The Gurmukhi Alphabet — 35 Letters of Punjabi

What is Gurmukhi?

Gurmukhi (ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ) literally means "from the mouth of the Guru." The script was formalised by Guru Angad Dev Ji, the second Sikh Guru, in the 16th century, based on earlier Landa merchants' scripts used across Punjab. His purpose was to make the Sikh sacred writings (Gurbani) accessible to ordinary Punjabi people in a standardised, learnable form. Today, Gurmukhi is the official script of Punjab (India) and is used for all written Punjabi in the Indian subcontinent, as well as in diaspora communities worldwide including Australia.

Gurmukhi belongs to the Brahmic family of scripts, related to Devanagari (used for Hindi) and other South Asian scripts. Like all Brahmic scripts, it is written left to right, and consonants carry an inherent vowel sound that can be modified with vowel signs called matras.

Before You Start — The Concept of the Inherent Vowel

In Gurmukhi, every consonant letter has an inherent "a" vowel sound built in. So ਕ is not just "k" — it's "ka." To write "ki," you add the sihari matra (ਿ) before the letter: ਕਿ. To write "ku," you add the aunkar matra (ੁ) below: ਕੁ. This vowel-modification system (matras) is explained in detail after the main alphabet table. Understanding this concept first will make the alphabet make much more sense.

The 35 Painti Akhar — Complete Table

Click on any row to anchor to that letter. Use the sidebar to jump to a specific letter. Practice pronouncing each sound aloud as you read — muscle memory is built through repetition.

The Three Carrier Letters

The first three letters — ੳ (Ura), ਅ (Aara), and ੲ (Eeri) — are unique in Gurmukhi. They are "carrier letters" that don't have consonant sounds of their own. Instead, they carry vowel sounds when a word begins with a vowel. Think of them as vowel holders:

Vowel Signs — Matras (ਲਗਾਂ ਮਾਤਰਾਂ)

Matras are vowel signs that attach to consonant letters to change their vowel sound. The inherent vowel of any consonant is "a" — adding a matra overrides this. Here are all the matras shown on the consonant ਕ (ka):

Special Marks

How to Remember the Letters

Research on language learning consistently shows that spaced repetition is the most effective way to memorise new characters. Rather than studying all 35 letters in one sitting, learn 5 letters per day and review them with flashcards daily. Within a week you'll have the full alphabet. Within two weeks you'll be reading simple words. Key strategies that work for Australian learners:

• Use the flashcard tool daily — even 5 minutes a day compounds rapidly over weeks
• Write the letters by hand — motor memory reinforces visual recognition significantly
• Group letters by similarity — many Gurmukhi letters look similar, so learning them in pairs helps (ਨ and ਮ, ਕ and ਖ)
• Read Gurbani — if your family is Sikh, you likely hear Gurbani regularly; trying to follow along in the printed Gutka is powerful practice
• Label objects at home — stick Gurmukhi labels on common objects so you see the script constantly