VOWELS

a—like the a in organ or the u in but	ṛ—like ree in reed
ā—like the a in far, but held twice as long as short a	ḷ—like l followed by ṛ (lṛ)
i—like the i in pin	e—like the e in they
ī—like the i in pique, but held twice as long as short i	ai—like the ai in aisle
u—like the u in push	o—like the o in go
ū—like the u in rule, but held twice as long as short u	au—like the ow in how

CONSONANTS

k—as in kite	d—as in dove, but with the tongue against the teeth
kh—as in Eckhart	dh—as in red-hot, but with the tongue against the teeth
g—as in give	n—as in nut, but with the tongue against the teeth
gh—as in dig-hard	p—as in pine
ṅ—as in sing	ph—as in uphill (not pronounced like f)
c—as in chair	b—as in bird
j—as in joy	bh—as in rub-hard
jh—as in hedgehog	m—as in mother
ṣ—as in canyon	y—as in yes
ṭ—as in tub, but with the tongue against the roof of the mouth	r—as in run
ṭh—as in light-heart, but with the tongue against the roof of the mouth	l—as in light
ḍ—as in dove, but with the tongue against the roof of the mouth	v—as in vine
ḍh—as in red-hot, but with the tongue against the roof of the mouth	ś (palatal)—as in the s in the German word sprechen
ṇ—as in nut, but with the tongue against the roof of the mouth	ṣ (cerebral)—as the sh in shine
t—as in tub, but with the tongue against the teeth	s (dental)—as in sun
th—as in light-heart, but with the tongue against the teeth	h—as in home

SPECIAL LETTERS

ṁ (anusvāra)—a resonant nasal like the n in the French word bon

ḥ (visarga)—a final, echoed h-sound: aḥ is pronounce like aha; iḥ like ihi