Hindi is among the oldest languages to be discovered by mankind, which has its roots laid back in around the 10th Century AD. It is a descendant of Sanskrit, which was the earliest speech of the Aryans in India. Hindi Alphabets are known as “Varnmaala” and are being further categorised. Hindi – also known as Hindustani or Khari-Boli, is written in the Devanagri script, which is the most scientific writing system in the world and is widely spoken by over ten million people across the globe as their first or second language, which makes it 3rdmost widely spoken language in the world. Hindi numbers have been used in most of the oldest Hindi records found in the country
Hindi is spoken by almost the entire Indian population and has managed to influence many other languages spoken in this country. It has been adopted as an official language in most parts of India, but is yet to be declared as the National language. Recently, it has also been suggested that Hindi be one of the official languages of the United Nations because of a large number of Hindi speakers across the world, and the Indian government has been actively working on the same.
The Hindi literature can be majorly divided into four stages, namely:
Adikal(The early period) ranging from 10th to 14th Century
Bhaktikal(The devotional period) ranging from 14th to 18th Century
Ritikal(The scholastic period) ranging from 18th to 20th Century
Adhunikal(The modern period) 20th Century onwards
Alphabets in Hindi
Hindi alphabets are known as“Varnmaala” which are broadly characterized as Swar and Vyanjan. The Varnmaala can be listed as below:
Varnmaala
Hindi examples
Pronounced as
Phonetic Examples
अ
अनार
a
Up
आ
आम
aa
Arm
इ
इमली
i
Is
ई
ईख
ee
Eat
उ
उल्लू
u
Uber
ऊ
ऊन
oo
Oops
ॠ
ऋषि
ri
Risk
ए
एडी
e
Ate
ऐ
ऐनक
ai
Ant
ओ
ओखली
o
Open
औ
औरत
au
Audio
अं
अंगूर
am/an
Number
अः
aha
क
कबूतर
ka,ca
King
ख
खरगोश
kha
Khaki
ग
गमला
ga
Gun
घ
घड़ी
gha
Ghastly
ङ
Nga
च
चम्मच
cha
Chair
छ
छतरी
chha
Chhatisgarh
ज
जल
ja
Jam
झ
झंडा
jha
Jhalem
ञ
Nja
ट
टमाटर
Ta
Take
ठ
ठठेरा
Tha
Thane
ड
डमरू
Da
Danger
ढ
ढोलक
Dha
ण
Na
त
तरबूज़
ta
थ
थैली
tha
Thick
द
दवाई
da
The
ध
धनुष
dha
Buddha
न
नल
na
Name
प
पतलून
pa
Parent
फ
फल
pha,fa
Flower
ब
बकरी
ba
Bank
भ
भालू
bha
Bhavan
म
मछली
ma
Made
य
योगी
ya
Yacht
र
रस्सी
ra
Rain
ल
लड्डू
la
Lawyer
व
वाहन
va,wa
Vase
श
शरबत
sha
Shine
ष
षटकोण
Sha
Share
स
साबुन
sa
Sale
ह
हिन्दी
ha
Hat
क्ष
क्षत्रिय
kSha
Rickshaw
त्र
त्रिशूल
tra
ज्ञ
ज्ञानी
Gya
Gyan
श्र
श्रमिक
Shra
Shred
क
कबूतर
Ka
Colour
का
काग़ज़
kaa
Carton
कि
किताब
Ki
King
की
कील
Kee
Keep
कु
कुंवर
Ku
Kung Fu
कू
कूलर
Koo
Cool
कृ
कृपाण
Kri
Crypto
के
केला
Ke
Case
कै
कैलाश
Kai
Camera
को
कोयला
Ko
Cold
कौ
कौवा
Kau
Cow
कं
कंगन
Kang
Kangaroo
कः
Kaha
Vowels
Out of the total 48 letters in the Hindi Varnmaala, there are a total number of eleven Vowels(Swar) in Hindi alphabets.
