🇮🇳
Sanskrit Alphabet
Devanagari
Sanskrit is written in Devanagari, the mother script for many South Asian languages. The Sanskrit alphabet (Varnamala) is highly systematic — letters are organized by phonetic principles of place and manner of articulation.
Vowels (स्वर — Svara)
| Character | Name | Romanization | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| अ | A (short) | a | like 'a' in 'about' |
| आ | Aa (long) | ā | like 'a' in 'father' |
| इ | I (short) | i | like 'i' in 'sit' |
| ई | Ii (long) | ī | like 'ee' in 'see' |
| उ | U (short) | u | like 'u' in 'put' |
| ऊ | Uu (long) | ū | like 'oo' in 'moon' |
| ऋ | Ri (syllabic) | ṛ | syllabic r |
| ॠ | Rii (long syllabic) | ṝ | long syllabic r |
| ऌ | Li (syllabic) | ḷ | syllabic l |
| 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 | ṃ | nasal |
| अः | Visarga | ḥ | breathy h after vowel |
Gutturals (कण्ठ्य — Kanthya)
| 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' |
Palatals (तालव्य — Talavya)
| Character | Name | Romanization | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| च | Ca | c | like 'ch' in 'church' |
| छ | Cha | ch | aspirated ch |
| ज | Ja | j | like 'j' in 'jam' |
| झ | Jha | jh | aspirated j |
| ञ | Nya | ñ | like 'ny' in 'canyon' |
Retroflexes (मूर्धन्य — Murdhanya)
| Character | Name | Romanization | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ट | Ta (retroflex) | ṭ | retroflex t |
| ठ | Tha (retroflex) | ṭh | aspirated retroflex t |
| ड | Da (retroflex) | ḍ | retroflex d |
| ढ | Dha (retroflex) | ḍh | aspirated retroflex d |
| ण | Na (retroflex) | ṇ | retroflex n |
Dentals (दन्त्य — Dantya)
| Character | Name | Romanization | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| त | Ta (dental) | t | dental t |
| थ | Tha (dental) | th | aspirated dental t |
| द | Da (dental) | d | dental d |
| ध | Dha (dental) | dh | aspirated dental d |
| न | Na (dental) | n | like 'n' in 'no' |
Labials (ओष्ठ्य — Oshthya)
| Character | Name | Romanization | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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' |
Semi-vowels & Sibilants
| Character | Name | Romanization | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| य | Ya | y | like 'y' in 'yes' |
| र | Ra | r | rolled r |
| ल | La | l | like 'l' in 'love' |
| व | Va | v | between 'v' and 'w' |
| श | Sha (palatal) | ś | like 'sh' in 'shoe' |
| ष | Sha (retroflex) | ṣ | retroflex sh |
| स | Sa | s | like 's' in 'sun' |
| ह | Ha | h | like 'h' in 'hat' |