ই / ঈ / উ / ঊ

Short and Long Vowels Sound the Same

FoundationsSounds Like i / ī / u / ū

তিনি “three” has the short sign ি and ছোৱালী “girl” has the long sign ী, yet both are said as i.

How It Works

Each pair has two letters and two signs. In speech each pair is one sound.

SoundLettersSignsExamples
iই, ঈি, ীতিনি “three”, ছোৱালী “girl”
uউ, ঊু, ূপুৱা “morning”, দূৰ “far”

You cannot hear which one to write, so learn the spelling with each new word. Words from Sanskrit often keep the long form, as in ৰূপ “shape, form”.

The same holds for the signs. The signs ি and ী are said alike, and so are ু and ূ. When you read, say the same sound for both. When you write, copy the spelling you saw.

Examples (5)

  1. তিনি

    Three.

    Both vowels use the short sign ি.

  2. ছোৱালী

    Girl.

    The long sign ী is said as i.

  3. সুখী

    Happy.

    ু is short and ী is long, yet the sounds are u and i.

  4. পুৱা

    Morning.

    The short sign ু is said as u.

  5. দূৰ

    Far.

    The long sign ূ is said as u.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ই / ঈ / উ / ঊFoundationsShort and Long Vowels Sound the Same

Learn This First

The short and long vowels sound the same, so learners need the vowel letters first.