Hindustani Orthography - Devanagari Script

Devanagari Script

The Devanagari script is an abugida writing system, so the written form of consonants have an inherent default vowel afterward, namely a schwa. In certain contexts, such as at the end of words, these schwas are deleted in correct Hindi pronunciation, in a phenomenon called the schwa syncope. Devanagari consonants which have other vowels afterward use diacritical marks around the consonant. The script is written from left to right, with a top-bar connecting the letters together.

अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ए ऐ ओ औ
ə aː ɪ iː ʊ uː eː ɛː oː ɔː
क ख ख़ ग ग़ घ ङ
k kʰ x ɡ ɣ ɡʱ ŋ
च छ ज ज़ झ ञ
t͡ʃ t͡ʃʰ d͡ʒ z d͡ʒʱ ɲ
ट ठ ड ड़ ढ ढ़ ण
ʈ ʈʰ ɖ ɽ ɖʱ ɽʱ ɳ
त थ द ध न
t̪ t̪ʰ d̪ d̪ʱ n
प फ फ़ ब भ म
p pʰ f b bʱ m
य र ल व श ष स ह
j r l ʋ ʃ ʂ s h

क्ष kṣ is pronounced /kʃ/ and ज्ञ jñ is /ɡj/.

Read more about this topic:  Hindustani Orthography

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