Last time we learnt all about our very first group of Hindi consonants, they were (ok deep breath)  क ka, ख kha, ग ga, घ gha and finally ङ ṅa. Can you remember them all? Head back over to Consonants Part 1 to revise over them if you’ve forgotten anything!

So are you ready to learn all about the second group? Well here they are…

Do they look weird and strange? Hopefully by the end of this lesson you’ll know them all! This group is called the Palatals. So let’s get straight into it. The first letter in this group is…

 ca   

This is the letter च ca. What do you think this letter looks like? Looks a bit like an arm holding an an arrow, can you see? Practicing writing it out loads of time so you don’t forget. This letter is also quite easy to pronounce, it’s just like the ‘ch’ like in 'church’ or 'cheese’. Don’t forget to click the play button above to hear the letter pronounced. Try not get confused with this letter, it’s written 'ca’ but pronounced like 'cha’! Ready for an example word? 

The Hindi word for 'Key’ is चाबी caabee. You can hear this word being pronounced by clicking play just above! Can you see our new letter च ca at the start here? Great! Let’s keep going then, our next letter is…

 cha   

This is the letter छ cha. What does this letter look like? Well it’s like a backwards three with a big funny tail, can you see? Keep practicing writing it out. 

You might have guess the pattern by now, this letter is the aspirated version of च ca. So remember just as we learnt last time, this means that to pronounce this letter you just pronounce the letter च ca and make lots of breath, got it? As always click play above to hear it pronounced! 

The Hindi word for “student” is छात्र chaatr, can you spot our new letter at the start here? Don’t forget to listen to the word being spoken by clicking play above! Ready to move on to the next letter?

  ja   

This is the letter ज ja. This letter looks like a little hook sticking out of the wall, can you see? Careful not to confuse the letters च ca and ज ja because they can look quite similar! This letter ज ja is another one that’s easy to pronounce, it’s just like the English “j” in words like “jade” or “jungle”. You can hear it pronounced above. Got it? Read for an example word?

The Hindi word for “pocket” is जेब jeb. Can you see the man in the picture above has nothing in his pockets? Ready to move on to our next letter? 

 jha    

This is the letter झ jha. What does this letter look like? It’s just an S, with a little squiggle joint on with a line, can you see? Practice writing it out loads of times. So how do we pronounce this letter? Well I’m sure you’ve got the pattern by now so no prizes for guessing, this letter is the aspirated version of ज ja, so to pronounce झ jha you just make the sound of ज ja with lots of air. Be sure to listen to the audio a whole bunch of times. Got it? 

The Hindi word for a “lie” (as in to tell a lie) is झूठ jhooth - can you spot our new letter here? Great! Ready to move on to our final letter for today? Well here it is..

  ña    

This is the letter ञ ña. Notice the little squiggle above the letter n! This letter looks just like a little claw can you see? Again, just like the final  letter from last lesson ङ ṅa, the letter ञ ña is very rare so you don’t need to worry about it too much for now. Well learn more about it later. For now all you need to know is that ञ ña is pronounced like the n in the word 'inch’ - as you can hear above!

Phew wow, that’s our second group of consonants finished. बहुत अच्छा bahut acchaa - Very good! You now know 10 consonants so well done. Head back to the Consonants section and start with the next group, but remember to keep revising what you have learnt so far - and keep listening to the audio files to make sure your pronunciation is spot on. 

Click to go back to the Consonants Section.