The Gurmukhi alphabet, letter by letter
Gurmukhi is the script Punjabi is written in across India and most of the diaspora. Its core is a set of 35 letters called the painti akhar (ਪੈਂਤੀ ਅੱਖਰ, “the thirty-five letters”). This page lists every character: the 35 letters, the six nukta letters, the vowel signs, the nasalization marks, the subscript letters, and the ten numerals.
Each card has a play button with the letter’s recited name (sassa, kakka, and so on), which is how the alphabet is taught aloud in Punjab. The recordings are the same audio used in the Ladoo app. Print this page and you get a clean chart without the buttons.
The 35 letters (ਪੈਂਤੀ ਅੱਖਰ)
The first three letters, ura, aira, and iri, are vowel bearers: they carry vowel sounds rather than making a consonant sound of their own. The remaining 32 are consonants, arranged in rows by where in the mouth the sound is made. Punjabi is also one of the few Indo-Aryan languages with tones, which is why some of these letters (the voiced aspirates like ਘ, ਝ, ਢ, ਧ, ਭ) sound different at the start of a word than the chart order suggests.
Ura makes no sound on its own. It is a 'chair' that carries the vowels u, oo and o (ਉ ਊ ਓ).
Example: ਉਹ (uh), “that”
Aira is the only bearer with its own sound: a short 'uh'. Every consonant also hides this sound unless a vowel sign changes it.
Example: ਅੱਖ (akkh), “eye”
Iri makes no sound alone. It carries the vowels i, ee and e (ਇ ਈ ਏ).
Example: ਇਹ (ih), “this”
A clean, plain 's', the same as English.
Example: ਸੱਤ (satt), “seven”
A soft breath of 'h', as in English.
Example: ਹੱਥ (hatth), “hand”
UNASPIRATED: no puff of air. It is the k after s in 'skip', not the breathy k in 'kite'.
Example: ਕਿਤਾਬ (kitāb), “book”
ASPIRATED: a clear puff of air follows it. Hold your hand to your mouth. You should feel the breath.
Example: ਖਾਣਾ (khāṇā), “to eat”
A plain, hard 'g'.
Example: ਗਰਮ (garam), “hot”
A voiced 'g' released with a puff of air: no exact English match. Say 'g' and breathe out at the same time.
Example: ਘਰ (ghar), “house”
Rare on its own; you will mostly recognise it, not write it.
Example: ਚੰਗਾ (changā), “good (m)”
Unaspirated 'ch': no extra puff.
Example: ਚਾਹ (chāh), “tea”
ASPIRATED 'ch': add a breath of air after it.
Example: ਛੇ (chhe), “six”
A plain 'j'.
Example: ਜਾਣਾ (jāṇā), “to go”
A voiced 'j' released with a puff of air: no exact English match.
Example: ਝਾੜੂ (jhāṛū), “broom”
Very rare; recognition only.
Example: ਪੰਜ (panj), “five”
RETROFLEX: curl your tongue up and back to the roof of the mouth. Deeper than the English 't'.
Example: ਛੋਟਾ (chhoṭā), “small (m)”
RETROFLEX + ASPIRATED: tongue curled back, plus a puff of air.
Example: ਠੀਕ (ṭhīk), “fine / okay”
RETROFLEX 'd': tongue curled up and back, deeper than the English 'd' in 'dad'.
Example: ਡਾਕਟਰ (ḍākṭar), “doctor”
RETROFLEX + ASPIRATED 'd': tongue curled back, plus a puff of air.
Example: ਢਿੱਡ (ḍhiḍḍ), “stomach”
RETROFLEX 'n': tongue curled to the roof. No English equivalent; never starts a word.
Example: ਪਾਣੀ (pāṇī), “water”
DENTAL: tongue tip on the back of the upper TEETH, softer than the English 't'.
Example: ਤਿੰਨ (tinn), “three”
DENTAL + ASPIRATED: tongue on the teeth, plus a puff of air. Not the 'th' in 'thin'.
Example: ਥਾਂ (thāṃ), “place”
DENTAL 'd': tongue on the teeth, softer than the English 'd'. English 'd' in 'dad' sits BETWEEN this and the curled-back ਡ.
Example: ਦੋ (do), “two”
DENTAL + ASPIRATED 'd': tongue on the teeth, plus a puff of air.
Example: ਧੀ (dhī), “daughter”
A plain dental 'n', like English.
Example: ਨਾਮ (nām), “name”
UNASPIRATED: no puff of air, like the p after s in 'spin'.
Example: ਪੰਜਾਬੀ (panjābī), “Punjabi”
ASPIRATED 'p': a clear puff of air. (In many words it now sounds like 'f'.)
Example: ਫਲ (phal), “fruit”
A plain 'b'.
Example: ਬੂਹਾ (būhā), “door”
A voiced 'b' released with a puff of air: no exact English match.
Example: ਭਰਾ (bharā), “brother”
A plain 'm', like English.
Example: ਮਾਤਾ (mātā), “mother”
A plain 'y' glide.
Example: ਯਾਦ (yād), “memory / remembered”
TAPPED: flick the tongue once against the ridge. Do NOT bunch the tongue like the English 'r'.
Example: ਰੋਟੀ (roṭī), “bread”
A plain 'l', like English.
Example: ਲਾਲ (lāl), “red”
A soft sound halfway between 'v' and 'w': lips loose, not biting the lip.
Example: ਵੱਡਾ (vaḍḍā), “big (m)”
RETROFLEX flap: curl the tongue back and flick it forward. No English match; never starts a word.
