Vowel signs, part 2, and the vowel carriers

Four more marks

The second half of the muharni adds four vowels, and all four marks sit on top of the letter: lavan and dulavan, hora and kanaura.

• ਕੇkelavane as in the a of cake, without the glide at the end.
• ਕੈkaidulavanAn open e, between bed and bad. ਹੈ (hai, is).
• ਕੋkohorao as in go, without the glide at the end.
• ਕੌkaukanauraAn open o, like the o of more without the r. ਕੌਣ (kaun, who).

The whole muharni

Chant it the way Punjabi schools do: ka kaa ki kee ku koo ke kai ko kau. Then try it on any letter: ਮ ਮਾ ਮਿ ਮੀ ਮੁ ਮੂ ਮੇ ਮੈ ਮੋ ਮੌ.

• ਕkamuktaa
• ਕਾkaakannaaa
• ਕਿkisiharii
• ਕੀkeebihariee
• ਕੁkuaunkaru
• ਕੂkoodulainkaroo
• ਕੇkelavane
• ਕੈkaidulavanai
• ਕੋkohorao
• ਕੌkaukanauraau

Vowels at the start of a word: the carriers

A vowel mark needs a letter to sit on. When a word starts with a vowel, Gurmukhi puts the mark on one of the three carriers from row one, and each carrier takes only some of the marks.

The pattern: ੳ carries the u and o sounds, ੲ carries the i and e sounds, and ਅ carries the a sounds.

• ਅaairhaa, as in ਅਸੀਂ (asi, we).
• ਆaaairha kannaaa, as in ਆਪ (aap, you, very formal).
• ਐaiairha dulavanai, as in ਐਨਕ (ainak, glasses).
• ਔauairha kanauraau, as in ਔਖਾ (aukha, difficult).
• ਇieerhi siharii, as in ਇਹ (ih, this).
• ਈeeeerhi bihariee, as in ਈਰਖਾ (irkha, jealousy).
• ਏeeerhi lavane, as in ਏਕਤਾ (ekta, unity).
• ਉuoorha aunkaru, as in ਉਮਰ (umar, age).
• ਊoooorha dulainkaroo, as in ਊਠ (ooth, camel).
• ਓooorha horao, as in ਓਕੇ (okay).

Sujhaa: ਉ, ਊ and ਓ each look like one letter, but they are ੳ with its mark built in.

Between two vowels

Carriers also stand between two vowels, where a second vowel follows the first with no consonant in between. The romanization often writes that join with a y (ਗਿਆ is gaya, ਆਈ is aayi), but not always: ਜਾਓ is jao.

• ਗਿਆ

  gaya

  went (said of a man)

• ਆਈ

  aayi

  came (said of a woman)

• ਜਾਓ

  jao

  go (politely)

• ਆਇਆ

  aaya

  came (said of a man)

• ਲਈ

  layi

  for