LearnBanglaThe Bengali alphabet
Bangla is written in its own script, বাংলা লিপি. It has 11 vowels and 39 consonants. Tap any letter to hear it, and learn the tricks that make the script easier than it looks.
How the Bengali script works
The Bengali script is an abugida. Every consonant already carries a vowel sound, o, so ক on its own is read ko, not just k. To change that vowel you add a vowel sign (কার, kar) around the consonant: কা is ka, কি is ki, কে is ke.
Letters hang from a line across the top called the matra (মাত্রা). There are no capital letters, and you read from left to right, just like English. When two consonants meet with no vowel between them they often join into a conjunct (যুক্তবর্ণ), such as ক্র in ক্রিকেট, kriket.
The same script, with small differences, is used for Assamese. Bangla itself is written the same way in Bangladesh and in West Bengal, India. The spelling here follows the Bangla Academy, the standard in Bangladesh.
Vowels (11)
Each vowel has two forms: the full letter, used at the start of a word or after another vowel, and the vowel sign (কার) that attaches to a consonant. অ has no sign, because every consonant already carries it.
| Letter | Sound | Name | Vowel sign | How to say it | Example word | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| অ | o | shore o | none | The hidden vowel. Usually ɔ, like the o in British "pot"; before an ই or উ sound it closes to o. It has no kar: every consonant already carries it, so ক on its own says ko. | অনেক onek many, a lot | |
| আ | a | shore a | কা | Jaw well down, lips relaxed. A pure a, like "father" with no glide at the end. | আকাশ akash sky | |
| ই | i | rosho i | কি | Lips spread, as in "see" but shorter. Its kar is written BEFORE the consonant but said after it: কি is ki. | ইট it brick | |
| ঈ | i | dirgho i | কী | Sounds exactly like ই. The two letters are a spelling difference, not a sound difference. | ঈদ id Eid | |
| উ | u | rosho u | কু | Lips rounded and pushed forward, as in "put". The kar hangs under the consonant. | উট ut camel | |
| ঊ | u | dirgho u | কূ | Sounds exactly like উ. Again, only the spelling differs. | ঊষা usha dawn | |
| ঋ | ri | ri | কৃ | The special one: a vowel letter that is said ri. The tongue tip taps the ridge once (র), then rises for ই. | ঋণ rin loan | |
| এ | e | e | কে | Two sounds: e as in "day" without the glide (দেশ), or æ as in "cat" (এক). Its kar sits before the consonant. | এখন ækhon now | |
| ঐ | oi | oi | কৈ | A glide from o to i, like "oi" in "coin". Its kar is written before the consonant. | ঐতিহ্য oitijjho heritage | |
| ও | o | o | কো | A closed o, lips rounded. Its kar wraps around the consonant: one part before, one after. | ওজন ojon weight | |
| ঔ | ou | ou | কৌ | A glide from o to u. Its kar also wraps around the consonant. | ঔষধ oushodh medicine (formal) |
All the vowel signs on ক
Notice that কি and কী, and কু and কূ, sound the same in everyday Bangla. The long forms are a spelling difference you learn word by word.
Consonants (39)
The first 25 consonants sit in a neat grid: five rows by where your tongue goes, and in each row the same pattern. Plain, then breathy (aspirated), then the voiced pair, then a nasal. Learn the pattern once and the chart almost fills itself in.