Example: ਕੁੜੀ (kuṛī), “girl”
The six nukta letters
A dot (nukta, ਼) under a letter marks sounds that entered Punjabi through Persian, Arabic, and English loanwords, like the z in zamin or the f in fauj. In everyday speech many Punjabi speakers merge these with the base letters, so you will hear both pronunciations.
Sassa (ਸ) with a dot below becomes 'sh'.
Example: ਸ਼ਾਮ (shām), “evening”
Khakha (ਖ) with a dot below: a raspy 'kh' from the throat.
Example: ਖ਼ੁਸ਼ (khush), “happy”
Gagga (ਗ) with a dot below: a soft throaty 'gh'.
Example: ਗ਼ਲਤ (galat), “wrong”
Jajja (ਜ) with a dot below becomes 'z'.
Example: ਬਜ਼ਾਰ (bazār), “market / bazaar”
Phappha (ਫ) with a dot below becomes a true 'f'.
Example: ਫ਼ੋਨ (fon), “phone”
Lalla (ਲ) with a dot below: a retroflex 'l'. Regional; recognition only.
Example: ਵਾਲ਼ (vāl), “hair”
The vowel signs (ਲਗਾਂ ਮਾਤਰਾਂ)
Punjabi has ten vowel sounds but only nine written vowel signs; the tenth, mukta, is the short “a” a consonant carries by default with no mark at all. Each sign attaches to a consonant before, after, above, or below it.
A vertical line AFTER a letter that lengthens its vowel to a long 'aa'. With Aira it forms ਆ.
Example: ਕਾਲਾ (kālā), “black”
WRITTEN BEFORE the letter but READ AFTER it, a common surprise. With Iri it forms ਇ.
Example: ਪਿੰਡ (piṇḍ), “village”
Written after the letter, it gives a long 'ee'. With Iri it forms ਈ.
Example: ਕੀ (kī), “what”
A small mark UNDER the letter for a short 'u'. With Ura it forms ਉ.
Example: ਮੁੰਡਾ (muṇḍā), “boy”
A mark under the letter for a long 'oo'. With Ura it forms ਊ.
Example: ਸਕੂਲ (skūl), “school”
A stroke above the letter for a long 'e'. With Iri it forms ਏ.
Example: ਮੇਰਾ (merā), “my”
Two strokes above for an open 'ai'. With Aira it forms ਐ.
Example: ਪੈਸਾ (paisā), “money”
A mark above the letter for a long 'o'. With Ura it forms ਓ.
Example: ਦੋਸਤ (dost), “friend”
Two marks above for an open 'au'. With Aira it forms ਔ.
Example: ਮੌਸਮ (mausam), “weather”
Nasalization and doubling
Tippi and bindi nasalize a vowel (like the n in the French bon); which one is written depends on the vowel it sits with. Addak doubles the consonant that follows it, a length difference that changes meaning.
A small mark that nasalizes the vowel by sending air through the nose. Used over short/most vowels.
Example: ਤੂੰ (tūṃ), “you (informal)”
A dot that nasalizes the vowel; used over the open vowels (kanna, lavan, etc.).
Example: ਹਾਂ (hāṃ), “am / yes”
Doubles the NEXT consonant. Hold it a beat longer. ਪੱਕਾ is 'pakkaa', not 'pakaa'.
Example: ਇੱਕ (ikk), “one”
The subscript letters (ਪੈਰੀਂ)
Three letters can be written “in the foot” (pairin) of another letter, tucked underneath to form a cluster, like the r in the word Punjabi itself (ਪੰਜਾਬੀ uses none, but ਪ੍ਰੇਮ, prem, does).
A small copy of Rara tucked under another letter. The two sounds blend into one quick cluster, so ਪ + ੍ਰ reads 'pr'.
Example: ਪ੍ਰੇਮ (prem), “love”
A small Haha hiding under a letter. It adds a light breath that in everyday speech usually turns into a tone, as in ਪੜ੍ਹ.
Example: ਪੜ੍ਹ (parh), “read / study”
A rare little Vava under a letter, adding a quick w glide. You will mostly meet it in careful or classical spellings like ਸ੍ਵਰ.
Example: ਸ੍ਵਰ (svar), “vowel sound”
The numerals
Gurmukhi has its own digits, used in the Guru Granth Sahib and traditional texts. Modern Punjabi writing mostly uses Western digits, but you will meet these in religious and older material.
Zero. Say 'sifar'.
Example: ਸਿਫ਼ਰ (sifar), “zero”
One. Say 'ikk'.
Example: ਇੱਕ (ikk), “one”
Two. Say 'do'.
Example: ਦੋ (do), “two”
Three. Say 'tinn'.
Example: ਤਿੰਨ (tinn), “three”
Four. Say 'chaar'.
Example: ਚਾਰ (chaar), “four”
Five. Say 'panj'.
Example: ਪੰਜ (panj), “five”
Six. Say 'chhe'.
Example: ਛੇ (chhe), “six”
Seven. Say 'satt'.
Example: ਸੱਤ (satt), “seven”
Eight. Say 'atth'.
Example: ਅੱਠ (atth), “eight”
Nine. Say 'nau(n)', through the nose.
Example: ਨੌਂ (naun), “nine”
Ladoo teaches the Gurmukhi alphabet
Ladoo teaches the Gurmukhi alphabet, letter by letter, in a dedicated script track: all 35 letters, the six nukta letters, every vowel sign, and the numerals, in a careful order with native-quality audio, finger tracing, and flashcards. Seeing the chart is step one; reading comes from meeting the letters a few at a time, hearing them, and writing them until they feel familiar, and Ladoo assumes no prior reading ability.
Learn to read Gurmukhi with Ladoo. Free to start on iPhone and Android, with the same audio you heard on this page.