Lesson 2: Devanagari Vowels (2024)

Welcome to lesson 2! In this lesson, you will learn about the vowels in Hindi.

There are 11 vowels: अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ऋ ए ऐ ओ औ.

All vowels have two forms: anindependent form, and a maatraa form. The independent form is used whenever a vowel doesn’t follow a consonant (at the beginning of a word, or after another vowel). The maatraa form is used whenever a vowel follows a consonant.

All vowels have two forms: an independent and maatraa form.

The vowel अ is an exception (it has no explicit maatraa form), which will be explained later.

The following table shows every vowel with its maatraa form, how it looks with the consonantक, and its pronunciation.

Listen to the audio recording of the vowelअ:

The vowelअ is a special vowel. It is the default vowel. Here’s an example:

Only two letters are written: मन = म + न. The vowel अ is implied. The vowel अ is pronounced between the म and the न. Thus, the vowelअ has no maatraa form. You could think of a space between consonants as representing the vowel अ.

Here’s an example ofअ in independent form:

Now, consider the following word:

A vowel was written after the म: ओ (ो). Since an explicit vowel was written, the default vowel is overridden. The default vowel is only pronounced if no other vowel is written with a consonant.

Now, consider another word:

The vowel इ is unusual: its maatraa ( ि ) is written before the consonant. Thus, the first letter of the word हिन्दी is ह. Since a vowel ( ि ) is written with ह, the default vowel isn’t there.

The next letter is न. Notice how the line on the right side of न is missing in the word हिन्दी. That’s because it is written in a conjunct. A conjunct indicates that there is no vowel between two consonants. If a letter has a vertical line like न, the line is deleted, and it is appended to the next consonant, like the न्द in हिन्दी. You will learn about conjuncts in future lessons.

There is one more way: The word हिन्दी could also be written हिन््दी. The symbol ् is called a halant. When it is written underneath a consonant, it means that there is no vowel after that consonant. It is somewhat rare. Conjuncts are much more common. The word हिन्दी is usually not spelled with a halant.

The vowel अ is generally not pronounced at the end of a word, with the exception of certain one-letter words. Thus, मन is “man”, not “mana”, etc. However, the word व is pronounced with the vowel अ because it is a one-letter word. In Sanskrit, the अ vowel is pronounced at the end of a word if the word ends with a consonant. For this reason, sometimes, people might pronounce an अ at the end of certain words. When a word ends with certain conjuncts, such as the word मित्र, a slight अ is often pronounced, since it is difficult to pronounce without a final vowel.

Often, the vowelअ is not pronounced. If there is a vowel on both sides of the consonants aroundअ, then it is often not pronounced. For instance, in the name “केतकी”, there is a अ (in maatraa form). It is surrounded by consonants (त and क). There are vowels on both sides of those consonants (ए and ई). Thus, the अ is not pronounced. The name is pronounced “Ketki”, even though it is still spelled “Ketaki”.

In fact, this is very common. The reason that it is so common is because many word endings beginning with with अ are added to words. Every infinitive has the suffix ना, for instance, which is added with the vowel अ to the verb stem.

Sometimes, the vowel अ is just pronounced lightly or quickly in these situations, but not fully omitted.

Often, when singing, singers will pronounce the अ in order to emphasize the word or make the word match the rhythm, etc.

If the vowel अ is surrounded by consonants, and the consonants are surrounded by vowels, then it is generally not pronounced.

Here are several examples; notice how some अ vowels are not pronounced:

The vowel अ is sometimes pronounced like the “e” in “end”. If there are twoअ vowels on both sides of the letterह, then both vowels are usually pronounced like “e”. However, this is technically not the proper pronunciation.

The vowel अ is often pronounced differently by native speakers when two अ vowels are on both sides of the consonant ह

Here are a few examples:

The vowelआ is pronounced like the “a” in “call”, but it is more open (your mouth should be a little more open). Its maatraa form isा. The maatraa is written to the right of the consonant.

Here is an example word:

Notice how there were two maatraa forms of this vowel in the previous example (ा).

Here’s an example of the independent form (आ):

The vowelइ is usually pronounced like the “i” in “it”. When it is at the end of a word, it is often pronounced like the “ee” in “feet”. Technically, the distinction between the vowel इ and the vowel ई is duration; ई is pronounced for a longer amount of time. However, in modern Hindi, they are usually pronounced distinctly, regardless of duration.

Its maatraa form isि. Its maatraa form is written to the left of the consonant. It is the only maatraa that is written to the left of its corresponding consonant. All other maatraas are written to the right of, above, or below the consonant. Note how the curve on the top goes toward the right.

