About the Marathi Script
Marathi has been written for over a thousand years — but not always in today's script. For centuries, everyday Marathi ran in Modi, a cursive script developed for fast administrative writing under the Maratha empire; Devanagari (in its Balbodh form) was reserved for scholarship. The British-era printing press tipped the balance, and by the early 20th century Balbodh Devanagari became standard while Modi faded into archives. Marathi Devanagari is not identical to Hindi's: it keeps the letter ळ, pronounces ज्ञ as 'dnya', uses the eyelash reph (ऱ्य), and adopted ॲ and ऑ for English vowels.
The Marathi Alphabet — Every Letter
Here is the full Marathi character set. You can click any letter on the Kactyl Marathi keyboard to type it instantly — no need to memorize positions.
- Script: Devanagari script, left-to-right (same script as Hindi)
- Speakers: 95 million worldwide
- Writing direction: Left-to-right
- Distinctive feature: Marathi Devanagari has letters and sounds Hindi never uses: the retroflex ळ (in बाळ 'child', कमळ 'lotus'), ज्ञ pronounced 'dnya' (ज्ञान = dnyaan, not Hindi's gyaan), and the eyelash reph ऱ्या — plus ॲ and ऑ invented for English loans like बॅट and ऑफिस.
The Marathi Alphabet, Letter by Letter
Every Marathi letter with its name, the sound it makes, and a real example word. Tap any letter to hear and copy it — keep this reference open while you learn to read or type:
| Letter | Name | Sound | Example word |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | short a | अननस — ananas (pineapple) | |
| ā | long a | आई — āī (mother) | |
| i | i | इमारत — imārat (building) | |
| ī | long ee | ईद — īd | |
| u | u | उंदीर — undīr (mouse) | |
| ū | long oo | ऊस — ūs (sugarcane) | |
| e | e | एक — ek (one) | |
| ai | ai | ऐरावत — airāvat | |
| o | o | ओठ — oṭh (lip) | |
| au | au | औषध — auṣadh (medicine) | |
| aṃ | nasal | अंगण — aṅgaṇ (courtyard) | |
| ka | k | कमळ — kamaḷ (lotus) | |
| kha | k + breath | खारूताई — khārutāī (squirrel) | |
| ga | g | गाय — gāy (cow) | |
| gha | voiced g + breath | घर — ghar (house) | |
| cha | ch | चाक — chāk (wheel) | |
| chha | ch + breath | छत्री — chhatrī (umbrella) | |
| ja | j | जहाज — jahāj (ship) | |
| jha | voiced j + breath | झाड — jhāḍ (tree) | |
| ṭa | retroflex t | टरबूज — ṭarbūj (watermelon) | |
| ṭha | retroflex t + breath | ठसा — ṭhasā (imprint) | |
| ḍa | retroflex d | डोंगर — ḍoṅgar (mountain) | |
| ḍha | retroflex d + breath | ढग — ḍhag (cloud) | |
| ṇa | retroflex n | बाण — bāṇ (arrow) | |
| ta | dental t | तारा — tārā (star) | |
| tha | dental t + breath | थवा — thavā (flock) | |
| da | dental d | दार — dār (door) | |
| dha | dental d + breath | धनुष्य — dhanuṣya (bow) | |
| na | n | नदी — nadī (river) | |
| pa | p | पान — pān (leaf) | |
| pha | p + breath / f | फूल — phūl (flower) | |
| ba | b | बदक — badak (duck) | |
| bha | voiced b + breath | भोपळा — bhopaḷā (pumpkin) | |
| ma | m | मासा — māsā (fish) | |
| ya | y | यंत्र — yantra (machine) | |
| ra | r | रथ — rath (chariot) | |
| la | l | लिंबू — limbū (lemon) | |
| va | v / w | वाघ — vāgh (tiger) | |
| sha | sh | शाळा — shāḷā (school) | |
| ṣha | retroflex sh | षटकोन — ṣhaṭkon (hexagon) | |
| sa | s | सूर्य — sūrya (sun) | |
| ha | h | हत्ती — hattī (elephant) | |
| ḷa | retroflex L | कमळ — kamaḷ (lotus) |
🔊 Click any letter to hear it pronounced (recorded native voice) and copy it to your clipboard.
