33 Hindi consonants by articulation group
I can recognize all 33 Hindi consonants and understand aspiration
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
कमल
Lotus
खाना
Food / To eat
टमाटर
Tomato
पानी
Water
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Hindi has 33 consonants (व्यंजन) arranged in 5 groups (वर्ग) by articulation point, plus 4 semi-vowels and 3 sibilants.
| Group | Letters | Place |
|---|---|---|
| क-वर्ग | क ख ग घ ङ | Velar (throat) |
| च-वर्ग | च छ ज झ ञ | Palatal (palate) |
| ट-वर्ग | ट ठ ड ढ ण | Retroflex (tongue curled) |
| त-वर्ग | त थ द ध न | Dental (teeth) |
| प-वर्ग | प फ ब भ म | Labial (lips) |
Pattern: Each group has unaspirated, aspirated, voiced, voiced-aspirated, nasal. Aspiration (ख vs क) is a puff of air — critical in Hindi. Also: य र ल व (semi-vowels), श ष स ह (sibilants+h).
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesMissing aspiration distinction (क vs ख)
Hold hand before mouth — aspirated letters produce a puff of air
Using dental instead of retroflex sounds
Curl tongue tip back for ट-group; keep it at teeth for त-group
कमल
Lotus
क (ka) — unaspirated velar stop.
खाना
Food / To eat
ख (kha) — aspirated velar. Feel the puff of air vs क.
टमाटर
Tomato
ट (ṭa) — retroflex: curl tongue tip back to the palate.
पानी
Water
प (pa) — unaspirated labial, like English 'spin' (not 'pin').
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises