a | a go |
ā | fa ther |
ai | ki te |
au | rou nd |
b | b it |
bh | clubh ouse |
c | ch ip |
ch | ranch h ouse |
d | d eed |
dh | red h air |
ḍ | ad roit |
ḍh | mud h ut |
e | ma te |
g | go |
gh | fogh orn |
h | h eart |
ḥ | h, followed by a faint echo of the preceding vowel: e.g., aha, āha, ihi, uhu, oho, aihi, auhu |
i | bi t |
ī | machi ne |
j | j ump |
jh | hedgeh og |
jñ | egg y oik |
k | sk ate |
kh | sin kh ole |
l | l et |
m | m an |
ṁ | nasal, as in French bon |
n | n eed |
ṅ | sing |
ñ | in ch |
ṇ | un der |
o | ho pe |
p | sp un |
ph | uph old |
r | r un |
ṛ | pre tty |
ṝ | like ṛ but longer |
s | s it |
ś | sh eep |
ṣ | sh ut |
t | st ar |
th | right h and |
ṭ | t ry |
ṭh | boath ouse |
u | pu t |
ū | boo t |
v | v ery |
y | y es |
The cerebral consonants, ṭ, ṭh, ḍ, ḍh, ṇ, are pronounced with the tip of the tongue curled back against the hard palate, farther back than the English point of articulation. The dental consonants, t, th, d, dh, n, are pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching the edge of the front teeth, a position more forward than in English. Similarly, the cerebral sibilant, ṣ, is articulated farther back in the mouth than the palatal sibilant, ś. When following another consonant, v is pronounced like English w.
The accentuation of syllables in Sanskrit is weaker than in English. The stress falls on the penultimate (next to last) syllable when that syllable contains a long vowel, a diphthong (e, ai, o, au), or a short vowel followed by two or more consonants. Otherwise, the stress falls on the antepenultimate, or preceding, syllable. Thus: ahaṁkā ra, advai ta, adharma, ala kṣmī, a sura, aparājitā.