ડ઼ (ra – retroflex), ઢ઼ (rha)
| English Sound | Gujarati Vowel | Matra Symbol (Added to consonant) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | a (as in bout) | અ | (no symbol) | | aa (as in a rt) | આ | ા | | i (as in i n) | ઇ | િ | | ee (as in f ee t) | ઈ | ી | | u (as in p u t) | ઉ | ુ | | oo (as in b oo t) | ઊ | ૂ | | e (as in e ight) | એ | ે | | ai (as in ai r) | ઐ | ૈ | | o (as in o ld) | ઓ | ો | | au (as in au dio) | ઔ | ૌ | | am (nasal sound) | અં | ં | | ah (visarga) | અઃ | ઃ |
Let’s take the first 5 consonants and see how they change when different vowels are added. The same pattern applies to all other consonants.
| Gujarati | Barakhadi Breakdown | English Meaning | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | ક (ka) + મ (ma) + લ (la) | Lotus | | ઘર | ઘ (gha) + ર (ra) | Home | | ચોકલેટ | ચો (cho) + ક (ka) + લે (le) + ટ (ta) | Chocolate | | સ્કૂલ | સ (sa) + ક (ka – halant) + ઊ (oo) + લ (la) | School | gujarati barakhadi in english
| Gujarati | English | Pronunciation Example | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Ga | Gu n | | ગા | Gaa | G ar den | | ગિ | Gi | Gi ve | | ગી | Gee | G ee se | | ગુ | Gu | G u ru | | ગૂ | Goo | G oo se | | ગે | Ge | G ay | | ગૈ | Gai | G uy | | ગો | Go | Go | | ગૌ | Gau | G au nt | | ગં | Gam | Gu m | | ગઃ | Gaha | - |
Here are the most common consonants combined with the vowels.
To master Gujarati pronunciation, it is helpful to see the consonant-vowel combinations alongside their English phonetic equivalents. Below is the standard Barakhadi pattern for the first consonant, : Vowel Sign Pronunciation Example ક Inherent 'a' Ka rm (Work) કા Vertical line (kAno) Kaa r (Car) કિ Curve before (Hrasva) Ki n (Relative) કી Curve after (Dirgha) Kee p કુ Curve below left Ku mar (Boy) કૂ Curve below right Koo l (Cool) કે Slant line above Ke rala કૈ Two slant lines above Kai lash કો Line + slant above Ko m (Community) કૌ Line + two slants Kau rav કં Dot above (Anusvara) Kam al કઃ Two dots after (Visarga) Kah Why Learn Barakhadi in English? ડ઼ (ra – retroflex), ઢ઼ (rha) | English
| Gujarati | English | Pronunciation Example | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Chha | - | | છા | Chhaa | Chha ja | | છિ | Chhi | - | | છી | Chhee | - | | છુ | Chhu | - | | છૂ | Chhoo | - | | છે | Chhe | (Meaning: Is/Are) | | છૈ | Chhai | - | | છો | Chho | - | | છૌ | Chhau | - | | છં | Chham | - | | છઃ | Chhaha | - |
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Before learning the combinations, here are the vowels used to create the Barakhadi: To master Gujarati pronunciation, it is helpful to
It is a systematic table that shows the combination of with the 12 vowels (ā, i, u, e, etc.). Once you master the Barakhadi, you can read and write almost any word in Gujarati.
The first vowel "અ" (a) has no matra. It is inherent in every consonant unless removed by a halant (્).
