The Letter ल (la)

Another consonant that you will be using is the letter ल, la. This letter represents a sound very similar to the English sound found in words like leap. The slight difference is that ल (la) is dental.

If you recall from our discussion of the letter त (ta) I pointed out that the letter त is dental because to pronounce it one touches the tongue to the teeth. The Devanagari letter ल (la) is also dental.

To contrast this with the English letter l, say the following sentence: Lyla loves treetops. If you pay very close attention, you'll notice that when you say Lyla loves, your tongue touches slightly above your teeth, on the palate. Then when you say treetops your tongue moves down and touches your teeth. In Hindi, there is no difference in tongue placement: both त (ta) and ल (la) are dental, so the tongue touches the teeth in both cases. Granted, this is not a big difference, and you may not be able to make the distinction right away. Don't worry about it—vthis is far from being the most important part of reading Hindi.

To remember the sound of the letter ल (la), it might be helpful to notice that part of this letter looks like the top of a heart. You can then associate ल (la) with love.

Now read the letter aloud: ल la ल la ल la ल la

All you need is ल…

ल… makes the world go 'round.

I'm gonna ल… you forever.

I could go on, but you get the idea.