क Hindi Lessons

For English speakers

नमस्ते

Learn to read and write Hindi, one letter at a time.

Three levels take you from the first vowel to reading real paragraphs. Every letter, word and sentence can be traced in the practice pad with your finger, Apple Pencil or mouse. Flashcards and quizzes at the end of each level check what stuck.

अ आ क

Beginner

The alphabet: 13 vowels and 36 consonants, grouped by how they sound, with a picture word for each.

0 learned
 का कि कु

Intermediate

Vowel signs (matras), numbers, everyday words and your first full sentences.

0 learned
 क्ष प्र ज़

Advanced

Joined letters, borrowed sounds, special signs, and two reading passages.

0 learned

How to use this site

  1. Look and listen in your head. Each card shows the letter, how to say it in plain English, and a word that starts with it.
  2. Trace it. Tap the big letter to load it into the practice pad as a faint guide. Write over it a few times, then hit Guide: Off and write it from memory. Reset clears the pad.
  3. Tick it off. Press the ✓ on a card when you can write it without the guide. Your progress is saved on this device.
  4. Test yourself. At the bottom of every level: flashcards, a reading quiz, a recognition quiz, and a writing quiz you grade yourself.
  5. Move on. When a level feels comfortable, continue to the next. Come back any time to review.

Five things to know before you start

  • Hindi is written left to right, just like English, and has no capital letters.
  • Letters hang from a top line (शिरोरेखा, shirorekhā). Write the letter shape first, then draw the line across the top.
  • Every consonant has a built-in "a" sound: क is ka. Small marks (matras) change it to kā, ki, ku…
  • Spelling is phonetic: once you know the letters you can read anything aloud, even if you do not know what it means.
  • Hindi has sounds English does not: a soft dental t, a hard retroflex ṭ, and "puffy" aspirated letters like kha. The cards describe each in plain words.
Try tracing: