1.2: हिंदी व्यंजन वर्ण "Hindi Consonant Letters"
Please watch the following video of Hindi consonant letters. While watching the video, you can pause and try to say each letter out loud.
Instructor Video: Hindi Consonant letters
Writing Consonant Letters
Please watch the following video and try to learn how to write consonant letters.
Instructor Video: Writing Consonants
Table 4. List of Consonant Letter with their English equivalent sounds.
| Place of Articulation | Unvoiced Unaspirated | Unvoiced Aspirated | Voiced Unaspirated | Voiced Aspirated | Nasal | |
| Hindi | Velar |
क |
ख |
ग |
घ |
ङ |
| English | ka | kha | ga | gha | nga | |
| Hindi | Palatal |
च |
छ |
ज |
झ |
ञ |
| English | cha | chha | ja | jha | nja | |
| Hindi | Retroflex |
ट |
ठ |
ड/ ड़ |
ढ/ ढ़ |
ण |
| English | Ta | Tha | Da/Ra | Dha/Rha | Na | |
| Hindi | Dental |
त |
थ |
द |
ध |
न |
| English | ta | tha | da | dha | na | |
| Hindi | Labial |
प |
फ |
ब |
भ |
म |
| English | pa | pha | ba | bha | ma | |
| Hindi | Semi-vowels |
य |
र |
ल |
व |
|
| English | ya | ra | la | va/wa | ||
| Hindi | Sibilants |
स |
श |
ष |
||
| English | sa | sha | shha | |||
| Hindi | Glotal |
ह |
||||
| English | ha | |||||
| Hindi | Clusters |
क्ष |
त्र |
ज्ञ |
||
| English | ksha | tra | jna |
Table 5. Examples of Hindi Consonants in English and Hindi words
| Consonants | English | Hindi | Notes |
क |
S K ILL, STI CK |
क लम, क पड़ा |
|
ख |
ख रगोश, ख रा |
“ख” is pronounced as “क,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
ग |
G UN, G OAL |
ग मला, ग ड़बड़ |
|
घ |
घ र, घ ड़ी |
“घ” is pronounced as “ग,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
ङ |
गंगा, कंघी |
Velar nasal does not explicitly appear in a word. It comes as a dot (.) above the letter to show nasalization. | |
च |
PIT CH , SWIT CH |
च रखा, च रित्र |
|
छ |
छ त, छ ड़ी |
“छ” is pronounced as “च,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
ज |
J UG, J OKE |
ज ग, ज टिल |
|
झ |
झ रना, झ गड़ा |
“झ” is pronounced as “ज,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
ञ |
पंजाब, पंच |
Palatal nasal does not explicitly appear in a word. It comes as a dot (.) above the letter to show nasalization. | |
ट |
BA T , CA T |
ट मा ट र, ट म ट म |
|
ठ |
ठ ठेरा, ठ ग |
“ठ” is pronounced as “ट,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
ड |
BA D , CAR D |
ड मरू, ड ब्बा |
|
ढ |
ढ क्कन, ढ हना |
“ढ” is pronounced as “ड,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
ण |
ठंडा, अंडा |
Retroflex nasal does not explicitly appear in a word. It comes as a dot (.) above the letter to show nasalization. | |
त |
त रबूज, त नाव |
“त” is pronounced as “ट,” with the tongue at dental position. | |
थ |
थ रमस, थ कना |
“थ” is pronounced as “त,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
द |
TH E, TH EN |
द वा, द रवाज़ा |
|
ध |
ध न, ध नुष |
“ध” is pronounced as “द,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
न |
N O, N EAR |
न ल, न हाना |
|
प |
NA P , SLEE P |
प तंग, प लंग |
|
फ |
फ ल, फ टना |
“फ” is pronounced as “प,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
ब |
TU B , PU B |
ब करी, ब दन |
|
भ |
भ लाई, भ रोसा |
“भ” is pronounced as “ब,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
म |
M O M , M ONEY |
म छली, म मता |
|
य |
Y ELLOW, Y ES |
य ज्ञ, य श |
|
र |
R EST, R IVER |
र स्सी, र चना |
|
ल |
L AMP, L ARGE |
ल ट्टू, ल ड़का |
|
व |
W AY, W INE |
वर्दी, वकील |
Hindi has only “व” for English “W,” and “V.” |
स |
S UN, S ERVICE |
स ब्ज़ी, स ड़क |
|
श |
SH OE, SH INE |
श लगम, श त |
|
ष |
ष ट्भुज, ष ड्यंत्र |
“ष” is pronounced as “श,” with the tongue at retroflex position. | |
ह |
H INDI, H UB |
ह रा, ह रिन |
|
क्ष |
क्ष त्रिय, वृ क्ष |
“क्ष” is a borrowed letter from Sanskrit. It does not have English equivalent. | |
त्र |
प त्र , पा त्र |
“त्र” is a borrowed letter from Sanskrit. It does not have English equivalent. | |
ज्ञ |
य ज्ञ , |
“ज्ञ” is a borrowed letter from Sanskrit. It does not have English equivalent. |
Worksheet 2. Please practice writing these consonant letters
Worksheet 2. Hindi language learners can download the worksheet below to practice writing consonant letters.
Test Yourself
Activity 1: Match the followings
https://openbooks.lib.msu.edu/ll151/?p=674
Activity 2: Choose the correct option.
https://openbooks.lib.msu.edu/ll151/?p=674
Activity 3:
Please record your consonant sounds here and share it with your friends/teacher for further feedback.
https://openbooks.lib.msu.edu/ll151/?p=674
Reading and Writing Task
You should try to read the words in Worksheet 3 (below). You can write them down in Roman script then watch the following video and check your answer.
|
जल |
नल |
सच |
झट |
रथ |
|
फल |
हल |
मत |
पर |
घर |
|
डर |
बस |
कह |
चख |
कर |
|
मत |
हर |
अब |
पढ़ |
यम |
|
कलम |
कमल |
खरब |
कलश |
महल |
|
बतख |
मदन |
पलक |
नहर |
भजन |
|
शहद |
शहर |
सड़क |
मगर |
चरण |
|
पकड़ |
इधर |
ऊपर |
गरम |
परत |
|
कसरत |
अजगर |
दशरथ |
शरबत |
टमटम |
|
बरगद |
नटखट |
उबटन |
परवल |
पनघट |
|
चमचम |
लगभग |
करवट |
जगमग |
हलचल |
Instructor Video: Feedback on Worksheet 3
Half Consonants
Unlike English, Hindi has half consonants (consonant without vowel). In Hindi, half consonants are used to form consonant clusters in words.
Please watch the following video to learn how to write half consonant.
Instructor Video: Half Consonants
Half “र” (R)
Half “र” when it comes in a consonant cluster, it is written in two ways.
(a) When half “र” comes after another consonant, it is marked as a diagonal stroke at the bottom of the letter going from right top to the left bottom.
For example:
| प्र | प्रेम | Prem |
| क्र | क्रम | kram |
| ग्र | ग्राहक | graahak |
(b) When “र” come before another consonant, it is marked on the top of another consonant as a “रेफ” reph.
For example:
| र्प | सर्प | sarp |
| र्य | आर्य | aary |
| र्षा | वर्षा (if there is a long vowel, reph goes on the top of the long vowel) | warshhaa |