Vowels

a “a” as in “father”
ā“aah” as in “aah”
i“ee” as in “meek”
ī“eee” as in “eeek”
u“oo” as in “brood”
ū“ooo” as in “boo”
“ru” as in “rude”
no English equivalent
no English equivalent
e“ay” as in “day”
ai“ie” as in “”die”
o“oe” as in “doe”
au“ow” as in “cow”
अंaṃANUSVĀRA is a nasalization that approximates “m,” as in “Saṃskṛta”
अःaḥVISARGA is an added aspiration, often at the end of the word, that incorporates the preceding vowel. Thus, “namaḥ” is pronounced, “namaha,” “hariḥ” is pronounced, “harihi.”

Classified Consonants

k“k” as in “bike”
khaspirated consonant
gsimilar to the English
ghaspirated consonant
“ng” as in “ring”
csimilar to the English
chaspirated consonant
jsimilar to the English
jhaspirated consonant
ñ“ny” as in “canyon”
retroflex
ṭhretroflex, aspirated consonant
retroflex
ḍhretroflex, aspirated consonant
“ṇ” as in “guṇa” Retroflex; no English equivalent.
tsimilar to the English
thaspirated consonant
dsimilar to the English
dhaspirated consonant
n“n” as in “no”
psimilar to the English
phaspirated consonant
bsimilar to the English
bhaspirated consonant
m“m” as in “mow”

 

Unclassified Consonants

ysimilar to the English
rsimilar to the English
lsimilar to the English
vsimilar to the English
śś “sh” as in “shave”
ṣ as in “doṣa” Retroflex; no English equivalent.
s“s” as in “save”
hsimilar to the English