Sanskrit Vowels (Svaras)स्वर

The vowels

• अ a — as in "about" (short)
• आ ā — as in "father" (long)
• इ i — as in "sit" (short)
• ई ī — as in "seen" (long)
• उ u — as in "put" (short)
• ऊ ū — as in "pool" (long)
• ऋ ṛ — a vowel "ri", as in "krishna" (कृष्ण)
• ॠ ṝ — the long form of ṛ (rare)
• ऌ ḷ — a vowel "lri" (rare)
• ए e — as in "they" (always long)
• ऐ ai — as in "aisle"
• ओ o — as in "go" (always long)
• औ au — as in "loud"

Anusvara and visarga

• अं ṁ / ṃ — anusvara, a nasal hum after a vowel, as in "oṁ"
• अः ḥ — visarga, a soft breath "h" after a vowel, which echoes the vowel: "namaḥ" sounds like "namaha" (very lightly)

Vowel signs (matras)

When a vowel follows a consonant, it is written as a sign (matra) attached to the consonant instead of as a full letter. Every consonant already carries a short "a": क is "ka". Adding signs gives का kā, कि ki, की kī, कु ku, कू kū, कृ kṛ, के ke, कै kai, को ko, कौ kau, कं kaṁ, कः kaḥ.

The difference between short and long vowels changes the meaning of words: "kāla" (time) and "kala" (a part) are different words. Long vowels are held for about twice as long.

Frequently asked questions