Sanskrit Pronunciation Guide
Vowels
अ a आ ā इ i ई ī उ u ऊ ū ऋ ṛ ऋ ṛ
ल l ए e ऐ ai ओ o औ au
— ṁ ( anusvāra )    • ḥ ( visarga )
Consonants
Gutturals:    क ka    ख kha    ग ga    घ gha    ङ ṅa
Palatals:    च ca    छ cha    ज ja    झ jha    ञ na
Cerebrals:    ट ṭa    ठ ṭha    ड ḍa    ढ ḍha    ण ṇa
Dentals:    त ta    थ tha    द da    ध dha    न na
Labials:    प pa    फ pha    ब ba    भ bha    म ma
Semivowels:    य ya    र ra    ल la    व va
Sibilants:    श śa    ष ṣa    स sa
Aspirate:    ह ha    ऽ ' ( avagraha ) – the apostrophe
The vowels above should be pronounced as follows:
a — like the  a  in  organ  or the  u  in  but .
ā — like the  a  in  far  but held twice as long as short  a .
i — like the  i  in  pin .
ī — like the  i  in  pique  but held twice as long as short  i .
u — like the  u  in  push .
ū — like the  u  in  rule  but held twice as long as short  u .
275