Dogri (Devanagari : डोगरी, Dogra Takri : 𑠖𑠵𑠌𑠤𑠮) is a language spoken primarily in the Jammu Division of northern India, and is also one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also spoken in parts of Himachal Pradesh & Northern Punjab. Dogri is a Western Pahari language. All the Western Pahari languages form a dialect chain from Himachal Pradesh through Jammu and up to Azad Kashmir in Pakistan. The dialects spoken in Azad Kashmir and Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir are not classified as Western Pahari; they are classified under Western Punjabi. Sindhi, Lahnda, Punjabi, and Western Pahari form a dialect continuum with no clear-cut boundaries.
However, most people understand Hindustani in North India and Pakistan. Thus, majority of Dogri speakers speak Hindi or Urdu as a second language.
Pronunciation and alphabet guide
Dogri is written using either Devanagari script or Persian variant of the Arabic script. It was historically written in Dogra variant of the Takri script.
Devanagari
Devanagari writing is often likened to a washing line: a line is drawn above the words, and the letters are hung out to dry below the line. A break in the line indicates a break between words.
Devanagari is classified as an abugida, which means that each character represents a syllable, not a single letter as in English. If the character is a consonant, the implicit vowel following it is assumed to be a, unless modified by special vowel signs added above, below, after or even before the character.
Vowels
Each vowel has two forms: an "isolated" form when beginning a word or following another vowel; and another used within a word by use of diacritics called मात्रा mātra. As an example, the forms used with consonants are placed with the letter त्. Note that if there is no vowel sign, the vowel is assumed to be a.
Devanagari Transliteration Equivalent Within Word
अ a as in about त (implicit)
आ ā as in father ता
इ i as in sit ति
ई ī as in elite ती
उ u as in put तु
ऊ ū as in flute तू
ए e long e as in German "zehn". It is not a diphthong; the tone does not fall. ते
ऐ ai as in Mail, sometimes a longer ए. In Eastern dialects as in bright (IPA ıj). तै
ओ o as in German Kohle, not a diphthong; tone does not fall. तो
औ au as in oxford. In Eastern dialects as in German lauft, or English town. तौ
Arranged with the vowels is a consonantal diacritic - the final nasal anusvāra ं ṃ (called अं aṃ). ं is written above a syllable to denote that the vowel has to be pronounced using both nose and mouth.
Consonants
Devanagari Transliteration Equivalent/Comments
क k as in skip.
ख kh as in sinkhole.
ग g as in go.
घ gh represents the 'k' or 'g'.
ङ ṅ as in sing. Used only in Sanskrit loan words, does not occur independently.
च c as in church.
छ ch as in pinchhit.
ज j as in jump.
झ jh represents the 'c' or 'j'.
ञ ñ or y It is pronounced similar to the Spanish 'ñ'in case of words of Sanskrit origin; also used to represent 'y' sound.
ट ṭ as in tick. Retroflex, but still a "hard" t sound similar to English.
ठ ṭh as in lighthouse. Retroflex
ड ḍ as in doom. Retroflex
ढ ḍh represents the 'ṭ' or 'ḍ'.
ण ṇ retroflex n. Used only in Sanskrit loan words.
ड़ ṛ
ढ़ ṛh
त t does not exist in English. more dental t, with a bit of a th sound. Softer than an English t.
थ th aspirated version of the previous letter, not as in thanks or the, but like pathetic
द d dental d.
ध dh represents the 't' or 'd'.
न n as in none.
प p as in spin.
फ ph as in uphill.
ब b as in be.
भ bh represents the 'p' or 'b'.
म m as in mere.
य y as in yet.
र r as in Spanish pero, a tongue trip. Don't roll as in Spanish rr, German or Scottish English.
ल l as in lean.
व v as in Spanish vaca, between English v and w, but without the lip rounding of an English w. (IPA: ʋ).
श ś as in shoot.
स s as in see.
ह h mostly silent.