What Makes the Marathi Alphabet Distinctive
These are the features of the Marathi script that trip up learners coming from the Latin alphabet — the things worth understanding before you start reading or typing:
- Marathi is written in Devanagari but adds a letter Hindi doesn’t use: ळ (ḷa), a retroflex “L” heard in everyday words like कमळ (lotus) and शाळा (school).
- Unlike Hindi, Marathi usually pronounces the inherent “a” at the end of a word — राम is “Rāma” in Marathi, not the clipped “Rām” of Hindi.
- Marathi keeps older Sanskrit letters and the vocalic ऋ more actively than modern Hindi, reflecting its heavy Sanskrit vocabulary.
- Marathi typography has its own quirk — the “eyelash reph” (र्), a special half-r form you won’t see in Hindi.
- It shares Devanagari’s abugida structure and top line (shirorekha) with Hindi, so the letters look familiar even though the language is different.
Marathi Script — The Facts
- Unicode block: Devanagari, U+0900–097F
- ISO 15924 script code: Deva (315)
- Script family: Brahmic abugida (Devanagari, Marathi additions)
- First attested: ~11th century CE (Marathi in Devanagari)
- Speakers: 95 million (Ethnologue)
Sources: Unicode Devanagari block (U+0900) · Ethnologue — Marathi · ISO 15924 — Deva
Common Marathi Words to Learn
These everyday words are a fast way to start recognizing Marathi letters in real context:
- नमस्कार (namaskar = hello)
- धन्यवाद (dhanyavaad = thank you)
- तुम्ही कसे आहात (tumhi kase aahat = how are you)
Common Marathi Phrases
| Marathi Script | Romanized | English |
|---|---|---|
| नमस्कार | namaskar | hello / greetings |
| धन्यवाद | dhanyavaad | thank you |
| तुम्ही कसे आहात? | tumhi kase aahat | how are you? |
| गणपती बाप्पा मोरया | Ganpati Bappa Morya | Hail Lord Ganesha (Ganesh Chaturthi chant) |
Type Marathi Online Without Learning the Layout
You don't need to memorize where each Marathi letter sits on a physical keyboard. Open kactyl.com/marathi/, click the letters you see on screen (or type phonetically), then copy your text anywhere — WhatsApp, documents, social media.
Tips for Typing Marathi
- Same script as Hindi but different vocabulary
- Phonetic typing works like Hindi phonetic
- Marathi has the unique ळ letter
About the Marathi Language
Marathi is spoken by 95 million people in Maharashtra state (India) — home to Mumbai, India's financial capital and the Bollywood film industry. Marathi speakers are intensely proud of their language heritage, with a literary tradition dating to the 13th century Warkari saints. The Marathi digital content ecosystem on YouTube and WhatsApp is extensive.
Marathi — Mumbai's Hidden Language
Despite being India's commercial capital, Mumbai's native language — Marathi — often gets overshadowed by Hindi and English in digital spaces. Yet Marathi has 95 million speakers and one of India's richest literary traditions, including the 13th-century compositions of Sant Dnyaneshwar and the Varkari movement poetry. Modern Marathi is vibrant on YouTube (cooking, politics, comedy), WhatsApp (family groups, Ganesh Chaturthi greetings), and increasingly on Instagram Reels. Marathi uses the same Devanagari script as Hindi but is a distinct language with different vocabulary, grammar, and the unique letter ळ (retroflex lateral) not found in standard Hindi. Kactyl's Marathi keyboard includes ळ and handles Marathi-specific phonetics correctly — unlike Hindi keyboards used as substitutes.