The vowels — स्वराः

Sanskrit begins with breath. Before consonants press themselves into being, vowels carry pure tone — svara, that which sounds of itself.

There are thirteen vowels. They come in pairs: short and long, simple and compound.

The five short vowels

अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ऋ ॠ ऌ ए ऐ ओ औ

| Letter | IAST | Sound | |---|---|---| | अ | a | as in but | | इ | i | as in bit | | उ | u | as in put | | ऋ | ṛ | a vocalic r, as in rrrun | | ऌ | ḷ | a vocalic l, rare |

The long vowels

Long vowels are simply held twice as long.

• आ ā — father
• ई ī — machine
• ऊ ū — food
• ॠ ṝ — held ṛ, almost never seen in everyday words

Compound vowels

Two simple vowels meeting create a new sound — this is the seed of sandhi, which we will meet later.

• ए e — as in they
• ऐ ai — opening of eye
• ओ o — as in go
• औ au — house

Try it

Sound each vowel aloud, slowly. Notice where it lives in your mouth — front, middle, back. The classical grammarians described every vowel by its place of articulation; you will discover it yourself by simply listening to your breath.