| Letter | Sound | Name | How to say it | Example word | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Velar: back of the tongue | |||||
| ক | k | ko | Like the k in "skin": no puff of air. | কাক kak crow | |
| খ | kh | kho | ক with a puff of air, like the k in "kite". | খোকা khoka little boy | |
| গ | g | go | Like the g in "go". | গা ga body | |
| ঘ | gh | gho | গ with breath after it. English has no sound like it. | ঘা gha wound | |
| ঙ | ng | uo | The ng in "sing". It never starts a word. Its name is uo. | রঙ rong colour | |
| Palatal: tongue on the hard palate | |||||
| চ | ch | cho | Like ch in "church" but with no puff. | চোখ chokh eye | |
| ছ | chh | chho | চ with a puff of air. In Dhaka speech it is often softer. | ছাই chhai ash | |
| জ | j | borgio jo | Like j in "jam". Its full name is borgio jo, to tell it apart from য. | জানি jani I know | |
| ঝ | jh | jho | জ with breath after it. | ঝি jhi maid (old word) | |
| ঞ | n | iyo | Sounds like n. It mostly lives inside conjuncts like ঞ্চ and ঞ্জ. Its name is iyo. | ব্যঞ্জন benjon consonant | |
| Retroflex: tongue tip curled back | |||||
| ট | T | to | Tongue tip curled back to the roof of the mouth. Close to English t. | টাকা taka taka (money) | |
| ঠ | Th | tho | ট with a puff of air. | ঠিক thik right, correct | |
| ড | D | do | Tongue curled back, voiced. Close to English d. | ডাক dak call; post | |
| ঢ | Dh | dho | ড with breath after it, as in ঢাকা. | ঢেউ dheu wave | |
| ণ | n | murdhonno no | In Bangladesh it sounds just like ন. Its name is murdhonno no. | গণিত gonit mathematics | |
| Dental: tongue tip on the teeth | |||||
| ত | t | to | Tongue tip flat against the back of the upper teeth. Softer than English t. | তাক tak shelf | |
| থ | th | tho | ত with a puff of air. Not the English th! | থাক thak stay, let it be | |
| দ | d | do | Tongue on the teeth, voiced. | দই doi yoghurt | |
| ধ | dh | dho | দ with breath after it. | ধান dhan rice paddy | |
| ন | n | donto no | Like English n. Its name is donto no. | নদী nodi river | |
| Labial: lips | |||||
| প | p | po | Lips closed, no puff. | পাখি pakhi bird | |
| ফ | ph | pho | প with a puff. Many Bangladeshis say it close to f. | ফোন phon phone | |
| ব | b | bo | Like English b. | বোন bon sister | |
| ভ | bh | bho | ব with breath after it, as in ভাত. | ভাই bhai brother | |
| ম | m | mo | Like English m. | মা ma mother | |
| The rest | |||||
| য | j | ontostho jo | Sounds like জ. Its name is ontostho jo. | যদি jodi if | |
| র | r | ro | A single tap of the tongue tip on the ridge behind the upper teeth. | রাত rat night | |
| ল | l | lo | Tongue tip on the ridge, air flows round the sides. | লাউ lau bottle gourd | |
| শ | sh | talobbo sho | Like sh in "shop". Its name is talobbo sho. | শহর shohor city | |
| ষ | sh | murdhonno sho | Also sh. Its name is murdhonno sho. | ভাষা bhasha language | |
| স | sh | donto sho | Usually sh too; s before some consonants and in English words (স্কুল). Its name is donto sho. | সুন্দর shundor beautiful | |
| হ | h | ho | Like English h. | হাত hat hand | |
| ড় | r | D-e shunno ro | Tongue tip curled back, then flicked forward. Never starts a word. | বাড়ি bari home, house | |
| ঢ় | rh | Dh-e shunno ro | Like ড় with breath. Rare: আষাঢ়, গাঢ়. | আষাঢ় ashar Asharh (month) | |
| য় | y | ontostho o | A glide between vowels, like y in "layer" or w in "lower". | মেয়ে meye girl | |
Four special signs
These complete the 39 consonants in the traditional list. They never stand alone as a syllable, but you will see them in very common words, including বাংলা itself.
| Sign | Sound | Name | What it does | Example word |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ৎ | t (no vowel) | khondo to | A t with no vowel after it. Only at the end of a syllable. | হঠাৎ hothat suddenly |
| ং | ng | onushshar | Adds an ng sound at the end of a syllable, like ঙ. | বাংলা bangla Bangla |
| ঃ | doubles the next consonant | bishorgo | Mostly makes the next consonant longer, or adds a light h at the end of a word. | দুঃখ dukkho sadness |
| ঁ | nasal vowel | chondrobindu | The moon-dot. Says the vowel through your nose. | চাঁদ chad moon |
How to learn the Bengali alphabet faster
- Learn sounds before shapes. Get used to hearing breathy pairs like ক / খ and the two kinds of t, ত and ট. Our guide to the tricky sounds has audio pairs.
- Learn a few letters at a time, then read real words. With just ক, আ and the vowel sign া you can already read কাক, kak, crow.
- Use the grid. The consonants come in rows of five that follow the same pattern, so you are really learning five patterns, not 39 random letters.
- Write by hand. Draw the matra last, after the body of the letter, as children do in Bangladesh.
- Don't wait to speak. You can learn to speak Bangla with romanisation while you learn the script. See how to learn Bengali.
Our free Reading & Writing course teaches the script one letter group at a time, with audio for every letter and every word, until you can read full sentences.
Bengali alphabet FAQ
How many letters are in the Bengali alphabet?
The Bengali alphabet traditionally has 50 letters: 11 vowels (স্বরবর্ণ) and 39 consonants (ব্যঞ্জনবর্ণ). The 39 consonants include four special signs: ৎ, ং, ঃ and ঁ.
Is the Bengali alphabet hard to learn?
Most learners can recognise the basic letters within a few weeks of short daily practice. The consonants follow a regular grid, and the script is close to phonetic, so once you know the letters you can sound out most words.
What is the first letter of the Bengali alphabet?
The first vowel is অ (o), and the first consonant is ক (ko).
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