Hindi consonants (व्यंजन)

Q: How many consonants does Hindi have?

Hindi has about 33 core consonants (व्यंजन), arranged by where in the mouth each sound is made: velars, palatals, retroflex, dentals, labials, then the semivowels, sibilants and ह. A few extra letters with a dot (nuqta) cover sounds borrowed from Persian, Arabic and English.

Q: Why are Hindi consonants arranged the way they are?

The order follows the place of articulation, moving from the back of the mouth to the front: velars (throat), palatals, retroflex, dentals, then labials (lips). Ancient grammarians designed this phonetic sequence, and it makes the whole chart easy to recite and remember.

Q: What does the dot under some consonants mean?

That dot is a nuqta. It marks consonants borrowed from Persian, Arabic and English, such as क़ (qa), ज़ (za) and फ़ (fa). Without the nuqta the letters keep their native Hindi sound, so the dot tells you to use the loaned pronunciation.

The consonants — व्यंजन (vyanjan) — are organised by where each sound is made in the mouth. That order is the key to learning them, and to mastering the two contrasts English speakers find hardest.

Hindi has roughly 33 core consonants. Remember that each one carries the inherent vowel "a", so क is "ka" and म is "ma" — the romanizations below reflect that. The genius of the chart, which goes back to ancient phonetic science, is that it runs from the back of the mouth to the front: throat, hard palate, the curled-back retroflex position, the teeth, and finally the lips. If this is new, start with the alphabet overview first.

The five main groups (वर्ग)

Each of the first five rows is a varg (group) of five letters following the same pattern: unaspirated, aspirated, voiced, voiced-aspirated, then a nasal.

Velars (कण्ठ्य) — made at the throat / soft palate.
Letter	Roman	Letter	Roman
क	ka	ख	kha
ग	ga	घ	gha
ङ	ṅa (ng)

Palatals (तालव्य) — made at the hard palate.
Letter	Roman	Letter	Roman
च	cha	छ	chha
ज	ja	झ	jha
ञ	ña (ny)

Retroflex (मूर्धन्य) — tongue curled back to the roof of the mouth.
Letter	Roman	Letter	Roman
ट	ṭa	ठ	ṭha
ड	ḍa	ढ	ḍha
ण	ṇa

Dentals (दन्त्य) — tongue against the upper teeth.
Letter	Roman	Letter	Roman
त	ta	थ	tha
द	da	ध	dha
न	na

Labials (ओष्ठ्य) — made with the lips.
Letter	Roman	Letter	Roman
प	pa	फ	pha
ब	ba	भ	bha
म	ma

Semivowels, sibilants and ह

After the five groups come the remaining consonants — the approximants, the three "s/sh" sounds and the breathy ह.

The eight remaining consonants.
Letter	Roman	Letter	Roman
य	ya	र	ra
ल	la	व	va / wa
श	sha	ष	ṣha
स	sa	ह	ha

Aspirated vs unaspirated — क vs ख

This is the first contrast to drill. An aspirated consonant is released with a noticeable puff of air; its unaspirated partner is not. Hold a hand in front of your mouth: क (ka) barely moves it, while ख (kha) gives a clear blast. The same pattern repeats across the chart — प/फ, त/थ, च/छ. This puff changes meaning: कल (kal, "tomorrow") and खल (khal, "wicked person") are different words, so the aspiration is not optional.

Retroflex vs dental — ट vs त

This is the contrast that trips English speakers most. Retroflex sounds (ट ठ ड ढ ण) are made by curling the tongue tip back to touch the roof of the mouth — they sound hard and hollow. Dental sounds (त थ द ध न) are made with the tongue tip forward, pressed against the back of the upper teeth — softer and flatter. English "t" and "d" sit awkwardly between the two, so to a Hindi ear an untrained English "t" sounds like neither. The fix is to exaggerate at first: think a stiff, drum-like sound for ट, and a gentle, tooth-touching sound for त. Mixing them up is the most common pronunciation slip — टाल (ṭaal, "to postpone") is not ताल (taal, "rhythm").

The nuqta dot. A small dot under a letter — the nuqta — marks borrowed sounds: क़ (qa), ख़ (kha, a guttural kh), ग़ (gha), ज़ (za) and फ़ (fa). These come from Persian, Arabic and English. In casual writing the dot is often dropped, but it signals the loaned pronunciation.

Practise with real words

The fastest way to lock these letters in is to read words you already half-know. Try the spellings on the numbers and greetings pages, revisit the vowel matras that ride on these consonants, then put it all together with the Devanagari script guide.

Translate your own text

Type an English word below to see which of these consonants and matras it is built from in Devanagari.

Frequently asked

How many consonants does Hindi have?

About 33 core consonants (व्यंजन), arranged by where each sound is made: velars, palatals, retroflex, dentals, labials, then the semivowels, sibilants and ह. Extra letters with a dot (nuqta) cover sounds borrowed from Persian, Arabic and English.

What is the difference between aspirated and unaspirated consonants?

An aspirated consonant is released with a strong puff of air; its unaspirated partner is not. क (ka) is unaspirated, ख (kha) is aspirated. The puff carries meaning, so it cannot be dropped.

What is the difference between retroflex and dental consonants?

Retroflex sounds like ट and ड are made with the tongue curled back to the roof of the mouth; dental sounds like त and द are made with the tongue on the upper teeth. English t and d fall between the two.

Why are Hindi consonants arranged the way they are?

The order follows place of articulation, from the back of the mouth to the front: velars, palatals, retroflex, dentals, then labials. This phonetic sequence, designed by ancient grammarians, makes the chart easy to recite.

What does the dot under some consonants mean?

That dot is the nuqta. It marks borrowed consonants such as क़ (qa), ज़ (za) and फ़ (fa). Without it, the letters keep their native Hindi sound.