Namaste everyone! I’m currently working on the second part the Similar Sounds lesson. Before I post that though I’m updating old parts of the Consonants Section! Here is the completely new version of Lesson #54 now with audio!

So far we’ve covered all of the main Hindi consonants but unfortunately there’s still a bit more for us to learn! Today we’re going to learn about some additional consonants that are mostly used to represent sounds that have come from Arabic, Persian or even English and that don’t quite exist in the Hindi alphabet.

This lesson is all about what’s called the nuqtaa or nuktaa in Hindi - which is just a name for a little dot that can sit under a consonant and modify its sound. As you read this lesson you will see that many of these sounds are ignored by many Hindi speakers - but make sure you pay attention to ड़ and ढ़ which always have a distinct sound! So anyway here goes, the first letter for today is…

qa

This is the letter क़ qa. As you can see here we have simply added a dot under the letter क ka. The letter क़ qa is pronounced like a “k” sound but it comes from much deeper down in the throat. However most Hindi speakers will pronounce it as a normal क ka sound. The qa pronunciation is more common with Urdu speakers. Click the audio above to hear the two pronunciations firstly the rarer qa and secondly the more common ka.

The Hindi word for pen is क़लम qalam. Click the audio next to the letter क़ qa above to hear two pronunciations of the word: the rarer Urdu qalam and then the more common kalam.

kha

This is the letter ख़ kha. This time we’ve added a dot to the letter ख kha. This letter is pronounced like the German “ch”, it sounds like you’re trying to clear your throat! Again many Hindi speakers will pronounce this as just ख while Urdu speakers will pronounce it as ख़. As before click the audio above to hear the two different pronunciations.

The word ख़ाली khalee means empty in English. Click the audio above to hear the two different pronunciations. Ready to move on?

ga

This is the letter ग़ ga. Here we’ve added a nuktaa to the letter ग ga. The letter ग़ ga is pronounced a bit like the French R sound. Almost all Hindi speakers will pronounce this as a normal ग ga sound.

The Hindi word for wrong or mistake is ग़लत galat. As before click the audio above to here the two pronunciations, firstly the rare and Urdu influenced French R and secondly the normal Hindi ग ga sound. Let’s keep moving on then…

za

This is the letter ज़ za. This time it’s the letter ज ja that takes a nuktaa. This letter is pronounced just like the English “z” as in “zoo”“ and most Hindi speakers will pronounce it as that, though some will use ज ja instead. As before click the audio above to hear both the pronunciations.

The word ज़मीन zameen means ground or Earth. As before click to hear the audio: firstly the more common zameen and then the less common jameen.

ra

This is the letter ड़ ra. This is the letter ड da with an added nuktaa. To pronounce this letter we first roll our tongue backwards, as if we were going to pronounce ड da and then flick our tongue forward as we make the sound. It should come out as something of a mix between the English letters L,R and D. It can be a difficult sound to make so be sure to use the audio to help. All Hindi speakers will pronounce it this way so there is no alternative pronunciation. 

खिड़की khirkee means window in Hindi. Click the audio above to hear it pronounced. Be careful not to confuse the letters ड़ ra and र ra. They are both written as ra on this site but have very different pronunciations!

Some Hindi speakers and other websites will transliterate the letter ड़ ra not as ra but as da. This because English doesn’t have this sound and R and D are the closest letters that we do have. Neither ra nor da are wrong per se - the only correct way to write this letter is in Hindi: as ड़!

rha

This is the letter ढ़ rha. Here we’ve added the dot to the letter ढ dha. This new letter ढ़ rha is the aspirated version of the previous letter ड़ ra. So to pronounce ढ़ rha say ड़ ra and let out a puff of air. Like the previous letter this only has one pronunciation.

The verb पढ़ना parhnaa means to read or to study. Click the audio above to hear it pronounced. Ok so do you think you’re ready for our final letter for today? Here goes…

fa

This is the letter फ़ fa. Here we’ve added the dot to the letter फ pha. The letter फ़ fa is usually pronounced exactly like the English f, though some Hindi speakers will pronounce it as फ pha. Click the audio above to hear both of the pronunciations.

The word फ़िल्म film comes directly into Hindi from English and means well… film obviously! The audio gives the two pronunciation, the usual fa first and then the rarer pha.

Phew wow, that’s it for today then! I know we’ve covered a lot in this lesson so be sure to just ask in the comments below if you have any questions. Don’t forget to listen to the audio over and over! Here’s a quick overview of everything we’ve covered in this lesson:

• क़ qa usually pronounced as a normal Hindi क ka.
  
• ख़ kha usually pronounced as a normal Hindi ख kha.
• ग़ ga usually pronounced as a normal Hindi ग ga.
• ज़ za more often pronounced as a za but sometimes as a ja. 
• ड़ ra always pronounced as a mix between L/R/D.
• ढ़ rha always pronounced as an aspirated ड़ ra.
• फ़ fa more often pronounced as a fa but sometimes as a pha.

P.S. in written Hindi to be technically correct you should always have the nuktaa where it is is required however it is often dropped - apart from ड़ ra and ढ़ rha where the dot is essential.