Marathi · Devanagari alphabet

Letters first — then you build words yourself

Marathi is written in Devanagari — 12 vowels, 34 consonants and a set of vowel signs (matra) that clip onto a consonant. Learn those three pieces and you can read and build almost any Marathi word yourself.

Vowels (svar)

• अ▶

  a

  like the 'a' in 'about'

• आ▶

  ā

  long 'aa' as in 'father'

• इ▶

  i

  short 'i' as in 'sit'

• ई▶

  ī

  long 'ee' as in 'see'

• उ▶

  u

  short 'u' as in 'put'

• ऊ▶

  ū

  long 'oo' as in 'food'

• ए▶

  e

  like the 'e' in 'they'

• ऐ▶

  ai

  open 'ai' as in 'air'

• ओ▶

  o

  like the 'o' in 'go'

• औ▶

  au

  open 'au' as in 'aura'

• अं▶

  aṁ

  a nasal hum at the end

• अः▶

  aḥ

  a soft breath at the end

Consonants (vyanjan)

• क▶

  ka

  'k' as in 'kite'

• ख▶

  kha

  'k' with a puff of air

• ग▶

  ga

  'g' as in 'go'

• घ▶

  gha

  'g' with a puff of air

• ङ▶

  ṅa

  nasal 'ng', rare on its own

• च▶

  cha

  'ch' as in 'chair'

• छ▶

  chha

  'ch' with a puff of air

• ज▶

  ja

  'j' as in 'jug'

• झ▶

  jha

  'j' with a puff of air

• ञ▶

  ña

  nasal 'ny' as in 'canyon'

• ट▶

  ṭa

  hard 't', tongue on the roof

• ठ▶

  ṭha

  hard 't' with a puff

• ड▶

  ḍa

  hard 'd', tongue on the roof

• ढ▶

  ḍha

  hard 'd' with a puff

• ण▶

  ṇa

  hard 'n', tongue curled back

• त▶

  ta

  soft 't', tongue on the teeth

• थ▶

  tha

  soft 't' with a puff

• द▶

  da

  soft 'd' as in Spanish 'dedo'

• ध▶

  dha

  soft 'd' with a puff

• न▶

  na

  'n' as in 'no'

• प▶

  pa

  'p' as in 'pen'

• फ▶

  pha

  'p' with a puff, near 'f'

• ब▶

  ba

  'b' as in 'bat'

• भ▶

  bha

  'b' with a puff

• म▶

  ma

  'm' as in 'man'

• य▶

  ya

  'y' as in 'yes'

• र▶

  ra

  light rolled 'r'

• ल▶

  la

  'l' as in 'love'

• व▶

  va

  between 'v' and 'w'

• श▶

  sha

  'sh' as in 'shoe'

• ष▶

  ṣha

  hard 'sh', tongue back

• स▶

  sa

  's' as in 'sun'

• ह▶

  ha

  'h' as in 'hat'

• ळ▶

  ḷa

  curled 'l' — Marathi's own sound

Vowel signs (matra) — joining letters

A consonant carries a built-in “a”. Clip on a vowel sign and the sound changes — this is how every word is assembled.

• क + ा = का

  ▶

  kā

  💡 The vowel sign hangs after the letter.

• क + ि = कि

  ▶

  ki

  💡 This one is written before, but read after.

• क + ी = की

  ▶

  kī

• क + ु = कु

  ▶

  ku

  💡 Signs for u sit under the letter.

• क + ू = कू

  ▶

  kū

• क + े = के

  ▶

  ke

  💡 Signs for e and ai sit on top.

• क + ै = कै

  ▶

  kai

• क + ो = को

  ▶

  ko

• क + ौ = कौ

  ▶

  kau

• क + ं = कं

  ▶

  kaṁ

  💡 The dot adds a nasal hum.

• क + ् = क्

  ▶

  k

  💡 The bottom stroke removes the 'a' sound.

Words you can already read

• आईāīmother · आ + ई▶
• पाणीpāṇīwater · पा + णी▶
• घरgharhouse · घ + र▶
• मुलगाmulgāboy · मु + ल + गा▶