How to Memorize Devanagari Script – Vowels Before we begin, a few few notes. First, I think that mnemonics mnemonics work best when personalized, so I recommend using these ideas as starting points, then modifying them to fit your own ideas and imagination. Also, bear in mind that I’m no expert here, and I’m basically learning the script as I write these posts. lease don’t hesitate to correct correct any mistakes I make by posting in the comments. !ith that in mind, mind, here’s the mnemonics mnemonics I’m using to learn the script as "uickly as possible. #he $e%anagari script is at left, followed by the %owel sound e"ui%alent&
ए - e I imagine that the symbol looks like an ' that has fallen o%er, with the bottom line breaking off at a strange angle. #his allows me to link ' with this shape. #his ' is pronounced pronounced like the ' in (break). *o I can also imagine that this ' fell o%er when it started to break.
ऐ - ai In order to remember the ai sound, I start with the ' shape, and imagine that the additional line is hitting the ' shape, which is appropriate, because the sound is similar to the %owel sound in (spank)
इ - i For this, I imagine that is it actually +ust a letter I. It has a line on the top and bottom, but but has been bent into an * shape in the middle. #his is pronounced like the i of (in), so I think of an I with an * (in) it.
ई - ī For this, I use the same mnemonic as abo%e, but the additional hook on top represents the line for the long i sound. I can imagine that it is steam (heat) rising out, as this is the %owel sound it makes. #he following %owels %owels will all be logically linked linked to the number - sounds for a, o, o, and u. In fact, we can learn this in order rather easily by adding one additional stroke to build each new letter in the se"uence. I’%e then created a single mnemonic mnemonic for remembering the pronunciations pronunciations of all these letters at the end of the list.
उ – u !e can start with the number for this symbol. It looks like a that is hanging down from the ceiling. #o link this to /, I imagine that a / is actually a that has been broken in half and turned sideways.
ऊ – ū #he long u sound needs an additional stroke to represent that line on top, so I simply add the line to the side of the . #he curled shape hanging off off might be a (spoon) that the is holding holding -see below for pronunciation mnemonic
अ–a 1
#he is seen more clearly now, and we add a %ertical line to the existing shape to get the (a) sound.
आ–ā #o make a (long a) sound simply add one more stroke, in this case a %ertical line next to the pre%ious (a) sound.
ओ–o #o get to an 0 sound, we add another stroke on top.
औ – au 1ext we add one final stroke on top to get the (au) sound. #o simplify this whole process, I created a mnemonic for the order of sounds that follows the addition of strokes, starting with the basic (hanging 2 shape. #he order is u, long u, a, long a, o, au. /sing the following sentence, you can remember the pronunciation for each of these sounds in order (I put the spoon up to alert my father to open his office.) #his sentence gi%es you the pronunciation for each of these letters in order&
उ put
ऊ
अ आ ओ औ spoon alert
father open
office
Finally, there is a one more %owel sound that is basically a (ri) sound -like in (riddle)
ऋ - ṛ I see this as a # with two r’s hanging off on either side 3 a backwards r to the left and a cursi%e r to the right. erhaps it is a (riddle) why these letters are hanging off each other. By using these mnemonics, I’%e been able to "uickly recall the pronunciation and writing of the %owels in the $e%anagari script. In the next post, I’ll create mnemonics for recalling the consonants.
How to Memorize Devanagari Script – Consonants After creating mnemonics for remembering the %owels of $e%anagari, I’%e now created some mnemonics for remembering the consonants. #he inherent %owel for each of these consonants is (a). !hen it appears, the (h) represents aspiration of the consonant -basically an extra burst of air. 4y focus in these mnemonics is to be able to recognize the characters so that I can begin reading trying to read actual content in 5indi, so I’m not looking for detailed mnemonics to exactly recall the writing of each letter, at this point, as long as I can recognize the pronunciation, I’ll be happy. !ith future exposure and input by reading, my confidence in writing the characters should also increase. I’ll add the same disclaimers as before& I’m no expert, so please correct any mistakes I may make. *econdly, I encourage you to personalize these mnemonics. art of the reason that I think mnemonics are effecti%e is that creating them forces you to consider the material and pay attention to details. 6ust taking the time to analyze each letter and think of a mnemonic can be enough to help your recall.
क- ka 2
#his letter makes a hard 7 sound. I think it looks like a # with (kurls) on each side.
ख - kha 5ere I imagine that the 8 sound -see below has swallowed something and is coughing, producing a (kha) sound.
