All vowels and consonants of the Devanagari script with pronunciation, vowel signs, barakhadi, conjuncts and numerals. Tap any letter to hear it.
Hindi is written in the Devanagari script, which is also used for Marathi, Nepali, Sanskrit and several other languages. The Hindi alphabet is called varnamala (वर्णमाला). Devanagari is a phonetic script: each letter has a fixed sound, so once you know the letters you can read any word aloud.
The number of letters depends on how you count. Schools usually teach 11 vowels (अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ऋ ए ऐ ओ औ) plus two more signs, अं and अः, called ayogavah because they never stand alone in a word. For consonants there are 33 core letters (क to ह), and four extra conjunct letters क्ष, त्र, ज्ञ and श्र are often added to the list. Depending on whether the nukta letters, the conjuncts and the two extra signs are included, different books give totals such as 44, 48 or 52.
Hindi is written from left to right. Most letters hang from a horizontal line on top called the shirorekha (headline), and the line joins the letters of a word together. Vowels that follow a consonant are written as small signs called matras, and joining every consonant with every matra gives the barakhadi chart below.
Hindi Vowels (स्वर)
Hindi Consonants (व्यंजन)
Ka-varga (velar): क-वर्ग
Cha-varga (palatal): च-वर्ग
Ta-varga (retroflex): ट-वर्ग
Ta-varga (dental): त-वर्ग
Pa-varga (labial): प-वर्ग
Semivowels: अन्तःस्थ
Sibilants and aspirate: ऊष्म
Conjunct letters (संयुक्त व्यंजन)
Vowel Signs (Matras)
When a vowel follows a consonant, it is written as a sign attached to the consonant instead of as a full letter.
Vowel
Sign
With क
Sound
अ
-
क
ka
आ
◌ा
का
kaa
इ
◌ि
कि
ki
ई
◌ी
की
kee
उ
◌ु
कु
ku
ऊ
◌ू
कू
koo
ऋ
◌ृ
कृ
kri
ए
◌े
के
ke
ऐ
◌ै
कै
kai
ओ
◌ो
को
ko
औ
◌ौ
कौ
kau
अं
◌ं
कं
kam
अः
◌ः
कः
kah
Hindi Barakhadi Chart
Every consonant combined with every vowel sign. Scroll sideways on small screens, and tap any syllable to hear it.
Common Conjunct Letters
Conjuncts join two or more consonants with no vowel between them into a single shape.
Hindi Numerals
Nukta letters: क़ ख़ ग़ ज़ फ़ ड़ ढ़
A nukta is a small dot written under a letter. It marks sounds that came into Hindi from Urdu, Persian, Arabic and English: क़ (qa), ख़ (the throaty kh in khush), ग़ (a gargled g), ज़ (z as in zebra) and फ़ (f as in fan). These letters are common in everyday words such as ज़मीन (land) and फ़ायदा (benefit).
ड़ and ढ़ are different. They are native Hindi sounds made by flapping the tongue, and they appear inside or at the end of words such as पेड़ (tree) and पढ़ना (to read), but never at the start. Many Hindi speakers also pronounce क़ ख़ ग़ as plain क ख ग in casual speech, so the nukta is mostly important for ज़, फ़, ड़ and ढ़.
Anusvara, Chandrabindu and Visarga
Three signs add a nasal sound or a breath to a vowel. The anusvara ( ं ) is a dot above the letter and gives a nasal sound, as in हंस (swan) and अंगूर (grapes). Before a consonant it takes the nasal of that consonant's group, so the dot in पतंग (kite) sounds like n.
The chandrabindu ( ँ ) is a crescent with a dot. It marks a lighter, true nasalised vowel, as in चाँद (moon) and आँख (eye). In modern writing it is often replaced by the plain dot, especially when the vowel sign extends above the line, as in में and हैं.
The visarga ( ः ) is two dots that add a soft h sound after the vowel. It is mostly found in words borrowed from Sanskrit, such as दुःख (sorrow) and अतः (therefore).
Marathi Alphabet (मराठी मुळाक्षरे)
Marathi is written in the same Devanagari script as Hindi, so almost every letter on this page is also a Marathi letter, and the vowel signs and barakhadi work the same way. If you can read the Hindi alphabet, you can already read Marathi letters.
The main differences are small. Marathi adds the consonant ळ (a retroflex lateral, as in काळा, black), which Hindi does not use. For English sounds Marathi uses ॲ (the a of cat) and ऑ (the o of office, as in ऑफिस). Marathi lists 12 or more vowels depending on the book, and it counts ळ as a regular consonant. The letters च and ज have two pronunciations in Marathi, a hard ts/dz sound before some vowels and the usual ch/j sound elsewhere. The Marathi names of the letters and the school order also differ slightly: the traditional Marathi term is मुळाक्षरे.
Type in Hindi with an English keyboard
Practise the letters by typing them. Type words in English letters and get Devanagari script instantly, with no special keyboard needed.
It depends on how you count. The common school count is 11 vowels plus the two signs अं and अः (13 in all), and 33 core consonants, which gives 46. Adding the four conjunct letters क्ष, त्र, ज्ञ and श्र gives 50, and the nukta letters or other counting rules produce the totals of 44, 48 or 52 found in some books. All of these use the same underlying letters.
What are swar and vyanjan?
Swar (स्वर) are vowels, the letters that can be spoken on their own: अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ऋ ए ऐ ओ औ. Vyanjan (व्यंजन) are consonants, letters that carry the inherent vowel a and need a vowel to be pronounced fully, from क to ह. Together they make the varnamala.
What is barakhadi?
Barakhadi (बारहखड़ी) is the chart made by joining each consonant with every vowel sign in order, for example का, कि, की, कु, कू, के, कै, को, कौ, कं, कः. It is the traditional way children learn to read syllables, and the chart on this page covers all 33 consonants.
What are matras in Hindi?
Matras (मात्राएँ) are vowel signs written on or around a consonant in place of a full vowel letter. For example ा gives का, ि gives कि, ु gives कु and े gives के. The vowel अ has no sign because it is already built into every consonant.
How can I learn the Hindi alphabet fast?
Learn the vowels first, then the consonants one varga (group) at a time, because the letters in each group share a place of articulation. Next, practise the matras with one consonant, then fill in the barakhadi. Say each letter aloud, write it with the headline on top, and read simple words like कमल, घर and आम. A few minutes a day for two or three weeks is usually enough to read basic words.
What are क्ष, त्र and ज्ञ?
They are conjunct letters, not single sounds. क्ष is क् + ष (ksha), त्र is त् + र (tra) and ज्ञ is ज् + ञ (pronounced gya in Hindi). Some lists add श्र (श् + र, shra) as a fourth. They are often placed at the end of the alphabet in school books, but linguistically they are combinations of two consonants.
Is the Marathi alphabet the same as the Hindi alphabet?
Mostly yes. Both use the Devanagari script with the same vowels, consonants, matras and barakhadi. Marathi additionally uses the letter ळ, uses ॲ and ऑ for English sounds, and pronounces च and ज in two different ways depending on the word. See the Marathi section above for examples.
How do I type Hindi letters on an English keyboard?
Use the free Hindi typing tool on this site at /english-to-hindi-typing/. Type words the way they sound in English letters, for example "namaste", and the tool converts them to Devanagari instantly. No special keyboard or software is needed, and you can copy the result anywhere.
