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Varnamala

About 6 min · General Hindi · English

Time worked out from the lesson's 367 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.

वर्णमाला (Varnamala) forms the foundational bedrock of Hindi language study for MPESB Group 1/2/3 examinations. This topic tests candidates on alphabet classification, counting of letters, and their phonetic properties. A strong grasp of Varnamala enables accurate understanding of Sandhi, Samas, and spelling rules that follow in advanced sections.

Key ideas

• Varna (वर्ण) is the smallest unit of sound in Hindi that cannot be divided further. The collection of all varnas arranged systematically is called Varnamala.
• Swar (स्वर) are vowels that can be pronounced independently without help from any other letter. Hindi has 11 swar: अ, आ, इ, ई, उ, ऊ, ऋ, ए, ऐ, ओ, औ.
• Vyanjan (व्यंजन) are consonants that require support of a vowel (usually 'अ') to be pronounced. Hindi has 33 standard vyanjan from क to ह.
• Sparsh Vyanjan are the 25 consonants from क to म, organized in 5 vargas (groups) based on their place of articulation in the mouth.
• Antastha Vyanjan are semi-vowels (य, र, ल, व) — they fall between vowels and consonants in pronunciation.

Watch out for

• Confusing total letter counts: Students often say 52 or 44 letters without clarity. → Remember: 11 swar + 33 vyanjan = 44 basic; add 4 sanyukt + 2 ayogvaah (अं, अः) + 2 utkshipt (ड़, ढ़) for extended count of 52.
• Mixing Anunasik and Anuswar: Both involve nasal sounds but are different. → Anunasik (ँ) uses both nose and mouth; Anuswar (ं) is pure nasal. Example: चाँद (anunasik) vs संत (anuswar).
• Forgetting ऋ as a swar: Students exclude ऋ thinking it's a consonant. → ऋ is a hrasva swar used in Sanskrit-derived words like ऋषि, ऋतु.

Quick reference

• 11 Swar: अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ऋ ए ऐ ओ औ
• 5 Vargas: क-कंठ, च-तालु, ट-मूर्धा, त-दंत, प-ओष्ठ
• Mahapran letters: Every 2nd and 4th letter of each varga (ख, घ, छ, झ, ठ, ढ, थ, ध, फ, भ)
• Antastha = य र ल व | Ushma = श ष स ह
• Sanyukt Vyanjan: क्ष (क्+ष), त्र (त्+र), ज्ञ (ज्+ञ), श्र (श्+र)

Check yourself: 3 questions

This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 17 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.

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