Help:IPA for Sanskrit

The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Sanskrit pronunciations in Wikipedia articles.

Sanskrit has many complex phonological processes, called sandhi, that alter sounds due to the presence of neighboring sounds at morpheme or word boundaries. See Shiksha for a more thorough discussion of the sounds of Sanskrit.

Consonants IPA Nagari IAST English approximation b ब b about bʱ भ bh abhor ('h' not silent) c च c chew cʰ छ ch Churchill (stress on 'h') d̪ द d this d̪ʱ ध dh roughly like old house ɖ ड ḍ roughly like border ɖʱ ढ ḍh roughly like birdhouse ɡ ग g again ɡʱ घ gh doghouse h ः ḥ head ह h j य y yak d͡ʑ ज j juice d͡ʑʱ झ jh roughly like hedgehog k क k scan kʰ ख kh can l ल l leaf m म m much n न n tenth ɳ ण ṇ roughly like burnt ɲ ञ ñ roughly like canyon ŋ ङ ṅ bank p प p span pʰ फ ph pot r र r three (Scottish English) s स s sue ʂ ष ṣ roughly like shtick ʃ श ś sheep t̪ त t thrill (Scottish English) t̪ʰ थ th roughly like math ʈ ट ṭ roughly like curt ʈʰ ठ ṭh roughly like courthouse ʋ व v between wine and vine

Vowels IPA Nagari IAST English approximation ə अ, प a quota aː आ, पा ā bra eː ए, पे e Somewhat like wait i इ, पि i happy iː ई, पी ī feet l̩ ऌ, पॢ ḷ Syllabic ‹l›: bottle l̩ː ॡ, पॣ ḹ Long syllabic ‹l› oː ओ, पो o old (Irish English) r̩ ऋ, पृ ṛ Syllabic ‹r›: better r̩ː ॠ, पॄ ṝ Long syllabic ‹r›: bird u उ, पु u look uː ऊ, पू ū loot əi ऐ, पै ai Somewhat like bail əu औ, पौ au open (British English) Other symbols IPA Nagari IAST English equivalent  ̃ ँ ṃ nasal vowel ([ãː], [õː], etc.) ˈ stress (placed before stressed syllable)