ख़ – kha #his is similar to the sound abo%e, but the dot makes it more like the (ch) in 9och.
ग- ga For this, I see the curled line on the left as the bottom of a lower case cursi%e (g) that has been attached to a #.
ग़ – ga #his is similar to the sound of the g abo%e, but produced farther back in the throat.
घ- gha #o prepare for the extra burst of air -aspiration, the curl from abo%e - ग has folded itself o%er to hold on to the #.
ह- ha If you turn this sideways, it almost looks like (hc), +ust one more line added to the c would make it say (ha).
च – ca #his c sound is pronounced like the (ch) in cheese. It looked a bit like a c that has been chained to a post.
छ - cha #his looks like cursi%e (') holding up a maraca, ready to (cha:cha).
ज - ja #his letter is similar to the (ca) abo%e, except that the inner section is mirrored. It looks like it would make a good place to hang a +acket.
झ - jha #his looks like the short i %owel already learned, but now it’s +oined to another line for extra support -from the force of aspiration. 3
ज़ - za #his is pronounced like the z in (zip). After hanging my +acket on the hook -see ज abo%e, part of my zipper has broken off underneath.
य- ya #his can be seen as a cursi%e 8 with a line along the top.
श - śa #his is pronounced like the (sh) in ship. It’s looks like ;#, but the line on the left of the ; has been sha%ed right off.
ट- ṭa #his is a hard t sound like (train). It looks a bit like something you could hold for support on a subway train.
ṭ ha ठ- !e add to the pre%ious letter by completing the circle, and we add to the sound by adding an (h
ड - ḍa #o me, this looks like a < that is hanging down from the ceiling. #he sound is like the d in (dream).
- ṛa #his is flapped (r) sound, where the tongue makes the ड sound hitting the palate. 5ere the dot is a reminder to flap my tongue.
ढ - ḍha #o add one letter -h to the ड , we count up from < to =, as this now looks like a = hanging from the ceiling.
- ṛha #his is the flapped e"ui%alent of the ढ : d >ha abo%e.
ण - ṇa #his shape reminds me of a streetlamp. #o associate this to the (n) sound, I remember that streetlights are only on at (night).
र - ra #his looks a bit like an (r) that is attached to a ceiling but has started to unbend a little bit from its own weight. 4
ष - ṣa #his letter is apparently rare and only occurs in words from *anskrit. It’s an aspirated (sh) sound, so I imagine it’s a (p) that has been shot with an arrow.
त - ta #his is more like the (tth) sound you get when you say (at the). I imagine the letter at a # plus a backwards h, which also helps remember the pronunciation.
थ - tha 1ow I imagine that the increased aspiration has cause the h from त to flip up and curl o%er.
द - da #his sort of like the (dth) sound in (breadth). #he hard # sound from ट : t >a has been softened by the extra line.
ध - dha #his is the aspirated form of the pre%ious sound. !ith a little imagination, you might see it as a d that is being blown apart next to a #, to remind you of the dth sound.
न - na #his is the dental n sound similar to (anthem). I imagine the line +utting out is a tongue, curling as it is pressed against the -in%isible teeth.
ल - la #he cur%e to the left on this character looks like the top of a heart, attached to a #. #o associate this with the (9) sound, I think of the word (9o%e).
स - sa #his looks like a ? sitting on a line, which gi%es me the (s) sound.
प - pa #his letter looks like a , except it has been re%ersed.
- pha #his is a combination of the re%ersed abo%e, plus the cur%e of an h on the right.
! - fa 9ike in 'nglish, the (ph) can also make an F sound. #he dot here lets you know when that’s happened.
" - ba
5
For this, I see that it sort of looks like a b that has been re%ersed and slightly lifted, with a line through the middle and another on top. It’s pronounced like the b in (bin), so I think of the space as a bin with something in it.
# - bha I imagine that the extra aspiration of the h has blown apart the circle from the " abo%e, causing it to curl off in the other direction.
$ - ma #his looks a bit like a four, with a small loop added. I imagine that the loop is a little gift (? my ma(.
% - a #his is %ery similar to the b sound earlier, but without the line in the middle. *ince B and @ are similar sounds, this helps me remember this is @. #his @ sound is actually somewhere between a @ and a !. #here are a few other consonants that are mentioned in my #each 8ourself 5indi book, but these are noted to be rare, so I’%e chosen to ignore them for now. I figure that if I come across them later it will be much easier to learn them if I’%e already had a bit of practice with the basics and the most common letters. In the next post, I’ll discuss some mnemonics for how %owels and consonants are combined.
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