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Marathi alphabet
Meet the Marathi letters, hear their sounds, and see how vowels and consonants fit together. Choose a starting point and keep the charts beside your practice.
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How Marathi letters work
Independent vowels have their own letters. Attached vowel signs combine with consonants: compare क with का (kaa). Read the whole form, including marks above, below, or beside it.
This beginner set covers 13 vowels and 34 consonants from the course. It is not a complete inventory of every written form.
Marathi vowel chart
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| अ | a | The inherent Marathi vowel is central a, roughly uh; it is not the open aa of आ. | Listen |
| आ | aa | Open aa, roughly as in father. Word position also affects duration. | Listen |
| इ | i (इ) | The इ spelling of i. Marathi i duration depends on word position; the label distinguishes the writing. | Listen |
| ई | i (ई) | The ई spelling of i, traditionally called long i. It shares a sound group with इ; words determine duration. | Listen |
| उ | u (उ) | The उ spelling of rounded u. Do not assume its written category fixes its duration in every word. | Listen |
| ऊ | u (ऊ) | The ऊ spelling of rounded u, traditionally called long u. It shares a sound group with उ. | Listen |
| ऋ | ru (ऋ) | Usually ru in modern Marathi Sanskrit-derived words. This differs from the usual Hindi ri reading. | Listen |
| ए | e | A steady e without the English ay glide. | Listen |
| ऐ | ai | A Marathi vowel sequence gliding from central a toward i; do not automatically use the Hindi open-e reading. | Listen |
| ओ | o | A steady rounded o. Keep it distinct from the more open ऑ. | Listen |
| औ | au | A Marathi vowel sequence gliding from central a toward u; do not automatically use the Hindi open-o reading. | Listen |
| ॲ | ae (ॲ) | Open front ae, roughly as in cat, used in borrowed words. ॲ is the Marathi primer spelling; also recognize ऍ. | Listen |
| ऑ | aw | Open rounded o, roughly aw in an accent that distinguishes caught and cot. The w is not a separate consonant. | Listen |
Marathi consonant chart
The k family
The traditional back-of-mouth row: plain, aspirated, voiced, breathy voiced, then nasal.
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| क | ka | k without a strong puff, as in skip. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| ख | kha | k with a puff of air. kh is one release, not two syllables. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| ग | ga | Voiced g, as in go. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| घ | gha | Voiced g with a breathy release. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| ङ | nga | Back-of-mouth nasal, like ng in sing; chiefly encountered in joined Sanskrit-derived forms. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
The ch family
Keep the traditional five-letter row. Marathi च, ज and झ also have dental affricate readings in words.
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| च | cha | Use the palatal ch for this letter drill. In words such as चाक, च can be dental ts; the spelling alone does not choose. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| छ | chha | Palatal ch with a puff of air, as in careful letter recitation. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| ज | ja | Palatal j for this drill; Marathi words can instead have a voiced dental dz sound. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| झ | jha | Breathy palatal j for this drill; झाडू uses a dental dz with breathiness for many speakers. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| ञ | nya | Palatal nasal, roughly ny in canyon. Recognize the form; it is rare alone in Marathi. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
The curled-tongue family
Move the tongue tip back for these stops and their nasal. Keep ण distinct from न.
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| ट | ṭa | Curled-tongue ṭ, with little extra air. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| ठ | ṭha | Curled-tongue ṭ with a puff. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| ड | ḍa | Voiced curled-tongue ḍ. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| ढ | ḍha | Voiced curled-tongue ḍ with breathiness. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| ण | ṇa | Curled-tongue nasal ṇ, common in Marathi words such as पाणी. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
The dental family
Place the tongue against the upper teeth; these are different from the curled-tongue row.
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| त | ta | Dental t with little extra air. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| थ | tha | Dental t with a puff; not English th in thin. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| द | da | Voiced dental d. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| ध | dha | Voiced dental d with a breathy release. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| न | na | Dental nasal n. Compare पान with the curled-tongue nasal in पाणी. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
The lip family
The traditional lip row: compare release, voicing and the final nasal.
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| प | pa | p without a strong puff, as in spin. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| फ | pha | Aspirated p in careful letter reading. f is also heard, particularly in borrowed words; this course does not infer it from spelling alone. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| ब | ba | Voiced b with both lips. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| भ | bha | Voiced b with breathiness. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| म | ma | m with the lips closed and air through the nose. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
Gliding and flowing sounds
Learn y, r, ordinary l, and Marathi v/w before comparing ल and ळ.
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| य | ya | y as in yes. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| र | ra | A brief tongue-tip tap or trill. Font shapes can differ from Hindi without changing the letter. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| ल | la | Ordinary l; keep the tongue forward compared with ळ. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| व | va | A sound between English v and w; the English distinction does not map directly. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
Sh, s, h and Marathi ḷ
ल and ळ are different sounds. श and ष often share sh; their labels retain the spelling distinction.
| Letter | English sound guide | Reading hint | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| श | sha (श) | sh as in ship. (श) identifies this written letter. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| ष | sha (ष) | Often read like श in Marathi; careful Sanskrit-style reading may distinguish it. The (ष) label does not require a new sound. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| स | sa | s as in sun. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| ह | ha | Breathy h. In joined forms its effect can extend to an adjacent sound. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
| ळ | ḷa | Curled-tongue lateral ḷ, as in नळ and माळ; distinct from ordinary ल. This isolated letter-reading includes central a; read whole-word hints for vowel loss. | Listen |
A small daily reading routine
- 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.
Next try vowel combinations and beginner words.
Prepared by Learn Akshara from our beginner Marathi 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.