Here’s an example of the maatraa in a word:

Here’s another example; notice how it is pronounced differently when it appears at the end of a word:

Here’s an example of the independent form:

This vowel can tend to be pronounced more like ई when it is followed by य or other vowels, etc. Here are two examples:

The vowelई is pronounced like the “ee” in “feet”. Its maatraa form isी. Note how the curve goes toward the left. The maatraa is written to the right of the consonant.

Here’s an example of the maatraa form:

Here’s an example of the independent form:

The vowel उ is pronounced like the “u” in “put”. Its maatraa form ु is written below the consonant. Technically, the distinction between उ and ऊ is the duration; उ is pronounced for a shorter amount of time, and ऊ is pronounced for a longer amount of time. However, in modern Hindi, they are pronounced distinctly, regardless of the duration.

Here’s an example of the maatraa:

Here’s an example of the independent form:

The vowel ऊ is pronounced like the “oo” in “boot”. Its maatraa form is ू and it is written below the consonant.

Here’s an example of the maatraa:

Here’s an example of the independent form:

The vowel ऊ has a special form when used with the consonant र: रु. Here is an example:

The vowel ऋ is really a semi-vowel. It is pronounced like the “ri” in “rip”. Some speakers pronounce it like the “ree” in “reed”. The “r” sound is flapped (i.e. “rolled”) by the tongue.

In the Marathi language, it is pronounced like the “ru” in “rumor”. Thus, for instance, if you meet someone named ऋषि from Maharashtra, the name might be pronounced “Rushi”, rather than “Rishi”.

Its maatraa form ृ is written below the consonant.

Here’s an example of the maatraa:

Here’s an example of the independent form:

The vowel ए is pronounced like the “ey” in “hey”. Its maatraa form े is written above the consonant.

Here’s an example of the maatraa:

Here’s an example of the independent form:

The vowel ऐ is pronounced like the “a” in “bat”. Its maatraa form ै is written above the consonant.

Here’s an example of the maatraa:

Here’s an example of the independent form:

The vowel ओ is pronounced like the “o” in “bow”. It is a pure vowel, not a glide like the English “o”, however. In other words, the lips generally do not taper when pronouncing it. Its maatraa form is ो, which is written to the right of the consonant.

Here’s an example of the maatraa:

Here’s an example of the independent form:

The vowel औ is pronounced like the “aw” in “saw”. It is a rounded vowel. Its maatraa form is ौ, which is written to the right of the consonant.

Here’s an example of the maatraa form:

Here’s an example of the independent form:

Here’s what you learned:

• There are 11 vowels in Devanagari: अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ऋ ए ऐ ओ औ
• Every vowel has two forms, the independent and maatraa form
  • The independent form is used when a vowel does not follow a consonant, such as at the beginning of a word, or
    after another vowel.
  • The maatraa form is used otherwise, that is, when a vowel follows a consonant
• The vowel अ is special.
  • It has no maatraa form. It is implied after every consonant, except in the following cases:
    • The consonant has a halant ( ् ) underneath it
    • The consonant is the first member of a conjunct
    • The consonant is followed by another vowel
    • The consonant is the last letter of a word that has more than one letter
  • It is sometimes not pronounced. If it is surrounded by two consonants, and those two consonants are surrounded by vowels, then it is generally not pronounced. Sometimes, it is pronounced, however.
  • If there are two अ vowels on either side of the consonant ह, then both vowels are usually pronounced like the “e” in “bed”.
• The vowel ऊ, when following र, is written रु

1. Identify all the vowels in the following words:
   1. परिस्थिति
   2. मनाना
   3. औसत
   4. स्त्रोत
   5. घृणा
   6. तोता
   7. एकता
   8. कबूतर
   9. उत्तर
   10. कुत्ता
   11. परिणाम
   12. रेगिस्तान
   13. बनाइए
   14. इतिहास
   15. साहित्य
   16. सौर
   17. जाओ
   18. अन्दर
   19. आसमान
   20. मीठा
   21. भाई
   22. उबना
   23. टिकाऊ
   24. साबुत
   25. पैमाना
   26. ऐनक
   27. विस्फोट
   28. औसत
   29. ऋतू
   30. रूचि
2. Determine which of the अ vowels in the following words are not pronounced:
   1. करना
   2. अवकाश
   3. मानना
   4. अवसर
   5. अवतार
   6. जानना
   7. आसमान
3. How is the vowel अ pronounced in the following words?
   1. बहस
   2. सहना
4. In the word परिस्थिति, the first two इ vowels are pronounced differently than the last one by many speakers. Why?
5. In the word सम्मान, no अ vowel is pronounced between the two म consonants. Why?
6. In some contexts people will pronounce an अ vowel at the end of the word धर्म, but often no vowel is pronounced. Why? Hint: this word means “religion”, and it is a Sanskrit word.