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Writing your name in Hindi is the single most satisfying first step in learning Devanagari, and it takes about ten minutes. You are not translating the name — names do not translate — you are transliterating: writing the same sounds using Hindi letters.
Every Hindi consonant already contains a short "a". So क is not "k" but "ka". To write a consonant without that vowel you add a small stroke underneath called halant: क् is a bare "k".
This one fact explains almost every mistake beginners make.
| Sound | Letter | Sound | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| k | क | d (soft, teeth) | द |
| kh | ख | d (hard, English) | ड |
| g | ग | n | न |
| j | ज | p | प |
| ch | च | f / ph | फ़ |
| t (soft, teeth) | त | b | ब |
| t (hard, English) | ट | m | म |
| th | थ | y | य |
| s | स | r | र |
| sh | श | l | ल |
| h | ह | v / w | व |
| z | ज़ | English hard T/D | ट / ड |
a → nothing · aa → ा · i → ि · ee → ी · u → ु · oo → ू · e → े · ai → ै · o → ो · au → ौ
SARAH → sa + ra → सारा. The final h is silent in English, so it is dropped. Written सारा, not साराह.
JOHN → jo + n. The n has no vowel after it, so it needs halant: जॉन. The ॉ mark writes the English "o" of hot, which Hindi does not otherwise have.
DAVID → de + vi + d → डेविड. Note the hard ड, because the English D is closer to Hindi ड than to द.
MARIA → ma + ri + yaa → मारिया. A य appears between the i and a, because Hindi does not like two vowels colliding.
ALEX → a + le + ks → ऐलेक्स. The x becomes क्स, since Devanagari has no single x.
EMMA → e + maa → एमा. Double letters in English are usually written once in Hindi.
MOHAMMED → mo + ha + m + mad → मोहम्मद. Here the double m is real and is written with a conjunct म्म.
Some names have a traditional Indian spelling that is not a straight transliteration, and using it is more natural:
Mary → मरियम · Joseph → यूसुफ़ · Alexander → सिकंदर · Michael → माइकल · Jesus → ईसा
Read your name back aloud, letter by letter, adding the hidden "a" to any consonant that has no matra and no halant. If it sounds like your name, it is right. If it has an extra "a" somewhere, you have missed a halant.
Once you can write your own name you can read shop signs, and that is the point at which the script stops feeling foreign. Our full alphabet guide covers every letter.
Reading about pronunciation only takes you so far — the sounds English does not have need someone listening and correcting you. EkGuru tutors teach one to one, from $6 a lesson, and most offer a trial.
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