Ligatures
One of the things which appears daunting to most beginners are the over 100 conjunct characters. These happen when two or more consonants are joined together (with no vowel between). Upon seeing all these, the new learner might gasp, thinking that they will have to memorize each one as if they were Chinese ideograms. The good news is that most of these are quite simple and merely involve dropping the inherent 'a' stem. e.g.:
त् + म = त्म
न् + द = न्द
स् + क = स्क
However there are a few special constructions. For many of these, you may also use the previous method though. e.g.
त् + त = त्त
क् + ल = क्ल
Most often odd forms arise, in consonants without a stem. e.g.
द् + भ = द्भ
ह् + ल = ह्ल
ट् + ठ = ट्ठ
Do not worry too much about conjuncts though, you may always suppress the inherent 'a' with a halant.
Another thing which causes problems for new learners is the use of र, which is treated as a vowel as in Hindi it is a "semi-vowel." There are three forms for conjuncting र, and one for ऋ:
1. After a consonant with a stem add a slash from the lower half of the stem (top-down, right-left). e.g.:
प् + र = प्र
क् + र = क्र
ग् + र = ग्र
note:
श+ र = श्र
त् + र = त्र.
2. After a vowel and before a consonant र is written as a small hook (a good mnemonic trick is to picture a stylized lower case r). This conjunct cannot occur alone, nor begin a word. Therefore, an example shall be given within the context of words:
गर्म hot
सिर्फ़ only
कर्म karma (In Sanskrit, the last inherent vowel is not written long as it is in Hindi)
If followed by ā, ī, e, o, or ai the "hook" is moved one letter to the right, e.g. the name Marco would be written: मॉर्को.
3. In most letters without stems, the र is joined to the consonant by placing a circumflex-like diacritic below the letter, e.g.:
द् + र = द्र
ट् + र + ट्र
ड् + र = ड्र
4. ऋ, when preceded by a consonant, is written as a small hook resembling the Polish ogonek attached to the stem. Only occurs in Sanskrit loan words, most notably the word Sanskrit itself: संस्कृत.
Finally, र has two special forms when followed by u, and ū respectively:
रु ru
रू rū
Avagraha
The avagraha ऽ अऽ (usually transliterated with an apostrophe) is a Sanskrit punctuation mark for the elision of a vowel in sandhi: एकोऽयम् eko'yam ( ← ekas + ayam) "this one". It is used to pronounce the vowel a little longer. It is usually found at the end of the words in Dogri : त्राऽ (tra) "shock" .
Nasta'līq
Nasta'liq consonants
English Name Transliteration English equivalent Nasta'liq example Glyph
alif a, i apple, uncle aap, nahi ا
be b bee, bomb, brother bhai, behan, baap ب
pe p pipe, pen, pencil, party Pakistan, paani, pahaar پ
te t
(with soft ‘t’) tum, tareekh ت
te T
(with hard ‘T’) time, telephone, taxi tamatar, tang ٹ
se s sun, sample saboot, sabit ث
jim j jet, joker, jar, jam jahil, jahaaz, jang ج
che c China, cheese, chat cham-ach, cheez, chaat چ
ba-ri he h hall, hockey, hen haal, nahi ح
kh kh sheikh, khaki khay-aal, khoof, kho-aab, khan, lakh خ
daal d
with soft ‘d’ dust, dentist, dental dhaak, د
daal D
with hard ‘D’ demand, donkey, darbaar, daal ڈ
zaal z zoo, zip, zinger, zone zubaan, zaalim ذ
re r Russia, Romania, rice raja ر
re r butter, cutter mutter ڑ
ze z zoo, zip, zinger, zone zubaan, zaalim ز
zhe zh television television ژ
sin s safe, size, snake, seven sa-mun-dar, say-b, saa-mp, saal, saabun س
shin sh shampoo, share she-har, shoo-har, shayr ش
