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Consonants

There are 35 consonants and 4 consonant signs in common usage.

The consonant letters are pronounced as if they had "o" (as in the sound of the English "on" or "off") at the end. So the letter ক (k) sounds like "ko".

There is a logic to the grouping of the letters, each set having a sound that emanates from the mouth with a different combination of the lips, tongue, palate and diaphragm.

• Gutturals - in the throat - ক খ গ ঘ ঙ (k kh g gh Ng).

  The first and third letters are pronounced unaspirated, while the second and fourth are pronounced aspirated (as if with a puff of breath). The last letter is pronounced nasally.

  Bangla form	English Phonetic	Letter  Name	Pronounced  as in	Hear Sound
  ক	k	ko	skin
  খ	kh	kho	khaki
  গ	g	go	go
  ঘ	gh	gho	ghetto
  ঙ	Ng	ungo	king

• Palatals - on the palate - চ ছ জ ঝ ঞ (ch chh j jh NG).

  The first and third letters are pronounced unaspirated, while the second and fourth are pronounced aspirated (as if with a puff of breath). The last letter is pronounced nasally.

  Bangla form	English Phonetic	Letter  Name	Pronounced  as in	Hear Sound
  চ	ch	cho	cheat
  ছ	chh	chho	watch
  জ	j	borgiyo-jo	jingle
  ঝ	jh	jho	jhansi
  ঞ	NG	ingo	gnome

• Cerebrals - with the tongue bent back on the roof of the mouth - ট ঠ ড ঢ ণ (T Th D Dh N).

  The first and third letters are pronounced unaspirated, while the second and fourth are pronounced aspirated (as if with a puff of breath). The last letter is pronounced nasally.

  Bangla form	English Phonetic	Letter  Name	Pronounced  as in	Hear Sound
  ট	T	to	token
  ঠ	Th	tho	whittle
  ড	D	do	dive
  ঢ	Dh	dho	adhere
  ণ	N	moddheno-no	noise

• Dentals - with the tongue on the teeth - ত থ দ ধ ন (t th d dh n).

  The first and third letters are pronounced unaspirated, while the second and fourth are pronounced aspirated (as if with a puff of breath). The last letter is pronounced nasally.

  Bangla form	English Phonetic	Letter  Name	Pronounced  as in	Hear Sound
  ত	t	to(soft)	Wyeth
  থ	th	tho(hard)	think
  দ	d	do	Dostoevsky
  ধ	dh	dho	sadhu
  ন	n	donte-no	no

• Labials - on the lips - প ফ ব ভ ম (p ph,f b,w bh,v m).

  The first and third letters are pronounced unaspirated, while the second and fourth are pronounced aspirated (as if with a puff of breath). The last letter is pronounced nasally.

  Bangla form	English Phonetic	Letter  Name	Pronounced  as in	Hear Sound
  প	p	po	pauper
  ফ	ph,f	pho	cipher
  ব	b,w	bo	boy
  ভ	bh,v	bho	abhorrent
  ম	m	mo	mother

• Sibilants - s sounds as if hissing - শ ষ স (sh Sh s).

  These letters sound similar (sho) in common modern usage and are separately retained for historical reasons from Bangla's Sanskrit origin.

  Bangla form	English Phonetic	Letter  Name	Pronounced  as in	Hear Sound
  শ	sh	talibo-sho	show
  ষ	Sh	moddheno-sho	cash
  স	s	donte-sho	wish

• Semi-Vowels - letters sometimes used as vowels - য র ল হ য় ড় ঢ় (J,Y r l h y R Rh).

  These letters are sometimes used as vowels especially when combined with other consonants. The three "ros" র ড় ঢ় (r R Rh) sound similar in common modern usage and are separately retained for historical reasons from Bangla's Sanskrit origin.

  Bangla form	English Phonetic	Letter  Name	Pronounced  as in	Hear Sound
  য	J,Y	ontesto-jo	joy
  র	r	boye-sunno-ro	right
  ল	l	lo	lady

  Bangla form	English Phonetic	Letter  Name	Pronounced  as in	Hear Sound
  হ	h	ho	hole
  য়	y	ontesto-o	happy
  ড়	R	doye-sunnyo-ro(hard r)	rhythm
  ঢ়	Rh	ddhoye-sunnyo-ro (hard rh)	arrhythmia

• Consonant Signs - special consonants that are never used to form compound consonants - ৎ ং ঃ ঁ (t^ ng,ng^ H^ n^).

  These letters are used for special sounds and are generally not used in compound consonant clusters.

  Bangla form	English Phonetic	Letter  Name	Pronounced  as in	Hear Sound
  ৎ	t^	khanda to(short to)	nitwit
  ং	ng,ng^	sign anuswar	Bengali
  ঃ	H^	sign bishorgo	poof
  ঁ	n^	sign chondrobindu	sand

Non-native speakers will need some practice to attain proficiency in differentialing between and pronouncing the non-aspirated and aspirated consonants shown above.

Spelling of words becomes a challenge when a number of sounds are similar, but have separate letters assigned to them. Specifically,

• 3 "sho" sounds - শ স ষ (sh s Sh) referred to as talibo-sho, donte-sho and moddheno-sho
• 3 "ro" sounds - র ড় ঢ় (r R Rh) referred to as boye-sunno-ro, doye-sunno-ro and ddhoye-sunno-ro because they look like a dot (sunno) was added to bo, do and ddho
• 2 "no" sounds - ন ণ (n N) referred to as donte-no and moddheno-no
• 2 "jo" sounds - জ য (j J) referred to as borgiyo-jo and ontesto-jo