Hindi Alphabet (Devanagari)
Hindi is written in the Devanagari script. It has two main groups of letters: vowels (स्वर) and consonants (व्यंजन). Tap the speaker icon to hear each letter.
See how consonants are organized by mouth position in The Seven Vyanjan Groups.
New to reading Hindi? Try the Alphabet Flashcards — one big letter at a time with example words, great for younger learners.
A few nasal consonants (ङ, ञ, ण) rarely appear alone in real Hindi words, and most text-to-speech voices can’t isolate their sound cleanly — they may come out close to न. See Karak and Parts of Speech for more on how these letters are actually used.
Vowels (स्वर)
| Devanagari | IAST | IPA | Example | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| अ | a | /ə/ | अमर (amar) | |
| आ | ā | /aː/ | आम (aam) | |
| इ | i | /i/ | इस (is) | |
| ई | ī | /iː/ | ईद (eed) | |
| उ | u | /ʊ/ | उमर (umar) | |
| ऊ | ū | /uː/ | ऊन (oon) | |
| ऋ | ṛ | /rɪ/ | ऋषि (rishi) | |
| ए | e | /eː/ | एक (ek) | |
| ऐ | ai | /ɛː/ | ऐनक (ainak) | |
| ओ | o | /oː/ | ओस (os) | |
| औ | au | /ɔː/ | औरत (aurat) | |
| अं | aṃ | /əŋ/ before ग | अंग (ang) | |
| अः | ḥ | /əh/ | अःअः (ah-ah) |
Consonants (व्यंजन)
| Devanagari | IAST | IPA | Example | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| क | ka | /k/ | कल (kal) | |
| ख | kha | /kʰ/ | खत (khat) | |
| ग | ga | /g/ | गम (gam) | |
| घ | gha | /gʰ/ | घर (ghar) | |
| ङ | ṅa | /ŋ/ | रङ्ग (ranga) | |
| च | ca | /t͡ʃ/ | चल (cal) | |
| छ | cha | /t͡ʃʰ/ | छत (chat) | |
| ज | ja | /d͡ʒ/ | जल (jal) | |
| झ | jha | /d͡ʒʰ/ | झर (jhar) | |
| ञ | ña | /ɲ/ | पञ्च (panch) | |
| ट | ṭa | /ʈ/ | टक (tak) | |
| ठ | ṭha | /ʈʰ/ | ठग (thag) | |
| ड | ḍa | /ɖ/ | डर (dar) | |
| ढ | ḍha | /ɖʰ/ | ढल (dhal) | |
| ण | ṇa | /ɳ/ | गण (gan) | |
| त | ta | /t̪/ | तन (tan) | |
| थ | tha | /t̪ʰ/ | थन (than) | |
| द | da | /d̪/ | दल (dal) | |
| ध | dha | /d̪ʰ/ | धन (dhan) | |
| न | na | /n/ | नल (nal) | |
| प | pa | /p/ | पल (pal) | |
| फ | pha | /pʰ/ | फल (phal) | |
| ब | ba | /b/ | बल (bal) | |
| भ | bha | /bʰ/ | भय (bhay) | |
| म | ma | /m/ | मन (man) | |
| य | ya | /j/ | यश (yash) | |
| र | ra | /r/ | रथ (rath) | |
| ल | la | /l/ | लय (lay) | |
| व | va | /ʋ/ | वन (van) | |
| श | śa | /ʃ/ | शक (shak) | |
| ष | ṣa | /ʂ/ | षट् (shat) | |
| स | sa | /s/ | सर (sar) | |
| ह | ha | /ɦ/ | हल (hal) | |
| क्ष | kṣa | /kʂ/ | क्षय (kshay) | |
| त्र | tra | /t̪r/ | त्रय (tray) | |
| ज्ञ | jña | /gj/ | ज्ञान (gyan) |
Practice tip
Say each example word aloud, then try writing the Devanagari character from memory. Move on to Grammar once you can recognize every vowel and consonant on sight.