swad s ص
zwad z zoo zar-roor ض
to-e t talib ط
zo-e z zalim, zulm, za-ay-a ظ
ain a, e Arab arbi ع
ghain gh gorgeous ghareeb غ
fe f fan, free fa-righ, fa-zool ف
qaaf q quran quraan ق
kaaf k kite, cab kaala, kon-sa, kub, kya, kyu ک
gaaf g go gaana گ
laam l london, lemon, liar laazmi ل
meem m my, music, mother maa, mach-ar م
noon n new, november nahi, naya ن
wao w, v van, valid, was, what walid, wajah و
choti he h home, house hum, haa ہ
do-chasmi he h ھ
hamza ء
choti ye y yard, yes, you yaar ی
bari ye e, y ے
Dogri, as mentioned earlier, is also written in a modified Perso-Arabic script called abjad. An abjad does not write short vowels, except at the beginning of a word with alif' serving as a place holder. This can make it frustrating for the learner as the words I and in are both written ميں in Dogri. Dogri is also written in a stylized form of the Arabic script called nast'alīq (نستعليق). Developed in Persia, it is still used for religious and poetic calligraphy in Iran today. The script is mainly used to write Urdu and the Pahari dialects on the west of Standard Dogri. Therefore, if you want to read an Urdu newspaper, street sign, etc. you will have to learn to read nastaliq, which can prove difficult for the beginner. As a result, a simpler style called Naskh (نسخ), as used in other languages using the Arabic abjad will be used for two reasons: 1. to ease the learner into nastaliq, and 2. because Unicode does not support nast'aliq. Vowel diacritics do exist, mostly used to modify the alif vowel holder at the beginning of a word but also used for educational purposes, in the Qur'ān, and for clarifying ambiguous spellings.
The Arabic system of writing is cursive. Most letters have four forms. Others, which do not attach to the letter coming next to them, have only two. These forms are quite self-explanatory: initial, medial, final, and isolated. When written alone letters are written in their isolated form. Example:
پ + آ + ك + س + ت + آ + ن
when these isolated letters are joined together they look like this:
پاكستان, Pākistān
Vowels
At the beginning of a word alif serves as a placeholder for the diacritical mark. Due to directional issues with unicode the medial/final occurs before the initial example, when they should appear after, i.e., to the left of the letter. A final ﻪ is sometimes used do represent an inherent 'a' at the end of a word (c.f. Arabic usage). When choṭī ye and baṛī ye occur in the middle, both take the ﻴ form. For further reference, in Urdu transliteration ai is ae and au is ao.
Vowel symbol Pronunciation example
a but, run abhi, asar, undar, sar
aa far, father abaad, aap, aakhir, aadaab, aadmi, aaraam, aazaad, aasaan, aasmaan
ai neighbor, aisle
ay day payse, aytbaar
au cow, how aurat
e bed, wet, net
ee bee, feet faqeer
i bit, fit nahi
o code, go bolay
oo fool, booed dood, moor, choor
u put sunaye
Dogra Akkhar (Takri)
Vowels
The initial form is followed by non-initial form.
Dogra Akkhar Devanagri Persian Transliteration
𑠀 , 𑠞 अ,प اَ، بَ a,pa
𑠁 , 𑠞𑠬 आ,पा آ, بَا ā
𑠂 , 𑠞𑠭 इ, पि اِ، بِ i
𑠃 , 𑠞𑠮 ई, पी اِی، بِی ī
𑠄 , 𑠞𑠯 उ, पु اُ، بُ u
𑠅 , 𑠞𑠰 ऊ, पू اُو، بُو ū
𑠆 , 𑠞𑠲 ए, पे اے، بے ē
𑠇 , 𑠞𑠳 ऐ, पै اَے، بَے ai
𑠈 , 𑠞𑠴 ओ, पो او، بو ō
𑠉 , 𑠞𑠵 औ, पौ اَو، بَو au
Consonants
Ligatures
Phrase list
Some phrases in this phrasebook still need to be translated. If you know anything about this language, you can help by plunging forward and translating a phrase.
