Hindi Vowels
Free resources to help read and write Hindi vowels.
Teaching Children Hindi Vowels
Are you struggling to find supplemental resources to help your child learn the Hindi alphabet? Want to help your child learn and practice Hindi vowels? Look no further!
Many classrooms begin language instruction with a curriculum designed to teach letter recognition, letter tracing, and letter pronunciation. As the backbone of language, letters have unique characteristics and rules associated with them and it is important to understand those with your child as you help them build literacy skills.
Hindi vowels are often taught first when learning the alphabet. Read on for more information and resources to help your child start learning today.
How many Hindi vowels are there?
Officially, the standard Hindi alphabet has 11 vowels and 35 consonants. Traditionally though, the alphabet has 13 vowels and 33 consonants so you may find some conflicting information online, depending on where you look.
For teaching purposes, it’s best to stay with the officially recognized 11 Hindi vowels.
These 11 are made up of 2 different types of vowels, depending on the letters around them:
Independent and Dependent.
| Independent | * अ | आ | इ | ई | उ | ऊ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maatraa Forms / Dependent | None | aa [ा ] | i [ ि ] | ii [ ी ] | u [ ु ] | uu [ ू ] |
| Independent | ऋ | ए | ऐ | ओ | औ | |
| Maatraa Forms / Dependent | ri [ ृ ] | e [ े ] | ai [ ै ] | o [ ो ] | au [ ौ ] | |
| Independent | ** अं | *** अः | ||||
| Maatraa Forms / Dependent | an [ ं ] | ah [ : ] |
* a अ is an inherent sound in every consonant and that is the reason we can use half consonants in Hindi script.
** अं (an) or a bindi is used for nasalisation of vowels and also for various nasal consonants.
***अ: (ah) is a visarg ( : ) Visarh can be silent or pronounced as h.
An interactive app for children to learn Hindi!
Our mission with Shoonya Kids is to make learning Hindi fun for children. Each Hindi letter and its association is uniquely designed and created into a cartoon character. Every character is dressed from either a state of India or represents a cultural trivia about India. Through fun animations, interactive tracing tutorials and puzzles, children get a chance to learn the language and the Indian culture.
How to pronounce each of the Hindi vowels correctly
Let’s take a look at each of the 11 vowels used in Hindi
Below, you can see what each one looks like, along with a short clip so you can hear it being used. Make sure you repeat each one and for more practice in letter recognition and tracing, read on to find our Hindi vowel printables.
अ / a / anar
Pronunciation is similar to how the letter “A” is pronounced in the words Above, About and America.
Examples
Anaar (pomegranate) अनार
Adarak (ginger) अदरक
Akharot (walnut) अखरोट
आ / aa / aam
Pronunciation is similar to how the letter “A” is pronounced in the words Star, Father and Garden.
Examples
Aam (mango) आम
Aaloo (potato) आलू
Aag (fire) आग
इ / i / imli
Pronunciation is similar to how the letter “I” is pronounced in the words Pin, Chin and In.
Examples
Imalee (tamarind) इमली
Istree (iron) इस्तरी
Illee (caterpillar) इल्ली
ई / ii / eekh
Pronunciation is similar to how the letter “EA” is pronounced in the words Eat, Meat, and Treat.
Examples
Eekh (sugar cane) ईख
Eent (brick) ईंट
Eendhan (fuel) ईंधन
उ / u / ullu
Pronunciation is similar to how the letter “U” is pronounced in the words Pull, Full, and Bull.
Examples
Ulluu (owl) उल्लू
Upahaar (gift) उपहार
Ungali (finger ) उंगली
ऊ / uu / onth
Pronunciation is similar to how the letters “OO” are pronounced in Moon, Spoon and Cool.
Examples
Oonth (camel) ऊँट
Oon (wool) ऊन
Oodabilaav (otter) ऊदबिलाव
ऋ / r / rishi
Pronunciation is similar to how the letter “I” is pronounced in the words Grip, Trip and Rip.
Examples
Rishi (sage) ऋषि
Ritu (season) ऋतु
Rigved (Rig-Veda) ऋग्वेद
ए / e / ektara
Pronunciation is similar to how the letter “A” is pronounced in the words Plate, Late and Ray.
Examples
Ektara (ekataaraa) ( musical instrument) एकतारा
Eree (Heel), एड़ी
ऐ / ai/ ainak
Pronunciation is similar to how the letter “I” is pronounced in the words Ice, Rice and Fine.
Examples
Ainak ( glasses ) ऐनक
Aidi (ankle) एड़ी
ओ / o / okhalee
Pronunciation is similar to how the letter “O” is pronounced in the words Over, More and Door.
Examples
Okhalee (mortar) ओखली
Os (dew) ओस
Ole (hail) ओले
औ / au / aurat
Pronunciation is similar to how the letters “OU” are pronounced in Trouser, House and Mouse.
Examples
Aurat (woman) औरत
Aujaar (tool) औजार
Aushadhi (medicine) औषधि
अं / am / anda
Pronunciation is similar to how the letters “UN” are pronounced in Hunger, Hunter and Fungus.
Examples
Anda (egg),अंडा
Angoor (grapes), अंगूर
Angoothaa (thumb) अंगूठा
Done Mastering the Hindi vowels? Time to move on to consonants!
How to write Hindi vowels
A great way to reinforce letter recognition is through tracing. Practice writing hindi vowels with a free Hindi Vowel Printable packet.
Use a handy Hindi vowel chart like the one below for quick reference on pronunciation.
Use a handy Hindi vowel chart like the one below for quick reference on pronunciation.
