What are common mistakes with देवनागरी स्वर?

Confusing short/long vowel pairs (इ/ई, उ/ऊ) which change word meaning. 🇬🇧 English: English has no inherent vowel concept — every consonant in Hindi includes अ unless marked otherwise. 🇩🇪 German: German vowel length distinction helps, but matra placement (before/after/below consonant) is entirely new. 🇷🇺 Russian: Russian vowel reduction doesn't apply — Hindi vowels keep their quality regardless of stress.

देवनागरी स्वर: rules, examples & exercises | Hindi Grammar A1

देवनागरी स्वर

A1 — लिपि

Hindi vowels (svar) and their matra forms

I can recognize and read all 11 Hindi vowels in both full and matra forms

Examples

आम — Mango
दिन — Day
दूध — Milk
देश — Country

लिपिA1

Devanagari Vowels

Hindi vowels and their matra forms

Learning Goal

I can recognize and read all 11 Hindi vowels

Exam Skills:पढ़नालिखना

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

आम

Mango

दिन

Day

दूध

Milk

देश

Country

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

स्वर (Vowels)

Hindi has 11 vowels (स्वर). Each has a full form (used word-initially) and a मात्रा (matra) form attached to consonants.

Full	Matra	Example
अ	inherent	कम (kam)
आ	ा	काम (kām)
इ	ि	किला (kilā)
ई	ी	नदी (nadī)
उ	ु	गुरु (guru)
ऊ	ू	दूध (dūdh)
ए	े	देश (desh)
ऐ	ै	पैसा (paisā)
ओ	ो	रोटी (roṭī)
औ	ौ	मौसम (mausam)
ऋ	ृ	कृषि (kṛṣi)

Key: अ is inherent in every consonant. Short/long pairs: इ/ई, उ/ऊ — length changes meaning.

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Confusing short/long vowel pairs (इ/ई, उ/ऊ) which change word meaning. 🇬🇧 English: English has no inherent vowel concept — every consonant in Hindi includes अ unless marked otherwise.

Common Error Patterns

Confusing short and long vowel pairs

Practice minimal pairs: दिन (din, day) vs दीन (dīn, poor)

Incorrect matra position

Review: ि before, ी after, ु/ू below, े/ै above

आम

Mango

आ (ā) is the long form of अ (a).

दिन

Day

ि (short i matra) sits before the consonant in writing.

दूध

Milk

ू (long ū matra) goes below the consonant.

देश

Country

े (e matra) sits above the consonant's headline.

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course

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Put it into practice

Try a free exercise from the course

1. Devanagari and pronunciation

Frequently asked questions

When is देवनागरी स्वर used?: Hindi has 11 vowels (स्वर) . Each has a full form (used word-initially) and a मात्रा (matra) form attached to consonants.
How is देवनागरी स्वर formed?: Key: अ is inherent in every consonant. Short/long pairs: इ/ई, उ/ऊ — length changes meaning.
What are common mistakes with देवनागरी स्वर?: Confusing short/long vowel pairs (इ/ई, उ/ऊ) which change word meaning. 🇬🇧 English: English has no inherent vowel concept — every consonant in Hindi includes अ unless marked otherwise. 🇩🇪 German: German vowel length distinction helps, but matra placement (before/after/below consonant) is entirely new. 🇷🇺 Russian: Russian vowel reduction doesn't apply — Hindi vowels keep their quality regardless of stress.