Bengali Consonants: The Five Rows and How to Remember Them

The Bengali consonants are arranged in a logical chart inherited from Sanskrit. Once you see the pattern, memorising around 35 letters becomes much easier.

The five rows (varga)

Each row shares a place of articulation, and within it the letters move from unaspirated to aspirated, then voiced to voiced aspirated, then nasal.

• Velar (throat): ক খ গ ঘ ঙ — ko, kho, go, gho, ngo
• Palatal (palate): চ ছ জ ঝ ঞ — cho, chho, jo, jho, no
• Retroflex (tongue curled back): ট ঠ ড ঢ ণ — to, tho, do, dho, no
• Dental (tongue on teeth): ত থ দ ধ ন — to, tho, do, dho, no
• Labial (lips): প ফ ব ভ ম — po, pho, bo, bho, mo

The remaining consonants

য (jo), র (ro), ল (lo), শ ষ স (all usually pronounced like sh), হ (ho), ড় (ro, a flap), ঢ় (rho), য় (yo), and ৎ (t at the end of a word).

Aspirated sounds

English speakers rarely hear aspirated consonants as distinct. In Bengali, the difference between ক (ko) and খ (kho) is a puff of breath — the same difference as between the "k" in "skin" and the "k" in "kin". Similarly ব (bo) and ভ (bho), and দ (do) and ধ (dho). Getting these right matters because they change the word.

Retroflex versus dental

Bengali distinguishes retroflex ট ঠ ড ঢ (tongue curled back) from dental ত থ দ ধ (tongue touching the teeth). English "t" and "d" sit roughly between the two. Try saying তা (ta) with your tongue on your teeth, and টা (ta) with it curled back; you will feel the difference.

The three sibilants

শ, ষ and স were once distinct but in modern Bengali are usually pronounced as "sh". In certain conjuncts, স is still pronounced "s", for example স্কুল (skul, school). The spelling remains, so spelling must be learned word by word.

Nasals

Bengali has five nasal letters, but in practice ঙ, ঞ and ণ appear in fixed patterns. The chandrabindu (ঁ) marks nasalisation of a vowel, as in চাঁদ (chand, moon).

Learning tips

1. Learn the chart row by row and recite it aloud.
2. Use word examples: কলম (kolom, pen), খাতা (khata, notebook), গান (gan, song), ঘর (ghor, house).
3. Drill aspirated pairs with a mirror or hand in front of your mouth.
4. Check each new word in script.

Dictionary note

Because sounds and spellings differ, searching in script gives the most reliable matches.

Search Bengali words in script with English Bangla Dictionary →