02 · CONSONANTS · FREE READING GUIDE
Hindi consonants
Learn Hindi consonants in sound families, from the back of the mouth to the lips. Play available recordings and practise the differences within a row.
Try a practice lesson →Choose Listen beside an available recording. Audio plays only when you ask.
Read beyond the English spelling
Study one course group at a time. Keep the native letter visible beside its English label, especially when several letters have similar labels.
- क — k as in skip, without a strong puff. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel.
- ख — k with a puff of air; kh is one aspirated stop. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel.
- ग — Voiced g, as in go. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel.
40 Hindi consonants in course groups
The k family
Back of the mouth: plain, aspirated, voiced, breathy voiced, then nasal.
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| क | ka | k as in skip, without a strong puff. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ख | kha | k with a puff of air; kh is one aspirated stop. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ग | ga | Voiced g, as in go. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| घ | gha | Voiced g with a breathy release; not a separate h syllable. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ङ | nga | The nasal at the end of sing. Mostly encountered in clusters. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
The ch family
Traditional palatal row: compare the release and the voicing, then the nasal.
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| च | cha | ch as in chair, with little extra air. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| छ | chha | ch with a strong puff of air. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ज | ja | j as in jam. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| झ | jha | Voiced j with a breathy release. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ञ | nya | Palatal nasal, roughly ny in canyon; uncommon alone in modern Hindi. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
The curled-tongue family
Move the tongue tip back. Dots below the Roman letters mark this position.
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| ट | ṭa | Curled-tongue ṭ, without a strong puff. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ठ | ṭha | Curled-tongue ṭ with a puff. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ड | ḍa | Voiced curled-tongue ḍ; a stop, unlike the flap ड़. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ढ | ḍha | Voiced curled-tongue ḍ with a breathy release. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ण | ṇa | Curled-tongue nasal ṇ, mainly in Sanskrit-derived Hindi words. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
The dental family
Place the tongue against the upper teeth for this five-letter row.
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| त | ta | Dental t; different from curled-tongue ट. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| थ | tha | Dental t with a puff; not English th in thin. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| द | da | Voiced dental d. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ध | dha | Voiced dental d with a breathy release; not English th in this. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| न | na | Dental n; compare the position with ण. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
The lip family
Close the lips: plain, aspirated, voiced, breathy voiced, then nasal.
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| प | pa | p as in spin, without a strong puff. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| फ | pha | p with a puff in careful letter reading. Some speakers use f in words; फ़ explicitly writes f. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ब | ba | Voiced b with both lips. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| भ | bha | Voiced b with a breathy release. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| म | ma | m with the lips closed and air through the nose. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
Gliding and flowing sounds
Read y, a tongue-tip r, l, and Hindi v/w.
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| य | ya | y as in yes. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| र | ra | A quick tongue-tip tap or trill, unlike English r. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ल | la | l with the tongue near the upper teeth. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| व | va | Between English v and w; neither English comparison is exact. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
Sh, s and h
श and ष often have the same sh sound in Hindi. Parentheses identify the written target.
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| श | sha (श) | sh as in ship. The (श) qualifier names this spelling. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ष | sha (ष) | Usually the same sh as श in everyday Hindi; Sanskrit-style recitation may curl the tongue. (ष) is a spelling label. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| स | sa | s as in sun. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ह | ha | A voiced or breathy h; it can affect nearby vowels in words. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
Letters with a nukta
The dot below changes the written letter. Borrowed sounds vary by speaker; ड़ and ढ़ are flaps.
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| क़ | qa | q is made farther back than k in careful loanword speech; many Hindi speakers use k. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ख़ | khha | khh marks continuous friction at the back of the mouth, unlike the stop ख; some speakers merge them. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ग़ | ghha | ghh marks voiced friction at the back of the mouth; many speakers use g. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ज़ | za | z as in zero; keep the nukta in the written target. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ड़ | ṛa | A quick curled-tongue flap, not the stop ड. Found inside words such as लड़का. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| ढ़ | ṛha | A curled-tongue flap with breathiness, as in पढ़ना. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
| फ़ | fa | f with the lower lip near the upper teeth, as in fan. In letter practice, add the inherent central a; words can drop this vowel. | Listen |
Recognise a group at a time
- Choose a few written forms and compare their English hints.
- Cover the hints and identify the letters in a different order.
- Practise with matching, mixing, flashcards, or a visual quiz.
Keep one consonant fixed in the vowel-sign chart, then look for it in beginner words.
Prepared by Learn Akshara from our beginner Hindi curriculum. English spellings are approximate learning aids. Writing-system reference: The Unicode Standard, South Asian Scripts. AI-generated pronunciation is a learning aid, not a guarantee of accuracy. See our audio sources and credits.