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'''Devanāgarī''' is a ] used to ] many ]n languages, including ], ], ], ], ], as well as ]. It is a close descendent of the ] script that has been traced back to ]. The Brahmi script, in turn, is derived from the ] script of the 3rd millennium BC.
'''Devanāgarī''' is a ] used to ] many ]n languages, including ], ], ], ], ], as well as ]. It is a close descendent of the ] script that has been traced back to ]. The Brahmi script, in turn, is derived from the ] script of the ].
Indian languages written in scripts ''other than Devanagari'' include ] (] is however similar to Devanagari), ], ] and ].
Indian languages written in scripts ''other than Devanagari'' include ] (] is however similar to Devanagari), ], ] and ].
''Deva'' is the Sanskrit for "god", and ''Nagari'' is "a city"; together they mean, literally, "City of the Gods" (the humanbody) (when the compound is read as a '']''). This refers to the legend that the script was one used in such a city. The philosophy behind it being that when one meditates on the specific sounds of the Devanagari alphabet, the written forms appear spontaneously in the mind. The compound really functions as a '']''. An often-used transcription variant is "Devnagri".
''Deva'' is the Sanskrit for "god", and ''Nagari'' is "a city"; together they mean, literally, "City of the Gods" (the humanbody) (when the compound is read as a '']''). This refers to the legend that the script was one used in such a city. The philosophy behind it being that when one ] on the specific ]s of the Devanagari alphabet, the written forms appear spontaneously in the mind. The compound really functions as a '']''. An often-used transcription variant is "Devnagri".
Devanagari is written from left to right. Words are written together without spaces, so that the top bar is unbroken (there are some exceptions to this rule). The break of the top line primarily marks ]s. Devanagari knows no distinction of case, i.e. no ] and ] letters.
Devanagari is written from left to right. Words are written together without spaces, so that the top bar is unbroken (there are some exceptions to this rule). The break of the top line primarily marks breath groups.
Devanagari is partly ] in the sense that a word written in it can only be pronounced in one way, but not all possible pronunciations can be written perfectly. Devanagari has 34 ]s (''vyanjan''), and 12 ]s (''svar''). A ] (''akshar'') is formed by the combination of zero or one consonants and one vowel.
Devanagari is partly ] in the sense that a word written in it can only be pronounced in one way, but not all possible pronunciations can be written perfectly. Devanagari has 34 ]s (''vyanjan''), and 12 ]s (''svar''). A ] (''akshar'') is formed by the combination of zero or one consonants and one vowel.
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Among these, 'L' is not used in Hindi. The entire set is used in Marathi.
Among these, ळ is not used in Hindi. The entire set is used in Marathi.
There is no distinction of case, i.e. no ] and ] letters.
Deva is the Sanskrit for "god", and Nagari is "a city"; together they mean, literally, "City of the Gods" (the humanbody) (when the compound is read as a shashtitatpurusha). This refers to the legend that the script was one used in such a city. The philosophy behind it being that when one meditates on the specific sounds of the Devanagari alphabet, the written forms appear spontaneously in the mind. The compound really functions as a bahuvrihi. An often-used transcription variant is "Devnagri".
Devanagari is written from left to right. Words are written together without spaces, so that the top bar is unbroken (there are some exceptions to this rule). The break of the top line primarily marks breath groups. Devanagari knows no distinction of case, i.e. no majuscule and miniscule letters.
Devanagari is partly phonetic in the sense that a word written in it can only be pronounced in one way, but not all possible pronunciations can be written perfectly. Devanagari has 34 consonants (vyanjan), and 12 vowels (svar). A syllable (akshar) is formed by the combination of zero or one consonants and one vowel.
Devanagari Vowels and Related Symbols
Vowel
Transliteration
Pronunciation/Note
अ
a
'a' as in about
आ
aa
'a' as in art
इ
i
'i' as in pit
ई
ii
'ee' as in wheel
उ
u
'u' as in put
ऊ
uu
'oo' as in soot
ऋ
RRi
ॠ
RRI
ऌ
LLi
ॡ
LLI
ए
e
'a' as in rate
ऐ
ai
ओ
o
औ
au
ः
aH
visarga
्
halant
suppresses inherent vowel
Note: Unicode support is required to display these fonts, which may be found here.
When no vowel is written, 'a' is assumed. To specifically denote the absence of a vowel, a halant (also called virama) is used.
Devanagari Consonants
क
k
ख
kh
ग
g
घ
gh
च
ch
छ
chh
ज
j
झ
jh
ट
T
ठ
Th
ड
D
ढ
Dh
ण
N
त
t
थ
th
द
d
ध
dh
न
n
प
p
फ
ph
ब
b
भ
bh
म
m
य
y
र
r
ल
l
व
v/w
श
sh
shh
स
s
ह
h
ळ
L
ksh
gy/dny
The letters above are pronounced as in English, with the exceptions of:
Consonant
Pronunciation
ण
N
'n' with the tongue bent back
त
t
'th' as in thin, but it's a stop
थ
th
aspirated version of 't'
द
d
'th' as in the, but it's a stop
ध
dh
aspirated version of above
ळ
L
'l' with the tongue bent back
Among these, ळ is not used in Hindi. The entire set is used in Marathi.
Devanagari digits are written as follows:
Devanagari Digits
०
0
१
1
२
2
३
3
४
4
५
5
६
6
७
7
८
8
९
9
The ITRANS notation is a lossless transliteration scheme of Devanagari into English. The letters used to represent Devanagari alphabets in this notation have approximately the same pronunciation in English. It is widely used on Usenet. In ITRANS, the word Devanagari is written as "devanaagarii".
Note: "Devanagari" is the most common transliteration. Others are "Devnagri", "Devanagri", "Deonagri" (rare).