall later. Two passes today and two tomorrow beats an hour tonight.

Letter	Sound	Like…
अ	a	a as in 'about' — a short neutral uh
आ	ā	a as in 'father'
इ	i	i as in 'bit'
ई	ī	ee as in 'feet'
उ	u	u as in 'put'
ऊ	ū	oo as in 'food'
ऋ	ṛ	ru as in 'rude' — rare, Sanskrit loanwords only
ए	e	ay as in 'say' (shorter, no glide)
ऐ	ai	ai as in 'aisle'
ओ	o	o as in 'go'
औ	au	ow as in 'cow'
अं	am	nasalizes the vowel: मुंबई (Mumbai)
अः	ah	breathy h at word end — rare

Step 2 — Meet the consonants

Then the 36 consonants. This is the part people find intimidating, and it is mostly an illusion created by an unfamiliar script: the table below gives you the sound of every letter, in words you already know.

Letter	Sound	Like…
क	k	k as in 'skin' (unaspirated)
ख	kh	k with a puff of air
ग	g	g as in 'go'
घ	gh	g with a puff of air
ङ	ng	ng as in 'sing' — rare in daily Marathi
च	ch	ch as in 'church'
छ	chh	ch with a puff of air
ज	j	j as in 'jam'
झ	jh	j with a puff of air
ञ	n	n as in 'inch' — rare in daily words
ट	ṭ	t with tongue curled back (retroflex)
ठ	ṭh	retroflex t with a puff of air
ड	ḍ	d with tongue curled back
ढ	ḍh	retroflex d with a puff of air
ण	ṇ	retroflex n
त	t	t with tongue on teeth (dental)
थ	th	dental t with a puff of air (never 'th' as in 'thin')
द	d	d with tongue on teeth
ध	dh	dental d with a puff of air
न	n	dental n
प	p	p as in 'spin'
फ	ph	p with a puff of air (often 'f' in city speech)
ब	b	b as in 'bat'
भ	bh	b with a puff of air
म	m	m as in 'mat'
य	y	y as in 'yes'
र	r	tapped r, like Spanish 'pero'
ल	l	l as in 'let'
व	v	between English v and w
श	sh	sh as in 'ship'
ष	sh	same sound as श in daily speech
स	s	s as in 'sun'
ह	h	h as in 'hat'
ळ	ḷ	THE Marathi sound: retroflex L, tongue curled back. बाळ (child) vs बाल (hair) — a true minimal pair
क्ष	ksh	as in 'rickshaw'
ज्ञ	dny	as in ज्ञान (knowledge) — say 'dnya'

A realistic pace. Two letters a day with five minutes of writing each. In about three weeks the alphabet stops being a wall and becomes a slightly slow tool — which is exactly what it should feel like.

Step 3 — Read numbers first

Numbers are the ideal first reading exercise: short, repetitive, and you already know what they mean from the counting page. Read these out loud without looking at the Hindi or English column, then cover the last column and read them again. If you can read 1–10, you can read a price board.

#	Hindi	Marathi	Say it
1	एक	एक	ek
2	दो	दोन	don
3	तीन	तीन	tīn
4	चार	चार	cār
5	पाँच	पाच	pāc
6	छह	सहा	sahā
7	सात	सात	sāt
8	आठ	आठ	āṭh
9	नौ	नऊ	naū
10	दस	दहा	dahā

Step 4 — Read real words

Now real vocabulary. These twelve words are the ones you will use most; read the Marathi column first and only then check the pronunciation column.

#	English	Marathi	Say it
1	hello	नमस्कार	namaskār
2	thank you	धन्यवाद	dhanyavād
3	I	मी	mī
4	you	तू / तुम्ही	tū / tumhī
5	yes / no	हो / नाही	ho / nāhī
6	rice	भात	bhāt
7	water	पाणी	pāṇī
8	tea	चहा	cahā
9	book	पुस्तक	pustak
10	house	घर	ghar
11	good / nice	छान	chān
12	how much	किती	kitī

Step 5 — Read a whole sentence

Reading words is one skill; reading a sentence is a second one. Start with the word order you already know — मी भात खातो — then read slowly, then at speaking speed.

Read each phrase below aloud three times. When you can read them without pausing, you have crossed from decoding to reading.

English	Hindi	Marathi	Say it
I don't understand	मैं नहीं समझा	मला समजले नाही	malā samajle nāhī
I want water	मुझे पानी चाहिए	मला पाणी पाहिजे	malā pāṇī pāhije
	पाहिजे (want/need) always works this way: मला X पाहिजे
Speak slowly, please	धीरे बोलिए	हळू बोला	haḷū bolā
What is this called?	इसे क्या कहते हैं?	याला काय म्हणतात?	yālā kāy mhaṇtāt?
I am learning Marathi	मैं मराठी सीख रहा हूँ	मी मराठी शिकतोय	mī marāṭhī śiktoy
	A woman says शिकतेय (śiktey)
Where are you from?	आप कहाँ से हैं?	तुम्ही कुठले?	tumhī kuṭhle?

Step 6 — Make it a habit

Five minutes reading the letter tables aloud, every day.
Five minutes typing the words you learned in the practice typing trainer.
Once a week, re-read a page you have already studied and notice how much faster it goes.
Never read only in your head: the mouth learns the script faster than the eye does.

When reading starts to feel routine, push on to the grammar basics and the speaking-alone plan — reading is the door, not the room.

More guides in this course

Beginner's guide — MarathiHow to learn from scratch, and the honest first 30 days.
Alphabet, letter by letter — MarathiEvery letter with the sound it makes.
Grammar basics — MarathiWord order, verbs and the sentence ladder.
Phrases for travel — MarathiStations, hotels, fares and the phrases you will use.
Numbers 1 to 100 — MarathiCounting, prices and time — with the counting pattern.
Most common words — MarathiThe highest-frequency words, in eight groups, with pronunciation for each.
Common mistakes — MarathiThe traps learners fall into in this language, and the fix for each one.
vs Hindi — MarathiWhat Hindi speakers already know, and what trips everyone else up.
Practise speaking alone — MarathiShadowing, self-talk and a routine you can keep without a tutor.