Table C. Pronunciation of the 33 Consonants |
|
|---|---|
| 1. Velar or guttural sounds are produced by touching the rear of the tongue to the soft palate near the throat. | |
| k | kāya (body), like skill or skin |
| kh | sukha (happiness), like kill or kin |
| g | gagana (sky), like gazelle orgo |
| gh | gharma (heat), like doghouse |
| ṅ | gaṅgā (the Ganges), like singer or swinger |
| 2. Palatal sounds are produced by touching the blade of the tongue to the front palate. | |
| c | cakra (wheel), like chuck or choke, but without aspiration |
| ch | chāya (shadow), like chuck or choke |
| j | jaya (victory), like jug or joke. |
| jh | nirjhara (waterfall), like j-hug or fudge-home |
| ñ | jñāna (wisdom), like canyon. Some paople change the sound of j and pronounce this word like gnyāna, or like dnyāna. |
| 3. Cerebral sounds are produced by retroflexing the tongue to touch the hard palate. | |
| ṭ | koṭi (ten million, the edge), like star or stow, with the tongue retroflexed |
| ṭh | adhiṣṭhāna (rule over), like tar or tow, with the tongue retroflexed |
| ḍ | vaiḍūrya (a transparent blue beryl), like douse or dead, with the tongue retroflexed |
| ḍh | mūḍha (perplexed), like madhouse or redhead, with the tongue retroflexed |
| ṇ | maṇi (jewel), like nativity or note, with the tongue retroflexed |
| 4. Dental sounds are produced by touching the tip of the tongue to the back of the front teeth near their roots. | |
| t | tad (he, she, or it), like star or stow |
| th | tathāgata (the Thus-Come One), like tar or tow |
| d | dāna (the act of giving), like douse or dead |
| dh | dhāraṇī (retention), like madhouse or redhead |
| n | nāga (dragon), like nativity or note |
| 5. Labial sounds are produced by closing and opening the lips. | |
| p | padma (red lotus), like spin or spoke |
| ph | phala (fruit), like pin or poke |
| b | bodhi (enlightenment), like bore or bout |
| bh | bhagavān (the World-Honored One), like abhore or hobhouse |
| m | mudrā (seal), like magenta or mode |
| 6. Four semi-vowels, the sounds of which are formed by slight contact. | |
| y | hṛdaya (heart, mind), like yeast or yoga |
| r | ratna (jewel), like rite or rote, with the tongue slighly tapping the front palate. Avoid bunching the lips for the implicit w or r before the r-syllable as in English, which causes rite to be pronounced as write, and rote as wrote. |
| l | loka (world), like lagoon or lotus |
| v | pronounced as v if preceded by a vowel, e.g., avidyā (ignorance). If preceded by a constant, it may be pronounced as w e.g., sattva (being, creature) may be pronounced as sa-ttwa, sarva (all) as sar-wa, adhvan (time) as a-dhwan, and svāhā (accomplished) as swā-hā. |
| 7. Four sibilants, the sounds of which are formed by half contact | |
| ś | śuddha (pure), like ship or show |
| ṣ | uṣṇīṣa (crown of the head), like ship or show with the tongue retroflexed |
| s | sama (equal), like salute or solo |
| h | hasta (hand), like habituate or holy |
| 8. Other sounds: | |
| Anusvāra (ṁ) |
The preceding verb is nasalized, e.g., saṁskāra (formation, mental impression, volition) is pronounced as sangskāra, and hūṁ (a mantra syllable) as hūng. |
| Visarga (ḥ) |
The preceding verb is faintly echoed, e.g., namaḥ (homage to) is pronounced as namaha, narayoḥ (of the two men) as narayoho, naraiḥ (with the men) as naraihi, and duḥkha (sorrow) as duhukha. |