Type Hindi in Roman letters and get the Devanagari script output. Phonetic word-by-word conversion.
| Roman | Devanagari | Sound | Roman | Devanagari | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | अ | short 'a' | aa/A | आ | long 'aa' |
| i | इ | short 'i' | ee/ii | ई | long 'ee' |
| u | उ | short 'u' | oo/uu | ऊ | long 'oo' |
| k | क | 'k' | kh | ख | aspirated 'kh' |
| g | ग | 'g' | gh | घ | aspirated 'gh' |
| ch | च | 'ch' | chh | छ | aspirated 'chh' |
| j | ज | 'j' | jh | झ | aspirated 'jh' |
| t | त | dental 't' | th | थ | aspirated 'th' |
| d | द | dental 'd' | dh | ध | aspirated 'dh' |
| n | न | 'n' | p | प | 'p' |
| ph/f | फ | 'f' | b | ब | 'b' |
| bh | भ | aspirated 'bh' | m | म | 'm' |
| y | य | 'y' | r | र | 'r' |
| l | ल | 'l' | v/w | व | 'v' |
| sh | श | 'sh' | s | स | 's' |
| h | ह | 'h' | z | ज़ | 'z' |
Transliteration converts text from one script to another based on phonetic equivalence, preserving how words sound rather than their meaning. Hindi is written in the Devanagari script, which has 13 vowels (swaras) and 36 consonants (vyanjanas), arranged in a precise phonetic order called the "varna mala." Converting Devanagari to Roman (Latin) script - known as Romanisation or transliteration - enables people unfamiliar with the script to read and pronounce Hindi words correctly. This is distinct from translation, which changes meaning across languages.
India has over 22 officially recognised languages and hundreds of dialects. Hindi, spoken as a first or second language by over 600 million people according to the 2011 Census, uses Devanagari as its script - shared with Sanskrit, Marathi, Nepali, and several other languages. Transliteration is essential for: Indian railway station signage (displayed in Hindi, English, and regional scripts), UPSC exam preparation where Hindi-medium aspirants need Roman spellings for international references, SMS and social media communication where Hinglish (Hindi in Roman script) dominates among urban youth, and name romanisation in passports and government identity documents.
No single universally accepted Hindi-to-Roman transliteration standard exists for everyday use. Systems like IAST (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration) and ISO 15919 use diacritics (special marks), while informal digital usage favours simplified Hinglish conventions. This tool follows widely understood phonetic conventions that balance accuracy with readability for general users.