Gurmukhi Vowel Signs (Laga Matra) Explained: Kanna, Sihari, Bihari and the Rest, With Examples

Gurmukhi writes its vowels as small signs attached to a consonant — the laga matra (ਲਗਾਂ ਮਾਤਰਾਂ). There are ten: the built-in short a called mukta, then kanna (ਾ, aa), sihari (ਿ, i), bihari (ੀ, ee), aunkar (ੁ, u), dulainkar (ੂ, oo), lavan (ੇ, ay), dulavan (ੈ, ai), hora (ੋ, o) and kanaura (ੌ, au). Learn them on one letter and you can read all 35 — and most of the "I know the letters but can't read words" problem disappears, because it is nearly always a vowel-sign problem. Here is each sign, where it goes, the famous sihari rule, the three nasal and doubling marks, and 15 words to read at the end.

The Ten Vowel Signs

Sign	Name	Where it sits	On ਕ	Sounds like	Example
(none)	mukta ਮੁਕਤਾ	built in	ਕ ka	a in about	ਕਰ kar — do · ਘਰ ghar — home
ਾ	kanna ਕੰਨਾ	after the letter	ਕਾ kaa	a in father	ਕਾਰ kaar — car · ਨਾਮ naam — name
ਿ	sihari ਸਿਹਾਰੀ	before the letter	ਕਿ ki	i in sit	ਕਿਤਾਬ kitaab — book · ਦਿਲ dil — heart
ੀ	bihari ਬਿਹਾਰੀ	after the letter	ਕੀ kee	ee in see	ਕੀੜੀ keedi — ant · ਰੋਟੀ roti
ੁ	aunkar ਔਂਕੜ	below the letter	ਕੁ ku	u in put	ਕੁੜੀ kudi — girl · ਗੁਰੂ guru
ੂ	dulainkar ਦੁਲੈਂਕੜ	below the letter	ਕੂ koo	oo in food	ਕੂੜਾ kooda — rubbish · ਦੂਰ door — far
ੇ	lavan ਲਾਂਵ	above the letter	ਕੇ kay	a in gate	ਕੇਲਾ kela — banana · ਸੇਬ seb — apple
ੈ	dulavan ਦੁਲਾਂਵ	above the letter	ਕੈ kai	a in cat, held longer	ਕੈਂਚੀ kainchi — scissors · ਮੈਂ main — I
ੋ	hora ਹੋੜਾ	above the letter	ਕੋ ko	o in go	ਕੋਠੀ kothi — house · ਮੋਰ mor — peacock
ੌ	kanaura ਕਨੌੜਾ	above the letter	ਕੌ kau	au in caught	ਕੌਲੀ kauli — bowl · ਕੌਰ Kaur

Kanna and bihari look similar (ਾ ੀ) — bihari has a hook at the top. Lavan and dulavan (ੇ ੈ) and hora and kanaura (ੋ ੌ) are single-and-double pairs: the second stroke always means the more open vowel.

The Sihari Rule: Written Before, Read After

Sihari is the only sign that sits to the left of its consonant, yet it is pronounced after it. So ਸਿੱਖ reads sikh, not isakh: the ਿ belongs to the ਸ that follows it. Train your eye to see sihari-plus-letter as one unit:

Written	Read	Meaning
ਦਿਲ	dil	heart
ਪਿੰਡ	pind	village
ਮਿੱਠਾ	mittha	sweet
ਸਿੰਘ	Singh	lion (the Sikh name)
ਕਿਤਾਬ	kitaab	book
ਹਿੰਦੀ	Hindi	—
ਦਿਨ	din	day
ਮਿਲਣਾ	milna	to meet

One wrinkle: after ਹ in the middle of a word, sihari usually sounds like a short e, and the ਹ turns into a tone — ਸ਼ਹਿਰ is sheh-ar, ਰਹਿਣਾ is rehna, ਮਹਿੰਗਾ is mehnga. See Punjabi tones explained.

Vowels at the Start of a Word: ੳ, ਅ, ੲ

A word can't start with a bare vowel sign, so three special letters act as carriers. ਅ carries the open vowels, ੲ the front vowels, ੳ the back vowels — producing ten independent vowel letters:

Independent vowel	Made of	Sound	Example
ਅ	ਅ alone	a	ਅੱਜ ajj — today
ਆ	ਅ + ਾ	aa	ਆਲੂ aloo — potato
ਇ	ੲ + ਿ	i	ਇੱਕ ik — one
ਈ	ੲ + ੀ	ee	ਈਦ Eid
ਉ	ੳ + ੁ	u	ਉੱਠ uth — get up
ਊ	ੳ + ੂ	oo	ਊਠ oonth — camel
ਏ	ੲ + ੇ	ay	ਏਥੇ ethe — here
ਐ	ਅ + ੈ	ai	ਐਨਕ ainak — glasses
ਓ	ੳ + ੋ	o	ਓਥੇ othe — there
ਔ	ਅ + ੌ	au	ਔਖਾ aukha — difficult

The same carriers are used in the middle of a word when two vowels meet: ਕੋਈ koi (someone), ਆਓ aao (come), ਜਾਓ jaao (go), ਭਾਈ bhai (brother).

