Letter र (ra) (Topic 2) in Module 7 – Hindi-Letters (BG)

र — Letter (ra)

• English sound anchor: run (flapped r)

• Hindi words:
• राजा ('raaja') — King
• रात ('raat') — Night
• राह ('raah') — Path / Way
• रोना ('rona') — To cry
• रेत ('ret') — Sand

Half Letter र् (ra halant)

In Hindi, adding the virama (्) below र creates the half letter र् — it silences the inherent 'a' vowel and makes this consonant join the next one without a vowel between them. Ways to write the half letter: 1. Halant form: र्   (the virama ् appears below the full letter)2. Repha (special form): When र appears before another consonant, it does not use the standard halant below. Instead it becomes a small curved hook written above the following letter — this is called repha. For example: र् + क = र्क, र् + म = र्म, र् + ध = र्ध. Look for the hooked mark above the consonant to recognise repha in writing. Example words using र्: - कर्म ('karm') — Deed / Action - धर्म ('dharm') — Religion / Duty - वर्ष ('varsh') — Year - मार्ग ('maarg') — Road / Path - सर्दी ('sardi') — Cold / Winter

How to Write र

Watch the animated stroke order below. Each stroke is drawn in sequence — follow the arrows.

Stroke order animation via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.