Today we’ll look at consonant conjuncts. This is simply the combination of 2 or more consonant letters without the अ a sound in the middle. Sometimes this can change the shape of the letter and so this makes conjuncts probably the most difficult thing in learning to read Hindi. This might sound confusing, but theres really no need to worry. 

You may have noticed that the स sa in नमस्ते namaste is ‘missing’ the vertical line on the right and if you haven’t noticed it before then go look now! This is a prime example of a consonant conjunct, you do not pronounce the अ a that should be with the स sa. In Lesson #2: Vowels Part 1 I introduced what is known as the virama (which looks like this; ् .To get this symbol when typing in hindi simply press ’d’) this symbol 'cancels’ out the अ a sound that usually follows a consonant, ie it is going to be the key to conjuncts! 

Let look in detail at this example;

स् s + त ta =  स्त sta

All thats changed in the letter is that the right vertical line in स sa has 'disappeared’. This is actually the usual rule for all consonants with a vertical line on their right side when they are the first consonant in a conjunct (ie thats all of these; ख, ग, घ, च, ज, झ, ण, त, थ, ध, न, प, ब, भ, म, य, ल, व, श, ष, and स).

Lets see a few more examples of this; 

च्  c + छ  cha =  च्छ  ccha as seen in अच्छा accha - good.

ग्  g + य  ya   =  ग्य   gya as seen in ग्यारह gyaarah - eleven.

न्  n + द  da   =  न्द  nda as seen in हिन्दी hindee - Hindi. (Note in this example we could use the anusvar to give us; हिंदी - hindi)

ल्  l + ल  la   =  ल्ल  lla as seen in दिल्ली dillee - Delhi (the city in India).

For the letters क ka and फ pha, you simply shorten the right hook when they are used as the first letter in a conjunct; ie

क्  k + य  ya   =  क्य   kya as seen in क्या kyaa - what.

In consonant conjuncts part 2 we’ll look at the special rules of using र ra in conjuncts and we’ll see the most common special characters that arise (which are also known as ligatures). 

Practice handwriting what has been covered today to help with both your writing skills and your knowledge of the concept! Remember if you have any questions at all then feel free to ask them here.