5 1.2 हिंदी व्यंजन वर्ण “Hindi Consonant Letters”
Please watch the following video of Hindi consonant letters. While watching the video, you can pause and try to say each letter out loud.
Instructor Video: Hindi Consonant letters
Writing Consonant Letters
Please watch the following video and try to learn how to write consonant letters.
Instructor Video: Writing Consonants
Table 4. List of Consonant Letter with their English equivalent sounds.
| Place of Articulation | Unvoiced Unaspirated | Unvoiced Aspirated | Voiced Unaspirated | Voiced Aspirated | Nasal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hindi | Velar | क | ख | ग | घ | ङ |
| English | ka | kha | ga | gha | nga | |
| Hindi | Palatal | च | छ | ज | झ | ञ |
| English | cha | chha | ja | jha | nja | |
| Hindi | Retroflex | ट | ठ | ड/ड़ | ढ/ढ़ | ण |
| English | Ta | Tha | Da/Ra | Dha/Rha | Na | |
| Hindi | Dental | त | थ | द | ध | न |
| English | ta | tha | da | dha | na | |
| Hindi | Labial | प | फ | ब | भ | म |
| English | pa | pha | ba | bha | ma | |
| Hindi | Semi-vowels | य | र | ल | व | |
| English | ya | ra | la | va/wa | ||
| Hindi | Sibilants | स | श | ष | ||
| English | sa | sha | shha | |||
| Hindi | Glottal | ह | ||||
| English | ha | |||||
| Hindi | Clusters | क्ष | त्र | ज्ञ | ||
| English | ksha | tra | jna |
Table 5. Examples of Hindi Consonants in English and Hindi words
| Consonants | English | Hindi | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| क | SKILL, STICK | कलम, कपड़ा | |
| ख | खरगोश, खरा | “ख” is pronounced as “क,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
| ग | GUN, GOAL | गमला, गड़बड़ | |
| घ | घर, घड़ी | “घ” is pronounced as “ग,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
| ङ | गंगा, कंघी | Velar nasal does not explicitly appear in a word. It comes as a dot (.) above the letter to show nasalization. | |
| च | PITCH, SWITCH | चरखा, चरित्र | |
| छ | छत, छड़ी | “छ” is pronounced as “च,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
| ज | JUG, JOKE | जग, जटिल | |
| झ | झरना, झगड़ा | “झ” is pronounced as “ज,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
| ञ | पंजाब, पंच | Palatal nasal does not explicitly appear in a word. It comes as a dot (.) above the letter to show nasalization. | |
| ट | BAT, CAT | टमाटर, टमटम | |
| ठ | ठठेरा, ठग | “ठ” is pronounced as “ट,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
| ड | BAD, CARD | डमरू, डब्बा | |
| ढ | ढक्कन, ढहना | “ढ” is pronounced as “ड,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
| ण | ठंडा, अंडा | Retroflex nasal does not explicitly appear in a word. It comes as a dot (.) above the letter to show nasalization. | |
| त | तरबूज, तनाव | “त” is pronounced as “ट,” with the tongue at dental position. | |
| थ | थरमस, थकना | “थ” is pronounced as “त,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
| द | THE, THEN | दवा, दरवाज़ा | |
| ध | धन, धनुष | “ध” is pronounced as “द,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
| न | NO, NEAR | नल, नहाना | |
| प | NAP, SLEEP | पतंग, पलंग | |
| फ | फल, फटना | “फ” is pronounced as “प,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
| ब | TUB, PUB | बकरी, बदन | |
| भ | भलाई, भरोसा | “भ” is pronounced as “ब,” but with aspiration (extra puff of air). | |
| म | MOM, MONEY | मछली, ममता | |
| य | YELLOW, YES | यज्ञ, यश | |
| र | REST, RIVER | रस्सी, रचना | |
| ल | LAMP, LARGE | लट्टू, लड़का | |
| व | WAY, WINE | वर्दी, वकील | Hindi has only “व” for English “W,” and “V.” |
| स | SUN, SERVICE | सब्ज़ी, सड़क | |
| श | SHOE, SHINE | शलगम, शत | |
| ष | षट्भुज, षड्यंत्र | “ष” is pronounced as “श,” with the tongue at retroflex position. | |
| ह | HINDI, HUB | हरा, हरिन | |
| क्ष | क्षत्रिय, वृक्ष | “क्ष” is a borrowed letter from Sanskrit. It does not have English equivalent. | |
| त्र | पत्र, पात्र | “त्र” is a borrowed letter from Sanskrit. It does not have English equivalent. | |
| ज्ञ | यज्ञ, | “ज्ञ” is a borrowed letter from Sanskrit. It does not have English equivalent. |
Worksheet 2. Please practice writing these consonant letters
Worksheet 2. Hindi language learners can download the worksheet below to practice writing consonant letters.
