Hindi · Transliteration
Hindi to English transliteration: नमस्ते → namaste
Paste Hindi and read it in English letters, the way it sounds. A transliterator, not a translator: the words stay Hindi.
Simple English letters: Hindi in readable Roman letters (bharat, hindi, namaste): no diacritics, schwa dropped the way Hindi is spoken. Output only.
01 · Letter chart
How each Hindi letter is written.
The default scheme uses single-letter long vowels, as most Hindi is written in English (bharat, hindi). Tick “aa / ee / oo” in the tool to mark them.
Consonants
| Hindi | Simple English letters | IAST |
|---|---|---|
| क | ka | ka |
| ख | kha | kha |
| ग | ga | ga |
| घ | gha | gha |
| च | cha | ca |
| छ | chha | cha |
| ज | ja | ja |
| झ | jha | jha |
| ट | ta | ṭa |
| ठ | tha | ṭha |
| ड | da | ḍa |
| ढ | dha | ḍha |
| त | ta | ta |
| थ | tha | tha |
| द | da | da |
| ध | dha | dha |
| न | na | na |
| प | pa | pa |
| फ | pha | pha |
| ब | ba | ba |
| भ | bha | bha |
| म | ma | ma |
| य | ya | ya |
| र | ra | ra |
| ल | la | la |
| व | va | va |
| श | sha | śa |
| ष | sha | ṣa |
| स | sa | sa |
| ह | ha | ha |
| क्ष | ksha | kṣa |
| त्र | tra | tra |
| ज्ञ | gya | jña |
| श्र | shra | śra |
| क़ | qa | qa |
| ख़ | kha | k͟ha |
| ग़ | gha | ġa |
| ज़ | za | za |
| ड़ | ra | r̤a |
| ढ़ | rha | ḍha |
| फ़ | fa | fa |
Vowels, vowel signs and nasal marks
| Hindi | Simple English letters | IAST |
|---|---|---|
| अ | a | a |
| आ | a | ā |
| इ | i | i |
| ई | i | ī |
| उ | u | u |
| ऊ | u | ū |
| ऋ | ri | ṛ |
| ए | e | e |
| ऐ | ai | ai |
| ओ | o | o |
| औ | au | au |
| ऑ | o | ऑ |
| का | ka | kā |
| कि | ki | ki |
| की | ki | kī |
| कु | ku | ku |
| कू | ku | kū |
| कृ | kri | kṛ |
| के | ke | ke |
| कै | kai | kai |
| को | ko | ko |
| कौ | kau | kau |
| कं | kan | kaṃ |
| कँ | kan | ka~ |
| कः | kah | kaḥ |
02 · The silent “a”
Why “कमल” is kamal, not kamala.
Every Devanagari consonant carries an inherent “a”. Spoken Hindi drops it at the end of a word and often in the middle. Sanskrit-style transliteration keeps every “a”; this page drops the ones Hindi drops.
| Hindi | Every “a” kept | IAST (scholarly) | Spoken Hindi (default) |
|---|---|---|---|
| कमल | kamala | kamala | kamal |
| भारत | bharata | bhārata | bharat |
| समझना | samajhana | samajhanā | samajhna |
| जनता | janata | janatā | janta |
| नमस्ते | namaste | namaste | namaste |
| अपना | apana | apanā | apna |
| आदमी | adami | ādamī | admi |
| ज़िन्दगी | zindagi | zindagī | zindagi |
| कल्पना | kalpana | kalpanā | kalpana |
| सम्बन्ध | sambandha | sambandha | sambandh |
| अस्तबल | astabala | astabala | astabal |
| सुबह | subaha | subaha | subah |
| विद्यालय | vidyalaya | vidyālaya | vidyalay |
| कृष्ण | krishna | kṛṣṇa | krishn |
| पत्नी | patni | patnī | patni |
Word-final “a” goes
कमल, भारत, सरकार end in a consonant sound. One-syllable words such as न keep their vowel.
A middle “a” goes between two vowelled syllables
जनता → jan-tā, अपना → ap-nā, समझना → samajh-nā. The first syllable always keeps its vowel.
It stays where dropping would be awkward
नमस्ते → namaste (not namste), कल्पना → kalpana: the “a” is kept before or inside a conjunct.
03 · Everyday words
Common Hindi words, in English letters.
- नमस्तेnamaste
- धन्यवादdhanyavad
- कृपयाkripya
- माफ़ कीजिएmaf kijie
- हिन्दीhindi
- भारतbharat
- शुक्रियाshukriya
- दोस्तdost
- परिवारparivar
- स्वागतsvagat
- पानीpani
- खानाkhana
- विद्यालयvidyalay
- सरकारsarkar
- प्रधानमंत्रीpradhanmantri
- ज्ञानgyan
- शिक्षाshiksha
- स्वतंत्रताsvatantrata
- कहाँkahan
- नहींnahin
- मैंmain
- हैंhain
- क्याkya
- आपका नाम क्या हैapka nam kya hai
Names and borrowed words follow convention, not rules: you may see “Krishna” for कृष्ण (spoken “krishn”), and “Sharma” for शर्मा. For documents with official spellings, copy the spelling from your ID. Need diacritics for academic use? Use the IAST converter.
04 · FAQ
Questions about hindi to english transliteration
How do I convert Hindi to English letters?
Paste Hindi (Devanagari) text above. You get it written in Roman letters as it sounds: “मेरा नाम राम है” becomes “mera nam ram hai”. This is transliteration, not translation: the words stay Hindi.
Is this the same as translating Hindi to English?
No. “नमस्ते” becomes “namaste”, not “hello”. If you need the English meaning, you need a translator. Transliteration only changes the script, which is useful for subtitles, names on forms, song lyrics and typing Hindi on an English keyboard.
Why “kamal” and not “kamala” for कमल?
Hindi drops the inherent “a” at the end of most words and often in the middle (the schwa). The Sanskrit-style IAST scheme keeps it (kamala). This page’s default writes it the way Hindi is spoken, and a checkbox switches it back if you want every vowel.
Which spelling should I use for names on passports and forms?
Use the spelling on your existing ID. This tool gives a phonetic default (e.g. “shiksha”), but official spellings of names, such as “Sharma” or “Krishna”, are conventions that a rule-based converter cannot know.
How are क्ष, ज्ञ and ड़ written?
क्ष is “ksh” (shiksha), ज्ञ is “gy” as Hindi speakers say it (gyan), ड़ and ढ़ are “r” and “rh” (larka, padhai), and the nukta letters क़ ख़ ग़ ज़ फ़ are q, kh, gh, z and f.
Can I get diacritics (ā, ṭ, ś) instead?
Yes. Use the script converter and choose IAST or ISO 15919 as the target; they give the scholarly spelling with diacritics.
Is my text uploaded?
No. Everything is converted in your browser and no text is sent to a server.