EkGuru › Materials › Alphabet › Devanagari Vowels & Consonants — Quick Chart
A single sheet to pin above your desk while the letter shapes stop looking like drawings and start looking like words. Pair it with the alphabet guide for the full explanation.
| Letter | Romanised | Sound (English hint) |
|---|---|---|
| अ | a | the 'u' in 'bus' |
| आ | ā | the 'a' in 'father' |
| इ | i | the 'i' in 'sit' |
| ई | ī | the 'ee' in 'see' |
| उ | u | the 'u' in 'put' |
| ऊ | ū | the 'oo' in 'food' |
| ए | e | the 'e' in 'they' |
| ऐ | ai | the 'a' in 'cat' + 'y' |
| ओ | o | the 'o' in 'go' |
| औ | au | the 'ow' in 'cow' |
| अं | ṃ (anusvāra) | nasal, like 'n' in 'bank' |
| अः | ḥ (visarga) | a breathy 'h' at the end |
Hindi groups its consonants by where the tongue makes them — back of the mouth to the lips. Each group runs unaspirated, aspirated, voiced, then voiced-aspirated. You do not need the Sanskrit names; you need to notice that क and ख are a pair, प and फ are a pair, and so on.
| Group | Consonants |
|---|---|
| k-group (velar) | क ka · ख kha · ग ga · घ gha · ङ ṅa |
| c-group (palatal) | च ca · छ cha · ज ja · झ jha · ञ ña |
| ṭ-group (retroflex) | ट ṭa · ठ ṭha · ड ḍa · ढ ḍha · ण ṇa |
| t-group (dental) | त ta · थ tha · द da · ध dha · न na |
| p-group (labial) | प pa · फ pha · ब ba · भ bha · म ma |
| semivowels | य ya · र ra · ल la · व va |
| sibilants + h | श śa · ष ṣa · स sa · ह ha |
A consonant by itself carries an implied short 'a'. To change the vowel you hang a sign (matra) on the consonant. क (ka) becomes:
| ka + sign | Result | Romanised |
|---|---|---|
| क | क | ka |
| का | का | kā |
| कि | कि | ki |
| की | की | kī |
| कु | कु | ku |
| कू | कू | kū |
| के | के | ke |
| कै | कै | kai |
| को | को | ko |
| कौ | कौ | kau |
| क् | क् | k (halant — no vowel) |
Read a word right-to-left in sound terms: the sign after a consonant belongs to the consonant before it. किताब is k+i = ki, then t+ā = tā, then b = ba → ki-tā-b, 'book'.
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Reading कि as 'kai' | कि is 'ki' (short i) | The ि sign sits before the consonant in writing but is spoken after it. |
| Ignoring the aspirated pairs | क (ka) and ख (kha) are different letters | ख has a puff of air; they change meaning (काल era vs खाल skin). |
| Forgetting the implied 'a' | कम is 'kam', not 'km' | A bare consonant carries a short 'a'. |
A long 'a' like the 'a' in 'father' — distinct from अ, the short 'u'-like 'a'.
ख (kha) is aspirated — a puff of air after the k. English speakers hear them as the same sound, but they are different letters.
कि — the ि sign is written before the consonant but pronounced after it: k + i.
A chart helps only once you use it. Drill these same points in the practice labs, follow a learning path to keep the order right, or practise one to one with a native-speaking tutor.