Practicing the Letter न (na)

Try to read the words presented below. Again, these are all Hindi words, but by now you should be able to pronounce them without knowing what they mean.

• नाम ☑ Answer
• नमक ☑ Answer
• पन्ना ☑ Answer
• करना ☑ Answer
• काम करना ☑ Answer
• पाना ☑ Answer

Take special notice of the third word, करना; nna is not really a new letter, but a conjunct made by doubling the letter न (na). Since the conjunct form is used, the sound is not nana but just nna—the, n sound is just a little longer.

Also note the fourth word, करना. This is an example of a word that has an unpronounced vowel that does not used conjunct letters. Notice how it follows our rules for unpronounced vowels in that it has three or more syllables and ends with an explicit vowel—in this case, आ (ā). Without the exception we discussed, there would be an inherent a sound between the letters र (ra) and न (na). However, the vowel fits our rules, and indeed the word is karna, not karana.

Lastly, note that काम करना is actually two words, although they are both used together in Hindi to express one idea.