Nasalized vowels are very important in Hindi but these can also confuse many of the beginner in Hindi. Sure, the nasalized vowels are can be tricky but once you understood the concept behind them, you can understand and use them without any difficulty. Beside nouns, nasalized words are used extensively in the plural forms of Hindi word so keep that in mind as a hint. There is two important nasalized marks in Hindi. Let me show you the nasalized vowels with some examples.

1. ं – न – N
This represent nasalized vowel “न” in Hindi or its equivalent “n” in English. In Hindi, it is called अनुस्वार (Anusvar). You can visualize the word combination as अ + ं = अं. The same mark is placed on the vowels to make other nasalized vowels. Remember that the nasalized marks comes on preceding vowel or consonant.

Some examples of such nasalized vowels are:

अंत – Ant – End
पंख – Pankh – Feather
सुंदर – Sundar – Beautiful
पांच – Paanch – Five
हिंदी – Hindi – Hindi
मैं – Main – I
आदमियों – Aadmiaon – Men
महिलाओं – Mahilaon – Women

2. ँ – न – AN
This represent nasalized vowel “म” in Hindi or its equivalent “an” in English. In Hindi, it is called चन्द्रबिन्दु (Chandrabindu, from Chandra means moon and bindu means dot) because it looks like a dot on the moon. You can visualize the word combination as अ + ँ = अँ. In some Hindi words, the dot may also be used for to replace any nasal sounds such as ङ, ञ, ण, न, म when they are found as the first letter of a conjunct. Remember that the nasalized marks comes on preceding vowel or consonant.

Some examples of such nasalized vowels are:

हँसना – Hamsna – to laugh
हाँ – Haan – Yes
घड़ियाँ – Ghadiyaan – Watches
चाँद – Chand – Moon
कहाँ – Kahan – Where
पाँव – Paanv – Feet
थाईलैंड – Thailend – Thailand
भाषाएँ – Bhashayean – Languages

Nasalized sound for ङ, ञ, ण, न, म
अण्डा or अंडा – Anda – Egg
लम्बा or लंबा – Lamba – long, tall