Pronunciation
Vowels
a
– as in ‘about’
Examples: avadhūta, kṛṣṇa
Sanskrit: 'about'
Bengali: 'hot' or 'sofa'
ā
– as in ‘father’
Examples: ānanda, rādhā
Standard across all languages
i
– as in ‘see’
Examples: indra, hari
Standard across all languages
ī
– as in ‘see’ (longer)
Examples: īśvara, gopī
Standard across all languages
u
– as in ‘mood’
Examples: upadeśa, guru
Standard across all languages
ū
– as in ‘mood’ (longer)
Examples: ūrdhva, rūpa
Standard across all languages
ṛ
– as in ‘rip’ (trilled)
Examples: ṛṣi, kṛṣṇa
Standard across all languages
e
– as in French ‘café’
Examples: ekādaśī, prema
Standard across all languages
ai
– as in ‘high’
Examples: aiśvarya, caitanya
Sanskrit: 'high'
Bengali: 'boy'
o
– as in ‘sofa’
Examples: om, govinda
Standard across all languages
au
– as in ‘now’
Examples: audārya, gaurāṅga
Sanskrit: 'now'
Bengali: 'o' + 'u'
Velar Consonants (Back of the throat)
k
– as in ‘kite’
Examples: kṛṣṇa, loka
Standard across all languages
kh
– as in ‘blockhead’ (aspirated)
Examples: khaṇḍana, mukha
Standard across all languages
g
– as in ‘go’
Examples: gaurāṅga, bhagavān
Standard across all languages
gh
– as in ‘loghut’ (aspirated)
Examples: ghana, agha
Standard across all languages
ṅ
– as in ‘sing’
Examples: maṅgala, aṅga
Standard across all languages
Palatal Consonants (Roof of the mouth)
c
– as in ‘chair’
Examples: caitanya, śacī
Standard across all languages
ch
– as in ‘catch-him’ (aspirated)
Examples: channa, guccha
Standard across all languages
j
– as in ‘joy’
Examples: jīva, vraja
Standard across all languages
jh
– as in ‘hedgehog’ (aspirated)
Examples: jhulana, majhāra
Standard across all languages
ñ
– as in ‘canyon’
Examples: pañca, añjana
Standard across all languages
Retroflex Consonants (Tongue curled back)
ṭ
– as in ‘tub’ (tongue curled back)
Examples: ṭīkā, kapaṭa
Standard across all languages
ṭh
– as in ‘anthill’ (aspirated)
Examples: ṭhākura, pāṭha
Standard across all languages
ḍ
– as in ‘drum’
Examples: ḍāko, maṇḍala
Standard across all languages
ḍh
– as in ‘redhot’ (aspirated)
Examples: ḍhākā, gūḍha
Standard across all languages
ḓ
– Retroflex flap (does not exist in Sanskrit)
Examples: baḓa, krīḓā
Bengali & Hindi: flap (ড় / ड़)
ḓh
– Aspirated flap (does not exist in Sanskrit)
Examples: dṛḓha, āṣāḓha
Bengali & Hindi: flap (ঢ় / ढ़)
Dental Consonants (Tongue on the teeth)
t
– as in ‘water’ (Spanish/French 't')
Examples: tattva, bhakta
Standard across all languages
th
– as in ‘lightheart’ (aspirated)
Examples: kathā, ratha
Standard across all languages
d
– as in ‘the’ or Spanish 'd'
Examples: dāsa, deva
Standard across all languages
dh
– as in ‘breathe-hard’ (aspirated)
Examples: dharma, dhāma
Standard across all languages
n
– as in ‘nut’
Examples: nāma, ānanda
Standard across all languages
Labial Consonants (Lips together)
p
– as in ‘pin’
Examples: prema, pūjā
Standard across all languages
ph
– as in ‘loophole’
Examples: phala, saphala
Sanskrit: 'loophole' (aspirated p)
Bengali & Hindi: 'f' as in 'food'
b
– as in ‘boy’
Examples: bāla, bindu
Standard across all languages
bh
– as in ‘clubhouse’ (aspirated)
Examples: bhakti, bhagavān
Standard across all languages
m
– as in ‘mother’
Examples: mātā, mahā
Standard across all languages
Semivowels, Sibilants & Special Consonants
y
– as in ‘yes’
Examples: yoga, yamunā
Sanskrit: 'yes'
Bengali: 'j' as in 'joy'
r
– as in ‘run’ (slightly trilled)
Examples: rāma, rasa
Standard across all languages
l
– as in ‘light’
Examples: līlā, loka
Standard across all languages
v
– between ‘vine’ and ‘wine’
Examples: vṛndāvana, veda
Sanskrit: 'v/w' blend
Bengali: 'b' as in 'boy'
ś
– as in ‘shine’
Examples: śiva, śānti
Standard across all languages
ṣ
– as in ‘shine’ (tongue curled back)
Examples: kṛṣṇa, viṣṇu
Sanskrit: curled 'sh'
Bengali: same as 'ś'
s
– as in ‘sun’
Examples: sarva, sādhu
Sanskrit: 'sun'
Bengali: same as 'ś'
h
– as in ‘home’
Examples: hari, hariṇāma
Standard across all languages
kṣ
– a blend of 'k' + 'sh'
Examples: kṣamā, kṣetra
Sanskrit: 'k+sh'
Bengali: 'kkh'
jñ
– as in ‘gyan’ (hard 'g' + 'y')
Examples: jñāna, yajña
Standard across all languages