Test Yourself
Activity 1: Match the followings
Activity 2: Choose the correct option.
Activity 3:
Please record your consonant sounds here and share it with your friends/teacher for further feedback.
Reading and Writing Task
You should try to read the words in Worksheet 3 (below). You can write them down in Roman script then watch the following video and check your answer.
|
जल |
नल |
सच |
झट |
रथ |
|
फल |
हल |
मत |
पर |
घर |
|
डर |
बस |
कह |
चख |
कर |
|
मत |
हर |
अब |
पढ़ |
यम |
|
कलम |
कमल |
खरब |
कलश |
महल |
|
बतख |
मदन |
पलक |
नहर |
भजन |
|
शहद |
शहर |
सड़क |
मगर |
चरण |
|
पकड़ |
इधर |
ऊपर |
गरम |
परत |
|
कसरत |
अजगर |
दशरथ |
शरबत |
टमटम |
|
बरगद |
नटखट |
उबटन |
परवल |
पनघट |
|
चमचम |
लगभग |
करवट |
जगमग |
हलचल |
Instructor Video: Feedback on Worksheet 3
Half Consonants
Unlike English, Hindi has half consonants (consonant without vowel). In Hindi, half consonants are used to form consonant clusters in words.
Please watch the following video to learn how to write half consonant.
Instructor Video: Half Consonants
Half “र” (R)
Half “र” when it comes in a consonant cluster, it is written in two ways.
(a) When half “र” comes after another consonant, it is marked as a diagonal stroke at the bottom of the letter going from right top to the left bottom.
For example:
| Consonant | With Half “र” | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| प्र | प्रेम | Prem |
| क्र | क्रम | kram |
| ग्र | ग्राहक | graahak |
(b) When “र” come before another consonant, it is marked on the top of another consonant as a “रेफ” reph.
For example:
| Consonant | With “र” | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| र्प | सर्प | sarp |
| र्य | आर्य | aary |
| र्षा | वर्षा (if there is a long vowel, reph goes on the top of the long vowel) | warshhaa |
धन्यवाद !
Media Attributions
- Hindi Consonants © Artiii adapted by Rajiv Ranjan is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivatives) license
Vocabulary
Multiple Choice Questions on Gender, Number and Verb "to be"
बातचीत "Conversation"
धन्यवाद !
