🔡 Hindi Foundation
The Devanagari script, sound by sound. Tap any letter to hear it. Spend 5 minutes a day here for 2 weeks and the textbook will stop looking like squiggles.
स्वर · The 12 vowels
Vowels can stand alone (at the start of a word) and they're written with the full character. They're also "embedded" inside consonants as matras — you'll see those in tab 3.
💡 Memorise tip
The vowels come in pairs: short and long. अ / आ, इ / ई, उ / ऊ. The long version is held about twice as long. ए, ऐ, ओ, औ don't have short partners — they're all "long".
व्यंजन · The 33 consonants
Hindi consonants are organised into 5 groups (varga) based on where in your mouth the sound is made — back of throat, palate, behind the teeth, etc. This grouping is brilliant once you see it.
क-वर्ग
k-varga · velar (back of throat)च-वर्ग
c-varga · palatal (palate)ट-वर्ग
retroflex · tongue curled backत-वर्ग
dental · tongue on teethप-वर्ग
labial · lipsअंतःस्थ
semi-vowelsऊष्म
sibilants & aspirate💡 The aspirated trick
Within each varga, every odd letter has a "puffy" twin — the second letter is aspirated (more breath). Hold your hand in front of your mouth: क (no puff) → ख (puff!). Same with ग→घ, च→छ, त→थ, प→फ.
मात्रा · Vowel-marks on consonants
Here's the most important rule: a consonant on its own (e.g. क) actually has the vowel अ built in — it's pronounced "ka". To put a different vowel on it, you add a matra (a hook or curve).
Below: the consonant क shown with every matra. The pattern is identical for every other consonant.
💡 The "no-vowel" sign · halant ्
If you want a consonant with NO vowel at all (a "naked" sound at the end of a word), you add the halant ् underneath. Example: क् = just the "k" sound. You'll meet this in joined letters like क्या ("what").
60 survival words
The words a 10-year-old hears every day. Tap any card to hear it. Goal: be able to recognise & say them all in 2 weeks.
👨👩👧 Family
🙋 Greetings & politeness
❓ Question words
🔢 Numbers 1-10
🎨 Colours
🏫 School & everyday objects
🍽️ Food
📅 Time words
🎯 Flashcard practice
Tap the card to flip it. Get the next card with Next. The button shuffles between letters and survival words.
अ
tap to flip
a
tap to flip back
⭐ +5 XP each time you complete 10 cards in a row.