Reading Maithili in Devanagari

FoundationsSounds Like dēvanāgarī mē maithilī

Maithili uses the Devanagari letters, but the final short a is not said.

How It Works

Maithili is written from left to right in Devanagari, the same letters Hindi uses. Each consonant includes a short a: क is ka. A vowel sign changes it: का is kaa, कि is ki, कु is ku.

At the end of a word the short a is usually not said, so घर is ghar and गाम is gaam. When a word ends in a vowel sign, you do say it: पानि ends in i.

  • Nasal vowels: chandrabindu (ँ) makes a vowel nasal, as in अहाँ (you), सँ (from) and केँ (to).
  • The avagraha: the sign ऽ in कऽ and भऽ shows a short vowel that is said. The next entry covers it.
  • Postpositions: Maithili writes मे with no dot on top, unlike Hindi में.

Some letters are the same as in Hindi but belong to different words. Read each word as Maithili, even when the letters look like Hindi.

Examples (5)

  1. घर

    House, home.

    The final a is not said: ghar.

  2. गाम

    Village.

    ा gives a long aa, and the last a is silent: gaam.

  3. पानि

    Water.

    The final ि is a vowel sign, so it is said: paani.

  4. अहाँ

    You.

    The chandrabindu makes the last vowel nasal.

  5. भात

    Cooked rice.

    No vowel sign after त, so the final a is silent: bhaat.

How It Connects

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Reading Maithili in DevanagariFoundations

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