The transliterations are based on standard.
Basics
English Dogri (Devanagri) Dogri (Persian) Transliteration Note
Hello (to a Hindu) नमस्ते Namastē The word is often complemented by a gesture involving joining hands
Hello (to a Muslim) सलाम-लेकुम Salam lēkum
Hello (to a Hindu elder) चरणबंदना/पैरिपे charanbandana/pairipē Lit. I touch your feet
Bye खरा फ्ही Khara phī Lit. Okay then
How are you? (informal) केह् हाल ऐ? kē āal ae
How are you? (formal) तुंदा केह् हाल ऐ? tunda kēh āl ai
I am fine. अ'ऊं खरा आं। āū khara ā Nasal sound in 'ū' in the first syllable and 'ā' in the last syllable
Thank you! शुक्रिया/ धन्नवाद śhukriyā/ tanvād The former is derived from Arabic "shukriyat" and the latter is the formal Sanskrit derived form. The former is more commonly used.
What is your name? तुंदा केह् नांऽ ऐ? tunda kēh nā ai
My name is ____ मेरा नांऽ .... ऐ mēra nā .... ai
Please किरपा kirpā
Excuse me (getting attention) इक पल/मिन्ट गल्ल सुनेओ Example Lit. Can I talk to you for a minute? Note : The tone in "गाल gāl" is rising. If you use an even tone, the word's meaning changes from \"talk\" to \"curse word\".
Excuse me (begging pardon) माफ़/छिमा करेओ māf/cimā karēō Lit. Forgive me
I am Sorry. मिगी माफ़ /छिमा करेओ। mi/cimā māf karēō
I can't speak Dogri. मिगी डोगरी नेईं आन्दी ऐ। migī ḍōgrī neī āndi ai
I can speak some Dogri. मिगी थोह्ड़ी ञई डोगरी आन्दी ऐ migī thōṛī jaī ḍōgrī nī āndi ai The 'j'(ञ) sounds somewhere between ja(ज) and ya(य).
Do you speak English? तुस अंग्रेजी गलान्दे हो? tus agarēzī galāndē ō
I don't understand. मिगी सम्झ नेईं लगी। migī samj ni lagī
Speak more slowly आस्ता/हौली गलाओ āstā/haulī galāo
Where are you from? तुस कुत्थूं दे हो? tus kuthē dē ō
I'm from ... आऊं ... थमां आं। Aaun ... thmā ā Nasal sound complements both ā's
Where is the toilet? शौचालय कुत्थै ऐ? śocalya kuthē ai
What time is it? टैम केह् ओआदा ऐ? taim kēh oādā ai
Problems
English Dogri (Devanagri) Dogri (Persian) Transliteration
Leave me alone. मिगी कल्ला छोड़िओड़ो। Migi kallā chodiodo
Don't touch me. मिगी हत्थ नेईं लाओ। mīgi āth nī lāō
I'm calling the police. अ'ऊं पुलीस गी फ़ॉन करन लगा। aŪṀ pulīs gī fon (phone) karan lagā
Stop! Thief! रोको ! चोर ! rōkō ! cōr !
Stop! Rapist! रोको ! बलात्कारी ! rōkō ! blātkārī !
Someone please help me! कोई मेरी मदद/सहायता करो। koī mērī madad/sahāyatā karō
Fire! अग्ग Agg (Falling tone)
I am lost. आऊँ ग्वाचिये दा हां। aūm̐ gvāchiē da ha
I have lost my purse. मेरा पर्स ग्वाचिए दा ऐ। mēra pars (purse) ai
I have lost my wallet. मेरा बटुआ ग्वाचिए दा ऐ। mēra baṭuā gvāciē da aiṁ.
