There are 6 additional signs in the Devanagari alphabet.
Nasalization (candrabindu)
Each of the vowels (except ऋ ri) can be nasalized. To indicate that a vowel is nasalized the sign candrabindu is used: ँ. Candrabindu is written either over the vowel itself (ex: माँ) or over the headstroke of the consonant to which the vowel is attached (ex: दूँ). If any part of the vowel is written above the headstroke, then only the dot is written instead of the full candrabindu (ex: हैं, दोनों, में, थीं).
See the table below.
|
Vowel |
अ |
आ |
इ |
ई |
उ |
ऊ |
ए |
ऐ |
ओ |
औ |
|
Nasalized Vowel |
अँ |
आँ |
इँ |
ईं |
उँ |
ऊँ |
एँ |
ऐं |
ओं |
औं |
Anusvara
Anusvara is a commonly used sign which replaces any of five nasal consonants of the syllabary when they occur as the first member of a ligature. It is a dot written above the headstroke at the right-hand end of the preceding character. Thus, such combinations can be written either as a ligature, or as a consonant with anusvara. The second variant is preferable.
Ex: लम्बा = लंबा, हिन्दी = हिंदी
Anusvara should not be confused with candrabindu. The two forms are transliterated differently. The nasalization is transliterated as 'N'. No special sign is used for anusvara, just the appropriate nasal consonant - the nasal consonant of the same varga as the following consonant.
Compare: करेंगे kareNge, रंग rańg
Visarga
This sign is used only in Sanskrit loan words. It rarely occurs in Hindi. When it does appear, it looks like a colon in the middle or at the end of a word. It is pronounced as [h], but very slightly, almost noiselessly.
Ex: दुःख duƕkh, छः chaƕ
Halant or Viraam
This sign ् is used to indicate that a consonant loses the inherent vowel 'a'. This often happens at the end of a word, but normally it is not written in this position. For that reason, one should memorize when the inherent vowel is pronounced at the end of a word and when it is not. Usually, it is not pronounced, but if a word ends in a ligature of two or three consonants, the 'a' sound may be heard at the end.
Compare: विषय् vişay = विषय vişay, युवक् yuvak = युवक yuvak
योग्य yogy(a) राष्ट्र raşTr(a)
Abbreviations
For abbreviations, Hindi uses a small circle ॰ after the first syllable of the word abbreviated. For the initials of proper names, both the Devanagari itself and the Devanagari transliteration of the English form may be used.
Ex: Uttar Pradesh (UP) उत्तर प्रदेश: 1) उ॰प्र॰ u pra; 2) यू॰पी॰ yuu pii
A special sign for the English sound 'ch'
There is a special sign to represent the English sound 'ch' in the words like 'chocolate' चाॅक्लेट.
Punctuation
Hindi employs the same punctuation as English, except that a full stop is normally written as a special sign ।, which is called danda.
Ex: मेरा नाम राम हैं। My name is Ram.
See Also: