This web-app can help you learn the Devanagari script:
Pronounced like:
far,
bar,
star
Not like:
sad,
bad,
cat,
date
while pronouncing "a" the mouth
should be open but not too much - not wide open.
Pronounced like the short "a",
but twice as long, and the mouth should be more open.
Pronounced like the "i" in:
bip,
sit,
Italy,
in.
Not like the i in:
ice,
Ireland,
iron,
Iphone.
Pronounced like the short "i", but twice as long.
Similar to the "ee" or "ea" in the words:
seen,
dear,
near,
clear.
(...but a bit longer)
Pronounced like the "u" in:
put.
not like the "u" in:
up,
but,
hut.
Pronounced like the short "u" but twice as long.
Similar to the double "o" in:
room,
bloom.
(...but a bit longer)
The vocalic "r" is a special sound. It is not the consonant
"r" but a vowel. It is a reverberating sound that has a
flow of its own, and can "give life" to a consonant
It is pronounced with the tongue curling backwards and up
to reverberate in touching the upper area of the palate.
Tips for pronounciation: try to curve the tongue up to the
palate and pronounce a rolling "r" sound without pronouncing "i" or "u" after it.
This is very important - If you can pronounce the vocalic "r" without
pronouncing any vowel immediately after it, you got it right!
Same like the short vocalic "r" (the previous letter) but twice as long.
Very similar to the short vocalic "r".
the difference is that in this letter the tongue touches in a slightly different place.
Try to role the tongue up and pronounce the sound "L"
without pronouncing any vowel immediately after.
Pronounced like the "e" in"
ever,
never,
better
(...but longer)
the "e" should not like the "e" in the words:
economy,
be.
"ai" is pronounced like the "i" in:
sight, bright, glide
Pronounced like the "o" in:
story,
glory
Not like:
go (gou),
open (oupen)
Pronounce like the "ou" in:
out, doubt
Anusvara - (sound that follows) is a pure nasal sound,
which is created as an effect of the dynamics of speech.
When the anusvara is pronounced the place of pronounciation
in the mouth becomes less dominant and the passage of the air
containing the sound vibration flows through the nose.
The anusvara often takes on the "flavor" of the following consonant:
it can have 5 differnt "flavors" according to the
area of pronunciation of the following consonant.
4 of these "flavors" can be found in English also:
like the "n" in: "incomplete"
(when followed by a gutteral consonant).
like the "n" in: "incharge"
(when followed by a palatel consonant).
like the "n" in: "independent"
(when followed by a dental consonant).
like the "m" in: "impossible"
(when followed by a labial consonant).
Visarga (sending forth) is a sound effect created by the
expulsion of extra air that sort of echos the previous vowel.
For example: When visarga follows the vowel "e",
it sounds a bit like the end of the slang version of the word "yes", i.e. "yeah"
Pronounced like the 'k" in;
kit,
keep,
kiss
or like the "c" in:
car,
country,
cat.
Pronounced like "k" but with extra expulssion of air right after it - before the vowel.
Try saying "lake" and "house" one after the other with no gap.
The "k" which is the last sound of "lake" will combine with the "ha",
which is the the first sound of "house" and together they will produce the sound of "kha".
Pronounced like the "g" in:
go, dog, give.
Not like the "g" in:
age, rage, cage.
Pronounced like "g" but with extra expulssion of air right after it - before the vowel.
Try saying "dog" and "house" one after the other with no gap.
The last sound of "dog" and the first sound of "house" will combine to the exact sound of "gha".
This is the nasal sound pronounced from the same place the sound "g" is produced. Pronounced like the "n" sound where it apears before a "k" or a "g" sound. (like the "n" in the word: ink)
Pronounced like the "ch" in:
chair, check, charm.
Pronounced like "ch" in the word "church" but with extra expulssion of air right after it - before the vowel.
Tips: try saying "church" and "house" one after the other with no gap. The last sound of "church" and the first sound of "house" will combine to the exact sound of "cha" (chha).
Pronounced like "j" in"
jack, jim, jocker.
Pronounced like "j", but with extra expulssion of air right after it - before the vowel.
Try saying "stage" and "house" one after the other with no gap. The last sound of "stage" and the first sound of "house" will combine to the exact sound of "jha".
Pronounced like the "n" sound where it apears before a "ch" sound.
(like the "n" in: incharge)
This is a retroflex sound which is very similar to the dental "t" but it is Pronounced by the tongue curving upwards to touch the upper palate. There are no examples in English.
This is a retroflex sound which is very similar to the dental "th" but it is Pronounced by the tongue curving upwards to touch the upper palate. There are no examples in English.
This is a retroflex sound which is very similar to the dental "d" but it is Pronounced by the tongue curving upwards to touch the upper palate. There are no examples in English.
This is a retroflex sound which is very similar to the dental "dh" but it is Pronounced by the tongue curving upwards to touch the upper palate. There are no examples in English.
This is a retroflex sound which is very similar to the dental "n" but it is Pronounced by the tongue curving upwards to touch the upper palate. There are no examples in English.
Pronounced like the "t" in English.
Like in:
tar, take, tape.
Pronounced like like the "t" in "take", but with extra expulssion of air
right after it - before the vowel.
Try saying "what" and "house" one after the other with no gap.
The last sound of "what" and the first sound of "house"
will combine to the exact sound of "tha".
Pronounced like like the "d" in English.
Like in the words:
dark, dog, deep
Pronounced like like the "d" in "dog", but with extra
expulssion of air right after it - before the vowel.
Tips: try saying "road" and "house" one after the other with no gap.
The last sound of "road" and the first sound of "house" will combine to the exact sound of "dha".
Pronounced like like the "n" in:
in, intake, into.
Not like in:
incharge, incomplete.
(not like the "n" when it is followed by gutteral or pallatal sounds.)
Pronounced like like the "p" in:
park, party, partake.
Pronounced like like the "ph" in "uphold".
Try saying "uphold uphold" a few times and then say "pha"/"pho" a few times.
Do this until you pronounce the "pha" just like the "ph" in "uphold"
very important! this is not the sound "f". It should not be pronounced
like the sound "f" as the "ph" in the word phone.
Pronounced like the "b" in:
but, bake, been.
Pronounced like like the "b" in "bark", but with extra expulssion of air right after it - before the vowel.
Tips: try saying "lab" and "house" one after the other with no gap.
The last sound of "lab" and the first sound of "house"
will combine to the exact sound of "bha".
Pronounced like the "m" in:
mark, might, my.
Pronounced like the "y" in:
yacht, yet, you.
This is a retroflex sound which is a bit different than the "r" in English.
It is pronounced by the tongue curving upwards to touch the upper palate.
It is similar to the "r" as it is pronounced in Spanish or German.
Pronounced like the "L" in:
like, lake, link.
Pronounced like the "v" in most English words but in many
cases it tends to sound a bit more towards the sound of "w" in English.
it is somewhere in between, so sometimes it will sound more like the "v" in victory,
and sometimes more like the "w" in wait.
Pronounced like the "sh" in:
shoe, show, shine.
This is a retroflex sound which is a bit different than the "sh" in English.
It is pronounced by the tongue curving upwards to touch the upper palate.
Pronounced like the "s" in:
side, saga, sight.
Pronounced like the "h" in:
high, house, hot.
not really a consonant but a combination of two consonants: the letter "k" and the retroflex "ṣ".
not really a consonant but a combination of two consonants: the letter "j" and the palatal "ñ".