Bengali is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about 265 million people, mainly in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India. It is also spoken by smaller communities in other parts of India, as well as in Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Bengali is a highly inflected language, meaning that words change their form depending on their role in the sentence. It is also a synthetic language, meaning that words are formed by combining smaller units of meaning.

Bengali is a beautiful and expressive language with a long and rich history. It is the language of the Bengali people, who are known for their culture and hospitality.

Structure of Bengali Alphabet

Bengali is written in the Bengali script, which is derived from the Devanagari script. The Bengali script has 50 letters, including 12 vowels and 39 consonants. 

Bengali Consonants (Vyanjan)

Bengali has a set of basic consonants, which serve as the foundation for writing words and syllables. There are 39 basic consonants in Bengali.

Bengali Consonant	Pronunciation	Typing Guidance (using Google Input)
ক	“ka” in “kite”	Type “k”
খ	“kha” in “kite”	Type “kh”
গ	“ga” in “go”	Type “g”
ঘ	“gha” in “go”	Type “gh”
ঙ	“nga” in “sing”	Type “ng”
চ	“cha” in “chat”	Type “ch”
ছ	“chha” in “chat”	Type “chh”
জ	“ja” in “jam”	Type “j”
ঝ	“jha” in “jam”	Type “jh”
ঞ	“nya” in “canyon”	Type “ny”
ট	“ṭta” (retroflex t)	Type “T” (with Shift)
ঠ	“ṭtha” (retroflex th)	Type “Th” (with Shift)
ড	“ḍda” (retroflex d)	Type “D” (with Shift)
ঢ	“ḍdha” (retroflex dh)	Type “Dh” (with Shift)
ণ	“ṇna” (retroflex n)	Type “N” (with Shift)
ত	“ta” in “top”	Type “t”
থ	“tha” in “top”	Type “th”
দ	“da” in “dog”	Type “d”
ধ	“dha” in “dog”	Type “dh”
ন	“na” in “net”	Type “n”
প	“pa” in “pen”	Type “p”
ফ	“pha” in “pen”	Type “ph”
ব	“ba” in “bat”	Type “b”
ভ	“bha” in “bat”	Type “bh”
ম	“ma” in “man”	Type “m”
য	“ya” in “yes”	Type “y”
র	“ra” in “red”	Type “r”
ল	“la” in “lion”	Type “l”
শ	“sha” in “shoe”	Type “sh”
ষ	“ṣ” (retroflex sh)	Type “Sh” (with Shift)
স	“ssa” in “sun”	Type “s”
হ	“ha” in “hat”	Type “h”
ড়	“ṛ” (retroflex r)	Type “R” (with Shift)
ঢ়	“ṛh” (retroflex rh)	Type “Rh” (with Shift)
ৎ	“ṭ” (retroflex t)	Type “T” (with Shift)
ং	Nasalization	Type “n” (after the character)
ঃ	Aspiration	Type “:” (after the character)

Bengali Vowels (Swar)

Bengali has a set of 12 basic vowels, each associated with a specific sound. Here are some of the basic vowels:

Bengali Vowel	Pronunciation	Typing Guidance (using Google Input)
অ	“o” in “cot”	Type “o”
আ	“a” in “car”	Type “aa”
ই	“ee” in “see”	Type “i”
ঈ	“ee” in “see”	Type “ii”
উ	“oo” in “moon”	Type “u”
ঊ	“oo” in “moon”	Type “uu”
ঋ	“ri” in “grit”	Type “ri”
ৠ	“ri” in “grit”	Type “Ri” (with Shift)
এ	“e” in “pen”	Type “e”
ঐ	“ai” in “tail”	Type “oi”
ও	“o” in “cot”	Type “o”
ঔ	“au” in “haul”	Type “ou”

Bengali Vowel Signs (Matras)

To modify the inherent vowel sound associated with a consonant, vowel signs (matras) are used. Vowel signs can be added before, after, above, or below a consonant to change the vowel sound. For example:

Bengali Vowel Sign	Pronunciation	Typing Guidance (using Google Input)
া	“aa” in “car”	Type “aa” or “a”
ি	“i” in “kite”	Type “i”
ী	“ee” in “see”	Type “ii”
ু	“oo” in “moon”	Type “u”
ূ	“oo” in “moon”	Type “uu”
ৃ	“ri” in “grit”	Type “ri”
ে	“e” in “pen”	Type “e”
ৈ	“ai” in “tail”	Type “oi”
ো	“o” in “cot”	Type “o”
ৌ	“au” in “haul”	Type “ou”

Bengali Baarakhari System

The Baarakhari system is a traditional way of organizing the Bengali alphabet. It groups consonants based on their phonetic characteristics. The alphabet is typically organized into rows, with consonants in the first row, vowels in the second row, and vowel signs in the third row.

Bengali Baarakhari	Consonant	Vowel	Consonant + Vowel Combination
ক	ক (k)		ক + অ (ka)
কা	ক (k)	া (aa)	ক + া (kaa)
কি	ক (k)	ি (i)	ক + ি (ki)
কু	ক (k)	ু (oo)	ক + ু (ku)
কূ	ক (k)	ূ (oo)	ক + ূ (koo)
কে	ক (k)	ে (e)	ক + ে (ke)
কৈ	ক (k)	ৈ (ai)	ক + ৈ (kai)
কো	ক (k)	ো (o)	ক + ো (kau)
কৌ	ক (k)	ৌ (au)	ক + ৌ (kou)