Gurmukhi Vowels and the Three Vowel Carriers

Gurmukhi, the script used to write Punjabi in India, handles vowels in a distinctive way. Learning the three carrier letters first makes everything else fall into place.

The three carriers

Gurmukhi's alphabet begins with three letters that act as bases for vowels:

Letter	Name	Role
ੳ	ūṛā	base for the u-type vowels
ਅ	aiṛā	base for the a-type vowels
ੲ	īṛī	base for the i-type vowels

Each carries vowel signs when a word begins with a vowel.

Independent vowels

The vowel sounds at the start of words are written as follows:

Letter	Sound	Example
ਅ	a	ਅੱਖ (akkh, eye)
ਆ	ā	ਆਦਮੀ (ādmī, man)
ਇ	i	ਇੱਕ (ikk, one)
ਈ	ī	ਈਸ਼ਵਰ (īshvar, God)
ਉ	u	ਉਹ (uh, he/she/that)
ਊ	ū	ਊਠ (ūṭh, camel)
ਏ	e	ਏਥੇ (ethe, here)
ਐ	ai	ਐਨਕ (ainak, spectacles)
ਓ	o	ਓਥੇ (othe, there)
ਔ	au	ਔਰਤ (aurat, woman)

How they fit together

A syllable in Gurmukhi is built from a consonant plus a vowel sign, or from a vowel letter when the syllable starts with a vowel. The next articles cover the signs.

Short and long vowels

Punjabi distinguishes short and long vowels, and the difference matters: compare a short ਇ with a long ਈ. Length is shown by different letters and signs.

Reading practice

• ਆਪ (āp, you, respectful)
• ਇਹ (ih, this)
• ਉਹ (uh, that, he or she)
• ਅੱਜ (ajj, today)

Tips

1. Learn the three carriers first.
2. Say each vowel with an example word.
3. Use the dictionary to see the letters in real words.

Common mistakes

• Mixing up ਊ and ਓ.
• Ignoring vowel length.

Look up any word with English Punjabi Dictionary →