मेरा परिवार "My Family"
Vocabulary
Family members and relatives
| Hindi | Grammatical Categories | English |
|---|---|---|
| परिवार | n.m. | Family |
| रिश्तेदार | n.m. | Relative |
| माँ / माता | n.f. | Mother |
| पिता | n.m. | Father |
| भाई | n.m. | Brother |
| भाभी | n.f. | Brother's wife |
| बहन / बहिन | n.f. | Sister |
| बहनोई | n.m. | Sister's husband |
| दादा | n.m. | Paternal Grand father |
| दादी | n.f. | Paternal Grand mother |
| नाना | n.m. | Maternal Grand father |
| नानी | n.f. | Maternal Grand mother |
| चाचा | n.m. | Father's brother |
| चाची | n.f. | Father's brother's wife |
| बुआ | n.f. | Father's sister |
| फूफा | n.m. | Father's sister's husband |
| मामा | n.m. | Mother's brother |
| मामी | n.f. | Mother's brother's wife |
| मौसी | n.f. | Mother's sister |
| मौसा | n.m. | Mother's sister's husband |
| चचेरा भाई /चचेरी बहन | n.m./f. | Cousin brother-sister (kids of चाचा-चाची) |
| फूफेरा भाई /फूफेरी बहन | n.m./f. | Cousin brother-sister (kids of बुआ-फूफा) |
| ममेरा भाई / ममेरी बहन | n.m./f. | Cousin brother-sister (kids of मामा-मामी ) |
| मौसेरा भाई / मौसेरी बहन | n.m./f. | Cousin brother-sister (kids of मौसा-मौसी ) |
| सौतेला भाई / सौतेली बहन | n.m./f. | Half brother/sister |
| पालतू कुत्ता / बिल्ली | n.m./f. | Pet dog / cat |
| शादी के बाद के रिश्तेदार "Family after marriage" | ||
| पति | n.m. | Husband |
| पत्नी | n.f. | Wife |
| बेटा | n.m. | Son |
| बेटी | n.f. | Daughter |
| बहू | n.f. | Daughter-in-law |
| दामाद | n.m. | Son-in-law |
| सास | n.f. | Mother-in-law |
| ससुर | n.m. | Father-in-law |
| साला | n.m. | Brother-in-law (from the husband's point of view) |
| साली | n.f. | Sister-in-law (from the husband's point of view) |
| देवर | n.m. | Brother-in-law (from the wife's point of view) |
| देवरानी | n.f. | Wife of a brother-in-law (from the wife's point of view) |
| ननद | n.f. | Sister-in-law (from the wife's point of view) |
| ननदोई | n.m. | Husband of sister-in-law (from the wife's point of view) |
Test Yourself
परिवार के बारे में "About the family"
Context: Shilpa and Peter are in the same Hindi class. Their teacher, Akshay, asked them to collect information about each other's family members. In this reading/listening, they are asking questions to each other.
Pre-reading Activity 1: Please respond to the following questions. Please write your response in Hindi in the given space.
| Hindi | English | Your response in Hindi |
|---|---|---|
| आपका नाम | Your name | |
| आपके पिता जी का नाम | Your father's name | |
| आपकी माता जी का नाम | Your mother's name | |
| आपके कितने भाई हैं ? | How many brother do you have? | |
| भाइयों के नाम | Your brothers' names | |
| आपकी कितनी बहनें हैं ? | How many sisters do you have? | |
| बहनों के नाम | Your sisters' names | |
| आपके दादा जी का नाम | Your paternal grand-father's name | |
| आपकी दादी जी का नाम | Your paternal grand-mother's name | |
| क्या आपके पास कोई पालतू जानवर है? | Do you have any pet? | |
| पालतू जानवर का नाम | Your pet's name |
Pre-reading Activity 2: Based on the above information, please draw a family tree.
