Reading Gurmukhi road signs: Punjabi

Gurmukhi is the script of Punjabi in India. Signs in Punjab often give the name in Punjabi first, above Hindi and English. Letters hang from a line along the top, and each consonant carries a short ‘a’ unless a vowel sign changes it.

In GeoGuessr, Gurmukhi on a sign means Punjab; reading it gives you the town. Learn the common letters and ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਸਰ (Amritsar) or ਲੁਧਿਆਣਾ (Ludhiana) read themselves.

Gurmukhi at a glance

Gurmukhi is the script of Punjabi in the Indian state of Punjab. Like Devanagari, its letters hang from a line along the top and are read left to right.

Each letter is a consonant with an ‘a’ built in; other vowels are added as small signs around it.

Every consonant comes with an ‘a’

On its own, every consonant is read with a short ‘a’ built in, like the ‘u’ in “but”: ਕ is ka. ਵ is w or v.

The built-in ‘a’ is not written, so below it is shown in a lighter colour.

• ਕka
• ਗga
• ਚcha
• ਜja
• ਤta
• ਦda
• ਨna
• ਪpa
• ਬba
• ਮma
• ਰra
• ਲla
• ਵwa
• ਸsa

Vowel signs

Every other vowel is a sign added to the consonant, replacing the built-in one. Even a long ‘a’ has its own sign: ਕਾ is kā (as in “father”), while ਕ alone is the short ka.

ਿ is written before the letter but read after it: ਕਿ is ki. The line over ‘ā’, ‘ī’, ‘ū’ just marks a long vowel; English names drop it, so ਕ and ਕਾ both become ka.

• ਕਾkā
• ਕਿki
• ਕੀkī
• ਕੁku
• ਕੂkū
• ਕੇke
• ਕੈkai
• ਕੋko
• ਕੌkau

When the ‘a’ goes quiet

The built-in ‘a’ is dropped at the end of a word, and often in the middle too: ਗੁਰਦਾਸਪੁਰ is Gur-das-pur.

An h means a breath

An h after a letter in the Latin spelling means a puff of breath: ਖ is kh, ਭ is bh, ਫ is ph.

• ਖkha
• ਘgha
• ਛchha
• ਝjha
• ਠtha
• ਥtha
• ਧdha
• ਭbha
• ਫpha
• ਹha

A dot underneath

A dot under a letter makes a sound borrowed from Persian: ਫ਼ is f, ਜ਼ is z, ਸ਼ is sh. ੜ is a flapped r, as in ਚੰਡੀਗੜ੍ਹ.

• ਸ਼sha
• ਜ਼za
• ਫ਼fa
• ਖ਼kha
• ੜra

Nasals and doubling

ੰ and ਂ on top add n, or m before p, b or m. The small crescent ੱ doubles the next letter: ਪੱਟੀ is Patti.

• ਚੰchan
• ਖੰkhan
• ਉਂun
• ਪੱpat

Name parts worth knowing

Some pieces come back again and again. Spot them and half the name is read.

ਆ after another vowel starts a new syllable: ਲੁਧਿਆਣਾ is Lu-dhi-a-na and ਪਟਿਆਲਾ Pa-ti-a-la, two very common shapes in Punjab.

Try it

Which city is on the sign?

All the letters

Consonants

• ਕk
• ਖkh
• ਗg
• ਘgh
• ਙng
• ਚch
• ਛchh
• ਜj
• ਝjh
• ਞny
• ਟt
• ਠth
• ਡd
• ਢdh
• ਣn
• ਤt
• ਥth
• ਦd
• ਧdh
• ਨn
• ਪp
• ਫph
• ਬb
• ਭbh
• ਮm
• ਯy
• ਰr
• ਲl
• ਵw
• ੜr
• ਸs
• ਹh
• ਸ਼sh
• ਖ਼kh
• ਗ਼gh
• ਜ਼z
• ਫ਼f
• ਲ਼l

Vowels

• ਅa
• ਆa
• ਇi
• ਈi
• ਉu
• ਊu
• ਏe
• ਐai
• ਓo
• ਔau

Vowel signs, shown on ਕ

• ਕka
• ਕਾka
• ਕਿki
• ਕੀki
• ਕੁku
• ਕੂku
• ਕੇke
• ਕੈkai
• ਕੋko
• ਕੌkau

Other signs

• ਕ੍k
• ਕੰkan
• ਕਂkan
• ਕੱka
• ਕਃkah

Clusters in these place names

• ੜ੍ਹrha
• ਸ੍ਰsra
• ਮ੍ਰmra

A consonant with no vowel sign carries an unwritten a, silent at the end of a word. The mark ( ੱ ) doubles the next letter; ( ੰ ) and ( ਂ ) are n, or m before p, b or m. ਹਿ after a bare letter is said eh (ਸ਼ਹਿਰ shehar).

The 188 places in the quiz

The quiz has towns of Punjab (India) and Chandigarh: the cities and municipal towns, then smaller towns and well-known places such as Attari and Anandpur Sahib.