Standard Podcast [7:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Are you familiar with the Hindi letter ब

You will see this written as ba in English transliteration. Today, we work on becoming familiar with this letter by looking at words that contain this letter. You will have a chance to practice listening for the sound this letter makes in several examples sometimes showing the letter at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of a word. Also, in this episode, you will hear the letter in combination with other Hindi vowels.

How does it look?

Bar on top, full length verticle line to the rigth.  Half way down the verticle line is a loop to the left.  This has a bar going through the loop from the upper left to the lower right.

How to type it?

If you are using a US English keyboard with the standard Devanagari/Hindi layout, then you would press “y”

Words

At the Beginning

बन – forest

बल – power

बटन – button

बस – enough (also means “bus”)

बदन – body

बतख – duck

बहस  (f)- argument, dispute, controversy

बहन – sister

In the Middle

ऊबना – to be bored

दुबला – thin, weak

दबना – to be pressed

At the End

टब – tub

कब – when?

जब – when (statement… not the question word.  “When I go to the store, I will buy the milk.”

सब – all

अब – now

सेब – apple

With other vowels

आबादी – population

आबाद – settled

ज़बानी – oral, unwritten

चबाना – to chew, to bite

धोबी – washerman

धोबिन – washerman’s wife

साबुन – soap

साबुत – whole, undamaged

दबदबा  (m) – awe, overwhelming influence