Reading
Please read the following conversation aloud with a partner (or alone)
| Hindi | English |
|---|---|
| शिल्पा: नमस्ते पीटर ! आप कैसे हैं ? | Shilpa: Hello Peter! How are you? |
| पीटर: नमस्ते शिल्पा, मैं अच्छा हूँ, धन्यवाद | और आप ? | Peter: Hello Shilpa, I am well, thanks. And you? |
| शिल्पा: मैं भी ठीक हूँ | धन्यवाद | चलिये, काम शुरू करते हैं | | Shilpa: I am okay too. Thanks. Let's start the work. |
| पीटर: ठीक है| बताइये, आपका परिवार कहाँ रहता है ? | Peter: Okay. Please tell, where does your family live? |
| शिल्पा: मेरा परिवार शिकागो में रहता है | और आपका ? | Shilpa: My family lives in Chicago. And yours? |
| पीटर: मेरा परिवार डेट्रॉइट में है | | Peter: My family lives in Detroit. |
| शिल्पा: आपकी माता जी का नाम क्या है ? | Shilpa: What is your mother's name? |
| पीटर: मेरी माँ का नाम लिज़ है | आपकी माँ का नाम क्या है? | Peter:My mother's name is Liz. What is your mother's name? |
| शिल्पा: मेरी माँ का नाम देवकी पटेल है | आपकी माँ क्या करती हैं ? | Shilpa: My mother's name is Devaki Patel. What does your mother do? |
| पीटर: मेरी माँ एक विद्यालय में अध्यापिका हैं | और आपकी माँ ? | Peter: My mother is a school teacher. and your mother? |
| शिल्पा: मेरी माँ एक गृहिणी हैं | आपके पिता जी का नाम क्या है ? | Shilpa: My mother is a house-wife. What is your father's name? |
| पीटर: मेरे पिता जी का नाम एडम है, और वह/वे [In some books, one can also find use of वे for 3rd person singular honorific subject. In any case, वह and वे both are pronounced वो] एक डॉक्टर हैं | और आपके पिता जी का नाम क्या है और वह/वे क्या करते हैं ? | Peter:My father's name is Adam, he is a doctor. What is your father's name and what does he do? |
| शिल्पा: मेरे पिता जी का नाम कृष्णचंद पटेल है, और वह/वे एक वैज्ञानिक हैं | | Shilpa: My father's name is Krishnachand Patel, and he is a scientist. |
| पीटर: आपके कितने भाई बहन हैं ? | Peter: How many brothers and sisters do you have? |
| शिल्पा: मेरा एक भाई है, उसका नाम साहिल है| मेरी कोई बहन नहीं है| और आपके कितने भाई बहन हैं ? | Shilpa: I have a brother, his name is Sahil. I have no sisters. And how many brothers and sisters do you have? |
| पीटर: मैं इकलौता हूँ | मेरे कोई भाई बहन नहीं हैं | | Peter: I am only one. I have no brothers and sisters. |
| शिल्पा: क्या आपके दादा-दादी भी आपके साथ डेट्रॉइट में रहते हैं ? | Shilpa: Do your grand-parents live with you in Detroit? |
| पीटर: नहीं मेरे दादा-दादी हमारे साथ नहीं रहते | उनका अपना अलग घर है| क्या आपके दादा-दादी आपके साथ रहते हैं? | Peter: No, my grand-parents do not live with us. They have their own separate house. Do your grand-parents live with you? |
| शिल्पा: जी हाँ | हिन्दुस्तानी परिवार में, माता-पिता, भाई-बहन, दादा-दादी, चाचा-चाची, सब एक साथ एक घर में रहते हैं | | Shilpa: Yes, In an Indian family, mother-father, brother-sister, grand-parents, uncle-aunt, all live together in the same house. |
| पीटर: अरे वाह ! यह तो बहुत अच्छी बात है | अच्छा, फिर मिलेंगे, नमस्ते | | Peter: Oh Wao! This is a very good thing. Okay, see you again, Namaste. |
| शिल्पा: ठीक है, बाय | Shilpa: Okay, Bye |
Listening
Activities
Please provide the following information about Shipa and Peter. Please note that some answers may not be available in the text, you can leave them blank.
| सवाल "Questions" | शिल्पा | पीटर |
|---|---|---|
| x का परिवार कहाँ रहता है ? |
|
|
| x की माता जी का नाम |
|
|
| x की माता जी क्या करती हैं ? |
|
|
| x के पिता जी का नाम |
|
|
| x के पिता जी क्या करते हैं ? |
|
|
| x के कितने भाई-बहन हैं? |
|
|
| x के भाई का नाम |
|
|
| x की बहन का नाम |
|
Family Tree: Based on the above reading/listening, please draw Shilpa's and Peter's family trees.
Writing/Speaking
Based on your pre-reading, and reading, please write (10-15 sentences)/audio record introducing your own family members.
