Hindi Alphabet (Devanagari)

Explore Hindi vowels and consonants, hear their names, check common sounds, and copy each Devanagari character.

Devanagari script · Written left to right · Vowels and consonants

Vowels

A

a · /ə/

Aa

ā · /aː/

Short I

i · /ɪ/

Long I

ī · /iː/

Short U

u · /ʊ/

Long U

ū · /uː/

Vocalic R

ṛ · /ɾɪ/

E

e · /eː/

Ai

ai · /ɛː/

O

o · /oː/

Au

au · /ɔː/

Consonants

Ka

k · /k/

Kha

kh · /kʰ/

Ga

g · /ɡ/

Gha

gh · /ɡʱ/

Nga

ṅ · /ŋ/

Cha

c · /tʃ/

Chha

ch · /tʃʰ/

Ja

j · /dʒ/

Jha

jh · /dʒʱ/

Nya

ñ · /ɲ/

Tta

ṭ · /ʈ/

Ttha

ṭh · /ʈʰ/

Dda

ḍ · /ɖ/

Ddha

ḍh · /ɖʱ/

Nna

ṇ · /ɳ/

Ta

t · /t̪/

Tha

th · /t̪ʰ/

Da

d · /d̪/

Dha

dh · /d̪ʱ/

Na

n · /n/

Pa

p · /p/

Pha

ph · /pʰ/

Ba

b · /b/

Bha

bh · /bʱ/

Ma

m · /m/

Ya

y · /j/

Ra

r · /ɾ/

La

l · /l/

Va

v · /ʋ/

Sha

ś · /ʃ/

Ssa

ṣ · /ʂ/

Sa

s · /s/

Ha

h · /ɦ/

Common Nukta Consonants

Qa

q · /q/

Khha

kh · /x/

Ghha

gh · /ɣ/

Za

z · /z/

Rra

ṛ · /ɽ/

Rrha

ṛh · /ɽʱ/

Fa

f · /f/

How the Hindi Alphabet Works

Hindi is written from left to right in Devanagari, an abugida in which a consonant carries an inherent vowel unless a vowel sign or virama changes it.

Independent vowel letters are used at the beginning of a syllable or after another vowel. Modern Hindi also uses nukta forms for sounds found especially in words borrowed from Persian, Arabic, and English.

Sources and further reading

The ordering, transliterations, and sound values are concise Modern Hindi learning references; pronunciation can vary by word and speaker.

The Unicode Consortium, Devanagari (U+0900-U+097F)
Central Hindi Directorate, Standardization of Devanagari Script