Gurmukhi script

The alphabet, the vowel signs and the tones, until you can read the words you already know.

  1. How Gurmukhi worksWhy every letter already says “a”, how vowels attach to letters, and the first two rows of the alphabet.About 6 min
  2. Rows three and four: ਚ to ਣThe ch and j sounds, and the letters English doesn’t have: ਟ ਠ ਡ ਢ ਣ, said with the tongue curled back.About 4 min
  3. Rows five to seven: ਤ to ੜThe t and d said against the teeth, the lip sounds p, b and m, and the last row: y, r, l, v and the flapped ੜ.About 5 min
  4. Dotted letters and Gurmukhi digitsThe six letters with a dot underneath for sounds like z, f and sh, and the digits you’ll see on every Ang.About 4 min
  5. Vowel signs, part 1: a, i and uKanna, sihari, bihari, aunkar and dulainkar: the marks for aa, i, ee, u and oo, and how the romanization spells them.About 4 min
  6. Vowel signs, part 2, and the vowel carriersLavan, dulavan, hora and kanaura, the whole muharni, and how ੳ ਅ ੲ carry a vowel at the start of a word.About 4 min
  7. Nasal marks, doubled letters, letters underneathBindi and tippi for nasal vowels, addak for doubled consonants, and the half letters tucked under another letter.About 4 min
  8. Tones: what ਘ ਝ ਢ ਧ ਭ and ਹ really doPunjabi has tones. Here is how five letters and ਹ turn into a low or a high pitch, and why you already hear them.About 4 min
  9. Reading practice: words you already knowPut it all together on words from the Gurdwara, the kitchen and the family, then on short sentences.About 4 min