Complete the following conversation: Please choose the correct question/prompt for each answer/response in the following conversation.
धन्यवाद !
ऋतिक का कमरा "Hritik's Room"
Vocabulary
 |
 |
 |
| दरी n.f. Rug | बिस्तर n.m. Bed | कुर्सी n.f. Chair |
 |
 |
 |
| मेज़ n.f. Table | सोफ़ा n.m. Sofa | अलमारी n.f. Wardrobe |
 |
 |
 |
| किताब n.f. Book | पौधा n.m. Plant | तस्वीर n.f. Picture |
 |
 |
 |
| परदा n.m. Curtain | बत्ती n.f. Light bulb | पंखा n.m. Fan |
 |
 |
 |
| फूलदान/ गुलदस्ता n.m. Flower vase | घड़ी n.f. clock/watch | आईना n.f. Mirror |
Test Yourself
Reading/Listening
Context: Vidya comes back to Hritik's home. This time, Hritik is showing her his room.
Pre-Reading Activities
Please collect photos of the several things in your room, then on the back of your each photo, please write its name in Hindi. It should look like a flash-card but with photos.
Reading
| Hindi | English | |
|---|---|---|
| ऋतिक: | आओ विद्या, आज, मैं तुम्हें अपना कमरा दिखाता हूँ | | Come Vidya, today, I show you my room. |
| विद्या: | चलो | | Let's go. |
| ऋतिक: | यह मेरा कमरा है | मेरे कमरे में, एक बिस्तर है, एक मेज़, एक कुर्सी और एक छोटा सोफ़ा भी है| बिस्तर के बगल में एक छोटी मेज़ है | उस मेज़ पर, एक बिजली की बत्ती, एक फूलदान और एक घड़ी भी है | | This is my room. In my room, there is one bed, one table, one chair, and one small sofa too. On that table, there is an electric bulb, a flower vase, and one clock too. |
| विद्या: | पढ़ाई की मेज़ पर, क्या है ? | What are on the study table? |
| ऋतिक: | पढ़ाई की मेज़ पर, एक कंप्यूटर, कुछ किताबें और एक कॉफ़ी कप है | | On the study table, there is a computer, a few books, and a coffee cup. |
| विद्या: | इस अलमारी में क्या है ? | What is in this almirah? |
| ऋतिक | इस अलमारी में, मेरे कपड़े और जूतें हैं | देखो, उस दीवार पर सुन्दर तस्वीरें हैं | दरवाज़े के पीछे एक आईना भी है | | In this almirah, there are my clothes and shoes. Look, there are beautiful pictures on that wall. There is a mirror behind the door too. |
| विद्या: | तुम्हारे कमरे का परदा बहुत सुन्दर है | और लगता है कि पंखा नया है | | The curtain of your room is very beautiful. It seems that fan is new. |
| ऋतिक: | जी हाँ, नया पंखा और नयी दरी भी | | Yes, New fan and new rug too. |
| विद्या: | तुम्हारा कमरा बहुत बड़ा और हवादार भी है| | Your room is very bog and airy too. |
| ऋतिक: | धन्यवाद ! क्या तुम भी मुझे अपना कमरा और घर दिखाओगी? | Thanks ! Will you also show me your room and house? |
| विद्या | हाँ, ज़रूर, क्यों नहीं ? | Yes, indeed, why not? |
Listening
Activity
Please make a list of at least 10 things of Hritik's room and then of your room.
| ऋतिक के कमरे में, | मेरे कमरे में, | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 4 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 6 | ||
| 7 | ||
| 8 | ||
| 9 | ||
| 10 |
Drawing: Based on the above description of Hritik's room, please draw a picture Hritik's room.
Writing/Speaking
As you read how Hritik gave a description of his room to Vidya. Now, it is your turn to describe your room in 10-15 sentences. Please write them on the paper first and then audio-record yourself. Alternatively, you can also video-record describing your room.
Record yourself here:
धन्यवाद !
Dar es Salaam city at dawn
Road