I have lost my watch. मेरी घड़ी ग्वाचिए दी ऐ। mērī kaṛī gvāciē dī ai
My things have been stolen. मेरी चीजां/बस्तां चोरी होईगेदी आं। mērī cijāṁ/bastāṁ cōrī oīgedī aan
I'm sick. अ'ऊं बमार आँ l aŪṀ bamār am̐
I have been injured. मिगी लगी दी ऐ। migi lagī dī ai
I need a doctor. मिगी डॉक्टर दी लोड़ ऐ। migi ḍokṭar (doctor) dī lōḍ ai
Interrogatives
English Dogri (Devanagri) Dogri (Persian) Transliteration Notes
Why की/कैं kī
When कुस्लै kuslē
What केह् kē
Who कु'न kau'n
Whom किसी kisī
How कीयां kiyām̐ Used to ask how something happened.
E.g. How did you get hurt?
How (masc./fem.) कनए/कनई kanaē/kanaī Used to ask the likability of something.
E.g. Do you like the mangoes (Lit. How are the mangoes?)
Numbers
Dogri numerals follow the Hindu-Arabic number system. Both Persian and Devanagari numerals are used in Dogri. Historically, Dogri was written in Dogra Akkhar script which had its own numerals. However, it is acceptable to use Latin numerals are often used when writing the language in any of the scripts.
Latin Numeral (Hindu-Arabic) Devanagri Persian/Arabic
0 ० ٠
1 १ ١
2 २ ٢
3 ३ ٣
4 ४ ٤
5 ५ ٥
6 ६ ٦
7 ७ ٧
8 ८ ٨
9 ९ ٩
10 १० ۱۰
The numbers in words are given below.
Hindu-Arabic Dogri (Devanagri) Dogri (Persian) Transliteration
0 शून्य śunya
1 इक ikk
2 दो do
3 त्रै trai
4 चार cār
5 पंज pānj
6 छे cē
7 सत्त satt
8 अट्ठ aṭṭh
9 नौ nau
10 दस dās
Time
English Dogri (Devanagri) Dogri (Persian) Transliteration Note
Time टैम/समां/वेला ṭaim/samā/vela Derived from the English word time'/ Derived from Sanskrit समय (samé)
Now अल्ले/अजे āllē/aje
That time (past) उस बेल्ले us vēlē Acts as a past version of later
Later बाद च bād ca Literally, "later in"
Before पैह्ले pailē It is not exactly pronounced at it is spelt.
morning/ (in the) morning बडले/स्वेरे Baddle /svere
noon/afternoon दपैहर/पार-दपैर dōpair/paar dopair It is not exactly pronounced at it is spelt.
evening/ (in the) evening संज्जां/ तरकालां śanjan/tarkalan
night/ (in the) night रात/ राती rāt/rātī
Clock time
khaddi da taam
Duration
English Dogri (Devanagri) Dogri (Persian) Transliteration
minute / minutes मिन्ट minṭ
hour / hours घैंटा / घैंटे kainṭā / kainṭē
(Dogri is tonal so, gha is pronounced as ka when in initials
day / days दिन din
week / weeks हफ़्ता / हफ़्ते aftā / aftē
month / months म्हीना / म्हीने minā / minē
year / years साल/बरस/ब'रा sāl/baras/barha (falling-rising tone)
Days
The Dogri days of the week are derived from Hindi names of week and are a deviation of them. Most of them are named after the planets like mangalwar(Mars day), buddhwar(mercury day) etc but some are different like Saturday-sunday are called Vaar-Taar.
English Dogri (Persian) Dogri (Devanagri) Transliteration
Sunday तार Taar
Monday संगार sangaar
Tuseday मंगलबार mangalvār
Wednesday बुधबार budhvār
Thursday गुरुबार guruvār
Friday शुक्करबार śukravār
Saturday वार Vaar
Months
There are three main calendar systems followed in the Duggar Belt : the Georgian calendar, the Hindu calendar and the Islamic calendar. The Georgian calendar in used for all administrative purposes. The Hindu calendar and the Islamic calendar are used for religious purposes and mark many official holidays.