Short vs Long: Pairs That Change the Meaning

Short	Meaning	Long	Meaning
ਦਿਨ din	day	ਦੀਨ deen	faith; the poor
ਮਿਲ mil	meet	ਮੀਲ meel	mile
ਪੁਲ pul	bridge	ਪੂਲ pool	pool
ਚਲ chal	move, go	ਚਾਲ chaal	gait; a trick
ਸੁਣ sun	listen	ਸੂਣ soon	to give birth (animals)
ਕਲ kal	machine; peace	ਕਾਲ kaal	famine; time

Bindi, Tippi and Addak

Mark	Name	Rule	Examples
ਂ	bindi ਬਿੰਦੀ	Nasal sound. Used with the long signs (ਾ ੀ ੇ ੈ ੋ ੌ) and with the independent vowels ਆ ਈ ਏ ਐ ਓ ਔ ਉ	ਮਾਂ maa — mother · ਨਹੀਂ nahi — no · ਹਾਂ haan — yes · ਮੈਂ main — I · ਕਿਉਂ kyon — why
ੰ	tippi ਟਿੱਪੀ	Nasal sound. Used with mukta, sihari, aunkar and dulainkar	ਪੰਜ panj — five · ਕੰਮ kamm — work · ਸਿੰਘ Singh · ਸੁੰਦਰ sundar — beautiful · ਨੂੰ noo — to
ੱ	addak ਅੱਧਕ	Doubles the consonant after it (hold the sound a beat longer)	ਪੱਕਾ pakka — firm (ਪਕਾ paka — cook) · ਪੱਤਾ patta — leaf (ਪਤਾ pata — address) · ਸੱਤ satt — seven (ਸਤ sat — truth) · ਕੁੱਤਾ kutta — dog

Bindi and tippi make the same sound; which one you write depends only on the vowel sign next to it. Addak is the mark English speakers under-hear most: ਪਕਾ and ਪੱਕਾ are different words, and Sat Sri Akaal begins with ਸਤ (truth), not ਸੱਤ (seven).

Subjoined Letters (Pairin)

Three letters can be written small, tucked under another letter, and pronounced immediately after it. They're called pairin ("at the feet"):

Subjoined	Name	Examples
੍ਹ	pairin haha	ਪੜ੍ਹ paṛh — read · ਚੜ੍ਹ chaṛh — climb · ਕੱਲ੍ਹ kallh — tomorrow (the ਹ becomes a high tone)
੍ਰ	pairin rara	ਪ੍ਰੀਤ preet — love · ਪ੍ਰਸ਼ਾਦ prashad · ਸ੍ਰੀ sri · ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ program
੍ਵ	pairin vava	ਸ੍ਵੈ swai — self (mostly in Gurbani and formal words)

Read These 15 Words

Word	Letter by letter	Reads
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ	ਪ+ੰ · ਜ+ਾ · ਬ+ੀ	pan-jaa-bee — Punjabi
ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ	ਗ+ੁ · ਰ · ਮ+ੁ · ਖ+ੀ	gur-mu-khee — Gurmukhi
ਸਤਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ	ਸ ਤ+ਿ · ਸ+੍ਰ+ੀ · ਅ ਕ+ਾ ਲ	sat sree a-kaal
ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ	ਵ+ਾ · ਹ+ਿ · ਗ+ੁ · ਰ+ੂ	waa-he-gu-roo — Waheguru
ਸਿੰਘ	ਸ+ਿ+ੰ · ਘ	singh
ਕੌਰ	ਕ+ੌ · ਰ	kaur
ਲੰਗਰ	ਲ+ੰ · ਗ · ਰ	lan-gar — langar
ਰੋਟੀ	ਰ+ੋ · ਟ+ੀ	ro-tee
ਚਾਹ	ਚ+ਾ · ਹ	chaa (with a rising tone) — tea
ਘਰ	ਘ · ਰ	ghar (sounds like kàr) — home
ਸਕੂਲ	ਸ · ਕ+ੂ · ਲ	sa-kool — school
ਕੈਨੇਡਾ	ਕ+ੈ · ਨ+ੇ · ਡ+ਾ	kai-ne-daa — Canada
ਇੰਗਲੈਂਡ	ਇ+ੰ · ਗ · ਲ+ੈ+ਂ · ਡ	ing-laind — England
ਅਮਰੀਕਾ	ਅ · ਮ · ਰ+ੀ · ਕ+ਾ	am-ree-kaa — America
ਸ਼ੁਕਰੀਆ	ਸ਼+ੁ · ਕ · ਰ+ੀ · ਆ	shuk-ree-aa — thank you

If you got twelve or more, you can read Gurmukhi; the rest is speed. For the letters themselves, see the complete Gurmukhi alphabet chart; for a day-by-day plan, how to read Gurmukhi step by step; and for the errors everyone makes at this stage, common Gurmukhi reading mistakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are laga matra in Gurmukhi?

Laga matra (ਲਗਾਂ ਮਾਤਰਾਂ) are the vowel signs: ten marks — mukta, kanna, sihari, bihari, aunkar, dulainkar, lavan, dulavan, hora, kanaura — that attach to a consonant to set its vowel.

How many vowels does Gurmukhi have?

Ten vowel sounds, written as nine visible signs plus the built-in short a (mukta). At the start of a word they are written with the carriers ੳ, ਅ and ੲ as ten independent letters: ਅ ਆ ਇ ਈ ਉ ਊ ਏ ਐ ਓ ਔ.

Why is sihari written before the letter?

It's a convention inherited from older Indian scripts: the short i sign is placed to the left of the consonant it follows in speech. Read sihari-plus-letter as one unit — ਸਿ is always si.

What is the difference between bindi and tippi?

Both mark a nasal sound. Tippi (ੰ) is written with the short vowels and the built-in a (ਪੰਜ, ਸਿੰਘ, ਨੂੰ); bindi (ਂ) with the long vowel signs and independent vowels (ਮਾਂ, ਨਹੀਂ, ਮੈਂ).

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