THE SANSKRIT ALPHABET &
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
The IAST transliteration scheme used for Sanskrit and Bengali words is a universally
recognized scheme that allows for lossless romanization of Indic scripts.
Vowels
Simple — short & long
a ā i ī u ū ṛ ṝ ḷ
gutteral palatal labial cerebral dental
Diphthongs — long anusvāra visarga
e ai o au aṁ aḥ
Consonants
Unvoiced Voiced Nasals
Gutterals → ka kha ga gha ṅa
Palatals → ca cha ja jha ña
Cerebrals → ṭa ṭha ḍa ḍha ṇa
Dentals → ta tha da dha na
Labials → pa pha ba bha ma
Semi-vowels
Compound
ya ra la va
palatal cerebral dental labial
Consonants
Sibilants & Aspirate kṣa tra jña
śa ṣa sa ha
palatal cerebral dental gutteral
Vowels are pronounced as follows:
a — like the a in organ ū — like the u in rule but
or the u in but held twice as long as
ā — like the a in far but short u
held twice as long as ṛ — the ri in rim
short a ṝ — like the ree in reed
i — like the i in pin ḷ — like l followed by ṛ (lṛ)
ī — like the i in pique e — like the e in they
but held twice as ai — like the ai in aisle
long as short i o — like the o in go
u — like the u in push au — like the ow in how
ṁ (anusvāra) — a resonant nasal like the n in the
French word bon
ḥ (visarga) — a final h-sound: aḥ is pronounced like
aha; iḥ like ihi
Consonants are pronounced as follows:
1. Gutterals
k — as in kite
kh — as in Ekhart Pronounced
g — as in give from the
— as in dig-hard throat
gh
ṅ — as in sing
2. Palatals
c — as in chair
ch — as in staunch-heart Middle of the
j — as in joy tongue against
the palate
jh — as in hedgehog
ñ — as in canyon
3. Cerebrals
ṭ — as in tub
ṭh — as in light-heart Tip of the
ḍ — as in dove tongue against
the roof of the
ḍh — as in red-hot mouth
ṇ — as in rna (prepare to
say the r and say na)
4. Dentals
t — as in birth without Like the
the aspiration cerebrals but
th — as in thumb with the tongue
d — as in the against the teeth
dh — as in the but with
aspiration
n — as in nut
5. Labials
p — as in pine
ph — as in uphill (not f) Pronounced
b — as in bird with the
bh — as in rub-hard lips
m — as in mother
Semivowels Sibilants
y — as in yes ś (palatal) — as the s in the
r — as in run German word sprechen
l — as in light ṣ (cerebral) — as in shine
v — as in vine s — as in sun
Aspirate Compound Consonants
h — as in home kṣ — as in monkship
tr — as in thrust without
the aspiration
Jñ — j + (ny as in canyon)
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