The big picture
Gurmukhi is written left to right, like English. It has 35 core letters — the traditional name is paintī akhar, "thirty-five letters." Each consonant letter carries an inherent vowel sound, a as in "about," unless a vowel sign says otherwise. There are no capital letters and no cursive forms.
The first three letters — ੳ, ਅ, ੲ — are vowel "carriers": they have no consonant sound of their own and exist so that vowel signs can be written at the start of a word.
The 35 letters, in order
The traditional chart groups letters in rows. Read them row by row — you'll notice the order is systematic: rows 2–5 move through the mouth from the throat to the lips, each with unaspirated, aspirated, and voiced versions.
| Gurmukhi | Transliteration | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| ੳ ਅ ੲ | vowel carriers | carry vowel sounds at word start (ੳ=u, ਅ=a, ੲ=i/e) |
| ਸ ਹ | s, h | s, h |
| ਕ ਖ ਗ ਘ ਙ | k, kh, g, gh, ṅ | k in skip, aspirated k, g, voiced-aspirated g, ng in sing |
| ਚ ਛ ਜ ਝ ਞ | c, ch, j, jh, ñ | ch in church, aspirated ch, j, voiced-aspirated j, ny in canyon |
| ਟ ਠ ਡ ਢ ਣ | ṭ, ṭh, ḍ, ḍh, ṇ | retroflex t/th/d/dh/n — tongue curled back |
| ਤ ਥ ਦ ਧ ਨ | t, th, d, dh, n | dental t/th/d/dh/n — tongue on the teeth |
| ਪ ਫ ਬ ਭ ਮ | p, ph, b, bh, m | p in spin, aspirated p, b, voiced-aspirated b, m |
| ਯ ਰ ਲ ਵ ੜ | y, r, l, v, ṛ | y, r (flapped), l, v (between v and w), retroflex flap ṛ |
| ਸ਼ ਖ਼ ਗ਼ ਜ਼ ਫ਼ ਲ਼ | ś, kh, ġ, z, f, ḷ | letters with the nukta dot — mostly for loanwords: sh, kh (loch), gh (ghair), z, f, retroflex l |
The first row are vowel carriers, not consonants. The last row adds the nukta dot (pairā bindī) to an existing letter for sounds borrowed from Persian, Arabic, or English — e.g., ਜ਼ in ਜ਼ਰੂਰੀ zarūrī 'necessary'.
Two letters in the chart barely ever appear in modern writing: ਘ gh and ਝ jh exist in the alphabet but their sounds have merged into tone-producing spellings you'll learn about in pronunciation. You'll still see them inside words — and that's where Punjabi's famous tone comes from.
Vowel signs (matras)
A consonant alone reads as consonant + "a." Other vowels are written with a sign attached to the consonant. Here they are on ਕ (k):
| With ਕ | Transliteration | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| ਕ | ka | a — short, like the 'a' in 'about' |
| ਕਾ | kā | ā — long open a, like 'father' |
| ਕਿ | ki | i — short, like 'bit' |
| ਕੀ | kī | ī — long ee, like 'machine' |
| ਕੁ | ku | u — short, like 'put' |
| ਕੂ | kū | ū — long oo, like 'rule' |
| ਕੇ | ke | e — like 'they' without the glide |
| ਕੈ | kai | ai — like 'sigh' |
| ਕੋ | ko | o — like 'go' |
| ਕੌ | kau | au — like 'house' |
Independent vowels at the start of a word use the carriers: ਆ ā, ਇ i, ਈ ī, ਉ u, ਊ ū, ਏ e, ਐ ai, ਓ o, ਔ au — e.g., ਆਮ ām 'mango', ਇੱਕ ikk 'one'.
Nasalization and doubling
Three small marks do a lot of work:
| Mark | Name | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ਂ (bindi) | a dot above — nasalizes the vowel | ਹਾਂ hāṁ 'yes' — the ā is nasalized |
| ੰ (tippi) | nasal mark after short vowels | ਪੰਜਾਬ pañjāb — 'nj' nasal sound |
| ੱ (addak) | a small mark that doubles the next consonant | ਅੱਛਾ acchā 'good' — a long, held ch |
In this course's transliteration, bindi/tippi nasalization is written ṃ (or ṅ where it behaves like an English 'ng'), and a doubled consonant is written double.
The addak is the one beginners most often miss: it sits above the line between two letters and tells you to hold the next consonant longer. ਚੱਕ cakk 'spin/turn' and ਚੱਕਰ cakkar 'dizziness/circle' are classic examples — if you drop the doubling, the word can change meaning.
Joined letters (a small set)
Some scripts stack consonants into big conjunct clusters; Gurmukhi mostly doesn't. You'll mainly see subjoined ਰ r, ਹ h, and ਵ v written as a small foot under the first letter — e.g., ਪ੍ਰ pr in ਪ੍ਰਗਤ pragat 'manifest'. The practical rule: wherever two consonants collide with no vowel between them, the second may tuck underneath as a subscript.
| Gurmukhi | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ਸ੍ਰੀ | srī | sri — the familiar honorific in 'sat srī akāl' |
| ਪ੍ਰਭੁ | prabhu | Lord (common in religious/formal vocabulary) |
| ਵ੍ਹਾਈ | vhāī | Wi-Fi (loanword spelling) |
ਸ੍ਰੀ is written s + subjoined r + ī sign — read it 'srī'. You'll meet subscripts in everyday loanwords and formal terms more than in casual speech.
What English speakers misread
| Looks like | Actually is | Why |
|---|---|---|
| ਪ | p (unaspirated) | softer than English 'p' — like the p in 'spin', not 'pin' |
| ਫ | ph (aspirated p) | a p with a strong puff of air — not the 'f' sound; f is written ਫ਼ with a dot |
| ਤ | t (dental) | tongue touches the back of the teeth — softer than English t |
| ਟ | ṭ (retroflex) | tongue curls back — the 'hard t' sound people associate with Indian accents |
| ਵ | v (labial) | somewhere between English v and w — top teeth don't bite the lip hard |
Gurmukhi digits
Gurmukhi has its own digits. You'll see them on clocks, calendars, and signs — though Western digits are also common everywhere in India.
| Digit | Value | Digit | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| ੦ | 0 | ੫ | 5 |
| ੧ | 1 | ੬ | 6 |
| ੨ | 2 | ੭ | 7 |
| ੩ | 3 | ੮ | 8 |
| ੪ | 4 | ੯ | 9 |
Mini practice
Q1. How many core letters does the Gurmukhi chart have?
- 26
- 35
- 52
- 100
Answer: 35
Q2. A consonant letter with no vowel sign reads as consonant + what?
- No vowel at all
- The short vowel 'a'
- The long vowel 'ā'
- The vowel 'i'
Answer: The short vowel 'a'
Q3. What does the addak (ੱ) do?
- Nasalizes the vowel
- Doubles/lengthens the next consonant
- Marks a question
- Makes the letter silent
Answer: Doubles/lengthens the next consonant
Q4. In ਹਾਂ (hāṁ, 'yes'), what does the dot above indicate?
- A pause
- Stress
- Nasalization of the vowel
- A silent letter
Answer: Nasalization of the vowel
Q5. The letter ਫ is pronounced as:
- English 'f'
- An aspirated p — p with a puff of air
- English 'ph' as in 'phone'
- A soft b
Answer: An aspirated p — p with a puff of air