Gurmukhi vowels: mukta and the nine laga matra
Gurmukhi has ten vowel sounds. One of them, mukta, is invisible: every consonant carries a built-in short "a" unless a vowel sign changes it, so ਕ alone already says "ka". The other nine are written with signs called laga matra that attach above, below, or beside the consonant. Learn these nine shapes and the invisible tenth, and you can voice any Punjabi word you see.
The nine vowel signs
Each sign is shown on its own here; on the page it always rides a consonant. Tap play to hear its name.
A vertical line AFTER a letter that lengthens its vowel to a long 'aa'. With Aira it forms ਆ.
WRITTEN BEFORE the letter but READ AFTER it, a common surprise. With Iri it forms ਇ.
Written after the letter, it gives a long 'ee'. With Iri it forms ਈ.
A small mark UNDER the letter for a short 'u'. With Ura it forms ਉ.
A mark under the letter for a long 'oo'. With Ura it forms ਊ.
A stroke above the letter for a long 'e'. With Iri it forms ਏ.
Two strokes above for an open 'ai'. With Aira it forms ਐ.
A mark above the letter for a long 'o'. With Ura it forms ਓ.
Two marks above for an open 'au'. With Aira it forms ਔ.
The three bearer letters
A vowel at the start of a word has no consonant to lean on, so Gurmukhi gives it one of three bearer letters: ura, aira, and iri. Which bearer pairs with which vowel sign is fixed, and it is the first thing the script track drills, because it is the one genuinely arbitrary part of an otherwise regular system.
Ura makes no sound on its own. It is a 'chair' that carries the vowels u, oo and o (ਉ ਊ ਓ).
Aira is the only bearer with its own sound: a short 'uh'. Every consonant also hides this sound unless a vowel sign changes it.
Iri makes no sound alone. It carries the vowels i, ee and e (ਇ ਈ ਏ).
Nasal marks and the doubler
Two marks send a vowel through the nose, tippi for the short vowels and bindi for the open ones, and addak doubles the consonant that follows it. These three do heavy work: ਪੰਜ (panj, five) needs its tippi and ਇੱਕ (ikk, one) needs its addak.
A small mark that nasalizes the vowel by sending air through the nose. Used over short/most vowels.
A dot that nasalizes the vowel; used over the open vowels (kanna, lavan, etc.).
Doubles the NEXT consonant. Hold it a beat longer. ਪੱਕਾ is 'pakkaa', not 'pakaa'.
How to practice them
Read real words early. Take a word you know by ear, ਪਾਣੀ (pani, water) say, and watch the signs do their job: kanna stretches pa, bihari closes it with ee. Ten minutes a day of this and the signs stop being diacritics and start being sounds. The app's Gurmukhi track sequences all of this with tracing and audio, free.
Keep going: the full alphabet chart · pairin and nukta letters · Punjabi numbers
Learn the whole script in the app. The Gurmukhi track goes from zero to reading, with tracing on every letter, and every lesson is free.