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Nepali Alphabet
Devanagari
Nepali is written in the Devanagari script, the same as Hindi and Sanskrit. Nepali has 11 vowels and 33 consonants. The script is an abugida where consonants carry an inherent 'a' vowel.
Vowels (स्वर)
| Character | Name | Romanization | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| अ | A | a | like 'a' in 'about' |
| आ | Aa | ā | like 'a' in 'father' |
| इ | I | i | like 'i' in 'sit' |
| ई | Ii | ī | like 'ee' in 'see' |
| उ | U | u | like 'u' in 'put' |
| ऊ | Uu | ū | like 'oo' in 'moon' |
| ए | E | e | like 'a' in 'lake' |
| ऐ | Ai | ai | like 'i' in 'kite' |
| ओ | O | o | like 'o' in 'go' |
| औ | Au | au | like 'ow' in 'cow' |
| अं | Anusvara | aṃ | nasal vowel |
Consonants (व्यञ्जन)
| Character | Name | Romanization | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| क | Ka | k | like 'k' in 'king' |
| ख | Kha | kh | aspirated k |
| ग | Ga | g | like 'g' in 'go' |
| घ | Gha | gh | aspirated g |
| ङ | Nga | ṅ | like 'ng' in 'sing' |
| च | Cha | c | like 'ch' in 'church' |
| छ | Chha | ch | aspirated ch |
| ज | Ja | j | like 'j' in 'jam' |
| झ | Jha | jh | aspirated j |
| ञ | Nya | ñ | like 'ny' in 'canyon' |
| ट | Ta | ṭ | retroflex t |
| ठ | Tha | ṭh | aspirated retroflex t |
| ड | Da | ḍ | retroflex d |
| ढ | Dha | ḍh | aspirated retroflex d |
| ण | Na | ṇ | retroflex n |
| त | Ta | t | dental t |
| थ | Tha | th | aspirated dental t |
| द | Da | d | dental d |
| ध | Dha | dh | aspirated dental d |
| न | Na | n | like 'n' in 'no' |
| प | Pa | p | like 'p' in 'park' |
| फ | Pha | ph | aspirated p |
| ब | Ba | b | like 'b' in 'ball' |
| भ | Bha | bh | aspirated b |
| म | Ma | m | like 'm' in 'moon' |
| य | Ya | y | like 'y' in 'yes' |
| र | Ra | r | rolled r |
| ल | La | l | like 'l' in 'love' |
| व | Va | v/w | between 'v' and 'w' |
| श | Sha | ś | like 'sh' in 'shoe' |
| ष | Sha | ṣ | retroflex sh |
| स | Sa | s | like 's' in 'sun' |
| ह | Ha | h | like 'h' in 'hat' |