वर्ण विचार — Vowels, Consonants, Place of Articulation, and the Count Books Disagree On

वर्ण विचार is the first chapter of Hindi grammar and the one students skip fastest, because it looks like something settled in class 2. Then संधि, वर्तनी and उच्चारण questions all turn out to stand on it, and the marks go.

A वर्ण is the smallest unit of a language — one sound that cannot be broken any further. Do not confuse it with अक्षर, which is a syllable, or with मात्रा, which is only the written mark a vowel takes.

Hindi is written in the देवनागरी लिपि, left to right, and unlike English it is very nearly phonetic: one symbol, one sound, which is why Hindi spelling questions are about grammar rather than about memory.

Two counts are both correct, and the wording of the question decides which one it wants. By sound, Hindi has 11 स्वर and 33 व्यंजन — 44 वर्ण. By the traditional वर्णमाला, counting अं and अः, ड़ and ढ़, and the four संयुक्त व्यंजन, the total is 52.

1. How many स्पर्श व्यंजन are there in standard Hindi?

2. The letter क्ष is classified as which kind of व्यंजन?

3. What is the उच्चारण स्थान of ष?

4. अनुस्वार ( ं ) and विसर्ग ( ः ) are together known as what?

5. How many ह्रस्व (short) स्वर are there in Hindi?

6. Which of the following is a महाप्राण व्यंजन?

7. What is the उच्चारण स्थान of व?

8. On the basis of उच्चारण (sound), how many वर्ण does standard Hindi have in all?