Name Dogri (Devanagri) Dogri (Persian) Transliteration
January जनवरी janvarī
February फ़रवरी farvarī
March मार्च mārc
April अप्रैल aprail
May मई maī
June जून jūn
July जुलाई julāī
August अगस्त agast
September सितम्बर sitambar
October अक्तूबर aktūbar
November नवम्बर navambar
December दिसम्बर disambar
===Writing time and date
टेम ते तरीक लिखना
Colors
rang
Transportation
Transportation in Jammu involves bus, train , rickshaw, matador and taxi. Matador are a kind of local buses that do not necessarily run on a schedule. You can easily stop a matador for you by gesturing using your hand. There are no particular matador stops.
Bus and train
buss te rail gaddi
Directions
English Dogri (Devanagri) Dogri (Persian) Transliteration
How do I get to _____ ? _ किंयां जाना ? ___ kīyāṁ jānā
... the train station ? ... रेलवे स्टेशन ...rēlvē stēśān (railway station)
... the airport ? ... हवाई अठ्ठा ...havāī aṭhṭhā
... the bus station ? ... बस स्टॉप ...bus stop
... the _____ hotel ? ____ हॉटल .... hotel
... restaurants / ... dhaba ? ...खाने आस्ते हॉटल/ ढाबा ... khānē āstē hotel / ḍhābā
...sites to see? ... दिखने आस्ते जगां? ... dikhnē āstē jagān
Can you show me on the map? नक्शे उप्पर दस्गे? nakśā uppār dāssō
Street गली gālī
(You) Turn left (imperative) खब्बे मुड़ो। khabbe muṛō
(You) Turn right (imperative) सज्जे मुड़ो। sajje muṛō
(I/We) Turn left (interrogative) ? खब्बे मुड़ाँ? khabbe muṛām̐
(I/We) Turn right (interrogative) ? सज्जे मुड़ाँ? sajje muṛām̐
Left खब्बा khabba
Right सज्जा sajja
towards the ______ ___ दी आल ___ dī āll
past the ______ __ दे बाद ___ dē bād
intersection चौराहे chaurāhē
North पहाड़/पहाड़ले पास्से Pahad/pahadle passe
South दक्खण dakkhan
East चड़दा Charda
West लैंदा/घरोंदा Lainda/kronda
Uphill ढक्की Dhakki
Downhill टलान tlān
what are you doing?
Tuss ke karaa de?
Money
पैसे (Paise), पैहे (Paihe)
Eating
English Dogri (Devanagri) Dogri (Persian) Transliteration
Can I look into the menu?
What food items are you selling? तुस खाने आली के-केह् चिजां/बस्तां बेचा दे हो?
Is there a house speciality? इस थाह्र दी कोई स्पैशल चीज़ है?
I am vegetarian. मैं शाकाहारी/वैष्णो आं।
Is this food vegetarian? के इत्थें दी रूट्टी वैष्णो ऐ?
I am allergic to _______ . मिगी ______ कन्ने जैर ओइ जंदा है। / मिगी ____ एनी जचदा।
Can you make it light please? किरपा करिए हल्का बनागे?
Can you put less oil? कट्ट तेल पाई सकदे हो?
What is it made of? ऐ कैदे कन्ने बनेदा है ?
Breakfast नारि
Lunch दपैरी दी रुट्टि
Dinner राति दी रुट्टि
Chicken चूसा
Pork सूअर
Mutton (Sheep/Goat)
Eggs अन्डॆ
(fresh) Vegetables (ताजा) सुरूने/न्योड़ा
(fresh) fruits (ताजा) फल
Rice पत्त/चौल
Water पानी
May I have _____ ? के अंऊ _____ लेई सकना?
May I have a glass of water? केह् मैं पानी दा एक ग्लास लेई सकना?
I'm finished. अऊं ख़तम करी ओड़ेया है।
It was delicious. बड़ा सुआद हा।
Dessert मिट्ठा
khaan paann
Bars
Shopping
Kharid dāri
Driving
Gaddi chalāna
Authority
