Transcription rules
The spellings we use in this book may look different to how you may have seen Nepali written using Roman/English letters on social media, subtitles, or signs. That is because public “media spelling” is usually informal and can often be inconsistent. The same sound can be written in several ways, and the same word can be spelled differently by different people.
This book uses the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration because it is consistent and precise. It helps beginners read new words, pronounce them more clearly, and keep the same spelling across lessons.
What is the IAST?
The IAST (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration) is a standard way to write Nepali and other Indic scripts (such as Hindi) in Roman letters. The system uses small marks (diacritics) to show sound differences that standard English spelling cannot accurately represent.
In this book, you will see:
- ā, ī, ū = long vowels
- ṭ, ḍ, ṇ = retroflex consonants
- ś, ṣ = two “sh” sounds
- ṅ, ñ = nasal sounds
- ṛ = a special vowel (as in ऋ)
You do not need to master every symbol immediately. Please use the IAST as a guide, and your accuracy will improve over time.
IAST Reference Table
Vowels
| Vowel | Transliteration | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| अ | a | |
| आ | ā | |
| इ | i | |
| ई | ī | |
| उ | u | |
| ऊ | ū | |
| ऋ | ṛ | |
| ए | e | |
| ऐ | ai | |
| ओ | o | |
| औ | au |
Consonants
| Consonant | Transliteration |
|---|---|
| क | ka |
| ख | kha |
| ग | ga |
| घ | gha |
| ङ | ṅa |
| च | ca |
| छ | cha |
| ज | ja |
| झ | jha |
| ञ | ña |
| ट | ṭa |
| ठ | ṭha |
| ड | ḍa |
| ढ | ḍha |
| ण | ṇa |
| त | ta |
| थ | tha |
| द | da |
| ध | dha |
| न | na |
| प | pa |
| फ | pha |
| ब | ba |
| भ | bha |
| म | ma |
| य | ya |
| र | ra |
| ल | la |
| व | va |
| श | śa |
| ष | ṣa |
| स | sa |
| ह | ha |
| क्ष | kṣa |
| त्र | tra |
| ज्ञ | jña |
Please use this table as a reference when you encounter new words. You do not need to memorize all the characters at once.
