4.3.1: Initial-position short-form with ‘alif’:

And now, let’s look at the word “naa” (ना), meaning “no/not”:

Above: The word “naa”

Again, look at the break-down to make it clearer:

Above: ‘nuun’ + ‘alif’ = “naa”

Notice the initial-position short-form assumed by the ‘nuun’ here:

Above: Comparative showing the letter ‘nuun’ in its full and short forms

IMPORTANT

Did you notice how similar this short-form of ‘nuun’ is to the short-form of ‘be’?

Above: Comparing the short-forms of the letters ‘nuun’ and ‘be’

We can clearly see that the short-forms of both these letters share the same shortened basic-shape. The only difference being that the nuqta for ‘nuun’ resides above and the nuqta for ‘be’ is placed below the short-form’s basic-shape.

And here’s the word “naanaa” (नाना), meaning “grandfather”:

Above: ‘nuun’ + ‘alif’ + ‘nuun’ + ‘alif’ = “naanaa”

Here’s another word - “naap” (नाप), meaning “measurement”:

Above: ‘nuun’ + ‘alif’ + ‘pe’ = “naap”

4.3.2: Words with ‘nuun Gunna’

And now, let’s look at a couple of words which include a nasalized sound denoted by a ‘nuun Gunna’. Let’s start with the word “baa.nT” (बाँट), meaning “distribute”:

Above: The word “baa.nT”

IMPORTANT

Note that, in the word “baa.nT” above, the ‘nuun Gunna’ is denoted by a short-form of the letter ‘nuun’ itself, as mentioned earlier. These details become clearer with reading practice.

Here’s a break-down of this:

Above: ‘be’ + ‘alif’ + ‘nuun Gunna’ + ‘Te’ = “baa.nT”

Or, in short-form notation:

Above: Short-form of ‘be’ + ‘alif’ + short-form of ‘nuun Gunna’ + ‘Te’ = “baa.nT”

Similarly, here’s the word “aa.nt” (आँत), meaning “guts/entrails”:

Above: ‘alif madd’ + ‘nuun Gunna’ + ‘te’ = “aa.nt”

4.3.3: Some more words

And, as always, here are a few more words for you to learn before we move on to the next letter group. Enjoy!