WizMantra UAE · Hindi
Hindi Alphabet: Varnamala, Swar, Vyanjan and Matras
All 44 letters with English sounds and example words
The complete Hindi varnamala, grouped the way it is actually taught: 11 swar, 33 vyanjan in five vargas, the eleven matras, and the conjuncts schools add. With the English sound and a common example word for every letter.
How many letters are in the Hindi alphabet?
The Hindi varnamala has 11 vowels (swar) and 33 consonants (vyanjan), so 44 core letters. Indian schools usually teach it as 52 by adding the two ayogavah signs (अं and अः) and the four common conjuncts (क्ष, त्र, ज्ञ, श्र).
Both counts are correct. They are counting different things.
The 44 are the actual distinct letters. The extra eight are signs and letter combinations that children need early enough that it is easier to teach them alongside the alphabet than after it. If your child comes home saying there are 52, that is why.
Swar: the 11 vowels
Vowels are written in full at the start of a word, and as a matra sign when they follow a consonant. These are the full forms, with the word Indian schoolbooks traditionally use.
Two of these trip up learners who grew up speaking Hindi without reading it. इ and ई are a short and long i, and उ and ऊ a short and long u. In speech the difference is small. In writing it changes the word, so दिन (day) is not दीन (poor).
Vyanjan: the 33 consonants
The consonants are not in a random order. The first 25 sit in five groups of five, ordered by where in the mouth the sound is made, starting at the throat and moving forward to the lips.
Once you see that, the order stops being something to memorise.
Ka varga, from the throat
Cha varga, palate
Ta varga, retroflex, tongue curled back
Ta varga, dental, tongue on the teeth
Pa varga, lips
Semivowels
Sibilants and h
The pair that defeats most English speakers is the retroflex ट and the dental त. Both are written "ta" in English. They are different sounds, and swapping them changes the word.
You cannot learn that pair from a chart. You need to hear it and be corrected.
Matras: how vowels attach to consonants
A matra is the short form of a vowel, written above, below, before or after a consonant. This is the real gate in learning to read Hindi, and it is where most self taught learners stop.
| Vowel | Matra sign | Applied to क | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|---|
| अ | (none) | क | ka |
| आ | ा | का | kaa |
| इ | ि | कि | ki |
| ई | ी | की | kee |
| उ | ु | कु | ku |
| ऊ | ू | कू | koo |
| ऋ | ृ | कृ | kri |
| ए | े | के | ke |
| ऐ | ै | कै | kai |
| ओ | ो | को | ko |
| औ | ौ | कौ | kau |
Note that the ि matra is written before the consonant it is pronounced after. कि is read "ki", not "ik". That single rule causes more early reading errors than anything else in Devanagari.
Learn the eleven matras and you can read most of a children’s book. Skip them and you will still be spelling out individual letters a year later.
The extra letters schools add
Four conjuncts and two signs, taught with the alphabet because they appear constantly.
There is one more set worth knowing: the nukta letters क़ ख़ ग़ ज़ ड़ ढ़ फ़, written with a dot underneath. They carry sounds borrowed mainly from Persian, Arabic and English.
You need ज़ and फ़ immediately in the Gulf, because they appear in ordinary borrowed words.
The order to learn it in
Learning all 44 letters before reading a single word is the slow route, and it is the one most apps take. Reading early beats completeness.
For a child in the UAE who already speaks Hindi at home, this is usually a matter of weeks rather than months, because the vocabulary is already there and only the code is missing.
Adults starting from nothing take longer, mainly on the retroflex sounds.
Learning Hindi in the Emirates
The most common situation we see is a child who speaks fluent Hindi and cannot read a word of it, usually noticed when Hindi becomes an examined school subject.
Spoken Hindi and examined Hindi are different skills. A child can be excellent at the first and fail the second, and that catches families off guard because the child sounds fluent.
Fees are AED 430 a month, AED 861 for two and AED 1,291 for three, the same in every emirate. All courses and locations sit on the Hindi classes hub.
What our students say
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Questions
Hindi Alphabet
Common questions about hindi Alphabet, answered.
1How many letters are in the Hindi alphabet?
There are 11 vowels and 33 consonants, so 44 core letters. Indian schools normally teach 52 by adding the two ayogavah signs अं and अः plus the four common conjuncts क्ष, त्र, ज्ञ and श्र. Both counts are right, because they are counting different things.
2What is the difference between swar and vyanjan?
Swar are the vowels, written in full at the start of a word and as a matra sign after a consonant. Vyanjan are the consonants, arranged in five groups of five by where the sound is made, from the throat forward to the lips, then semivowels and sibilants.
3What is a matra in Hindi?
A matra is the short form of a vowel attached to a consonant, written above, below, before or after it. क plus the ी matra gives की. Learning the eleven matras is what turns letter recognition into actual reading, and it is where most self taught learners stall.
4Why is कि written with the sign before the letter?
The ि matra is always written to the left of its consonant even though it is pronounced after it. So कि reads as ki, not ik. It is a writing convention rather than a sound rule, and it causes more early reading errors than anything else in Devanagari.
5Is Devanagari an alphabet?
Not quite. It is an abugida, which means every consonant already carries the inherent vowel a. क is ka, not k. Understanding that one point early saves months of confusion, because it explains why matras exist at all, and why a consonant is never silent on its own.
6How long does it take to learn to read Hindi?
For a child in the UAE who already speaks Hindi at home, usually weeks rather than months, because the vocabulary is already there and only the script is missing. Adults starting from nothing take longer, mostly on the retroflex consonants, which need an ear rather than a chart.
7What are the nukta letters?
Seven letters written with a dot underneath: क़ ख़ ग़ ज़ ड़ ढ़ and फ़. They carry sounds borrowed mainly from Persian, Arabic and English. In the Gulf you meet ज़ and फ़ almost immediately, because they appear in ordinary borrowed words used every day.
8Do you teach Hindi reading to children in the UAE?
Yes, one to one and online across every emirate, from the letters through to Devanagari writing and CBSE Hindi. Fees are AED 430 a month and the demo is AED 30, which includes an assessment of what your child can already read.
Related pages
Reading Devanagari is a fortnight of work with the right start
The AED 30 demo assesses exactly which letters and matras your child already knows, so the classes begin at the gap rather than at अ. Most parents are surprised how much is already there.
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