In Devanagari, the script used for Hindi, vowels have two shapes: an independent form used at the start of a syllable, and a dependent form — the matra (मात्रा) — used when the vowel follows a consonant. This reference lists every Hindi vowel in both forms and shows the matra applied to the consonant क (ka) as a concrete worked example, so you can see exactly how each vowel sign attaches.
How it works
Each Devanagari consonant carries an inherent short a vowel. So क on its own already reads ka. To write any other vowel after the consonant you add that vowel’s matra:
- आ → ा gives का (kā)
- इ → ि gives कि (ki) — note the sign sits before the consonant
- ई → ी gives की (kī)
- उ → ु gives कु (ku)
- ए → े gives के (ke)
The matra ि for short i is unique: even though the sound is pronounced after the consonant, the sign is drawn to the left of it. To strip the inherent vowel entirely you use the halant/virama: क् is a bare k.
Example and tips
The word किताब (kitāb, “book”) shows the left-placed i-matra in action: क + ि → कि, then त + ा → ता, then ब. Reading order and visual order differ only for that one matra, which is the classic stumbling block for beginners. Use the chart to drill the mapping between independent vowels and their matra signs, and click any cell to copy the glyph or its Unicode code point.