Swar
Hindi examples
Pronounced as
Phonetic Examples
अ
अनार
a
Up
आ
आम
aa
Arm
इ
इमली
i
Is
ई
ईख
ee
Eat
उ
उल्लू
u
Uber
ऊ
ऊन
oo
Oops
ॠ
ऋषि
ri
Risk
ए
एडी
e
Ate
ऐ
ऐनक
ai
Ant
ओ
ओखली
o
Open
औ
औरत
au
Audio
अं
अंगूर
am/an
Number
अः
aha
Swar are basically of three types:
Hrisv swar– Those which are spoken easily and in no time. These are four in number:
Hrisv Swar
Hindi examples
Pronounced as
Phonetic Examples
अ
अनार
a
Up
इ
इमली
i
Is
उ
उल्लू
u
Uber
ॠ
ऋषि
ri
Risk
अं
अंगूर
am/an
Number
अः
aha
Deergha swar– Those which are spoken in comparatively more time. These are seven in number:
Deeghr Swar
Hindi examples
Pronounced as
Phonetic Examples
आ
आम
aa
Arm
ई
ईख
ee
Eat
ऊ
ऊन
oo
Oops
ए
एडी
e
Ate
ऐ
ऐनक
ai
Ant
ओ
ओखली
o
Open
औ
औरत
au
Audio
Plut swar– Those which take the most time, like ओ in ओ३म(Om)
Other than swar, there are also, Ayogvah, which are two in number: अं, अः
अं: is the anuswar
अः is the visarg
Consonants
Vyanjan, which are the consonants of Hindi alphabets are divided into:
Sparsh Vyanjan: These are 25 in number, with 5 categories and 5 letters in each of the five categories, namely:
क category : क ख ग घ ङ
च category : च छ ज झ ञ
ट category : ट ठ ड ढ ण
त category : त थ द ध न
प category : प फ ब भ म
Below is a list of the Sparsh Vyanjan and their usage:
Sparsh Vyanjan
Hindi examples
Pronounced as
Phonetic Examples
क
कबूतर
ka,ca
King
ख
खरगोश
kha
Khaki
ग
गमला
ga
Gun
घ
घड़ी
gha
Ghastly
ङ
Nga
च
चम्मच
cha
Chair
छ
छतरी
chha
Chhatisgarh
ज
जल
ja
Jam
झ
झंडा
jha
Jhalem
ञ
Nja
ट
टमाटर
Ta
Take
ठ
ठठेरा
Tha
Thane
ड
डमरू
Da
Danger
ढ
ढोलक
Dha
ण
Na
त
तरबूज़
ta
थ
थैली
tha
Thick
द
दवाई
da
The
ध
धनुष
dha
Buddha
न
नल
na
Name
प
पतलून
pa
Parent
फ
फल
pha,fa
Flower
ब
बकरी
ba
Bank
भ
भालू
bha
Bhavan
म
मछली
ma
Made
Antash Vyanjan: These are four in number:
Antash Vyanjan
Hindi examples
Pronounced as
Phonetic Examples
य
योगी
ya
Yacht
र
रस्सी
ra
Rain
ल
लड्डू
la
Lawyer
व
वाहन
va,wa
Vase
3. Ushm Vyanjan: These are also four in number:
Varnmaala
Hindi examples
Pronounced as
Phonetic Examples
श
शरबत
sha
Shine
ष
षटकोण
Sha
Share
स
साबुन
sa
Sale
ह
हिन्दी
ha
Hat
Merging Vowels and Consonants
When we merge the vowels and consonants in Hindi alphabets, we get a new letter with a special character(called maatra) attached to it, which gives a unique sound to the consonant, the vowel is added to. The special character, called maatra will differ based on the vowel being used. Below is a simple representation of the same:
Swar+Vyanjan
Hindi examples
Pronounced as
Phonetic Examples
क= क + अ
कबूतर
Ka
Colour
का= क + आ
काग़ज़
kaa
Carton
कि= क + इ
किताब
Ki
King
की= क + ई
कील
Kee
Keep
कु= क + उ
कुंवर
Ku
Kung Fu
कू= क + ऊ
कूलर
Koo
Cool
कृ= क + ॠ
कृपाण
Kri
Crypto
के= क + ए
केला
Ke
Case
कै= क + ऐ
कैलाश
Kai
Camera
को= क + ओ
कोयला
Ko
Cold
कौ= क + औ
कौवा
Kau
Cow
कं= क + अं
कंगन
Kang
Kangaroo
कः= क + अः
Kaha
Example
To understand how Hindi alphabets are used as building blocks to make complex sentences, please see the following :
“दया वो भाषा है जिसे बहरा भी सुन सकता है और अँधा भी देख सकता है“
“Kindness is the language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see”
– Mark Twain
You can use our free learning app which helps you to come across a lot of different Hindi alphabets, words and sentences which helps in improving your Hindi basics.