Lesson #4: Vowels Part 3; उ u and ऊ oo
Can you remember what Vowels have we covered so far? We saw अ a and आ aa, in Lesson #2 and then we saw इ i and ई ee last time, in Lesson #3. If you can’t remember these go back the lessons and revise them, otherwise you’ll end up getting yourself really confused!
Ready for today’s new vowels? Great, let’s go!
u
If you can’t see the play button or if it wont work then click here for instructions on how to fix it!
This is the letter उ u. What does this letter look like? This one’s simple, it’s just like a 3 with a line on top. Can you see? Careful not to confuse this letter with the vowel we already know, अ a . Can you see the difference?
So how to we pronounce उ u? Well it sounds just like the ‘oo’ in the word foot or the 'u’ in put. Click the play button above to hear it pronounced!
What’s this animal? An owl! Or in Hindi; उल्लू ulloo. Can you see the letter उ u at the start of the word? अच्छा acchaa good!
When we want to add the vowel उ u to a consonant we use this symbol underneath the consonant; ु It’s a little flick to the left. Let’s see an example;
Click to hear two words with this letter pronounced; उल्लू ulloo - Owl and कुत्ता kuttaa -Dog
Can you remember the Hindi word for 'dog’? That’s right, it’s कुत्ता kuttaa. Can you the letter उ u here? Can you see the little flick ु under the letter क ka which makes it कु ku. Do you think you’ve understood उ u now? Great! Ready for the next vowel?
oo
This is the letter ऊ oo. What does this letter look like? It’s actually very similar to उ u , just it has a small flick on the right hand side! Can you see the difference? ऊ oo and उ u. Got it?
ऊ oo is pronounced just like the 'oo’ in the word food or mood. Be sure to listen to it pronounced many times! It is the long vowel sound compared to the short vowel sound of उ u.
When we want to add the vowel to a consonant we add the symbol ू underneath. Remember our word for Owl? उल्लू ulloo Can you see the ऊ oo here! Yeah, it’s at the end with the ल la giving लू loo - which sounds just like the word loo (Toilet in UK English).
The word for flower in Hindi is फूल phool Can you see the ऊ oo here? अच्छा acchaa - great! Be sure to listen to the audio file a few times to get used to the sound of the word, just click play on the button next to the flower picture.
So that’s two more Hindi vowels we’ve learnt, उ u and ऊ oo. Well done! Keep practicing them and keep listening to them to help you remember.
