Anusvara facts for kids

The Anusvara (Sanskrit: अनुस्वारः anusvāra) is a special mark used in many ancient Indian writing systems, like Sanskrit. It helps show a specific kind of nasal sound. Think of a nasal sound like the "ng" in "sing" or the "m" in "hum." The exact way Anusvara sounds can change a lot depending on where it is in a word and which language is using it. In Sanskrit, Anusvara can also mean the nasal sound itself, not just the mark.

What is Anusvara?

The Anusvara is a diacritic, which is a small mark added to a letter to change its sound or meaning. In many Indian scripts, this mark tells you that the sound before it should be nasal. This means air comes out through your nose when you say it.

Anusvara in Different Languages

The Anusvara mark can look different and sound slightly different depending on the language and writing system.

Anusvara in Bengali

In the Bengali language, the Anusvara is called Onushshar (pronounced: oh-noosh-SHAR). It looks like a small circle placed above a slanted line (ং). This mark makes an "ng" sound, similar to the "ng" in the English word "song."

For example, the name of the Bengali language itself, বাংলা (baŋla), uses the Onushshar. Over time, its sound has become very similar to another Bengali letter, ঙ (ungô).

Even though Onushshar creates a consonant sound, it's treated like a special mark in writing. It always stays right next to the letter before it. For instance, in "বাংলাদেশ" (Bangladesh), it's written as বাং-লা-দে-শ, not বা-ং-লা-দে-শ. The Onushshar is never pronounced with a short "o" sound, and it cannot have vowel signs added to it. Instead, the letter ঙ (ungô) is used if a vowel is needed after the nasal sound.

Anusvara in Devanagari

In the Devanagari script, which is used for languages like Hindi and Sanskrit, the Anusvara is shown as a small dot placed above a letter. For example, the letter "मं" (maṃ) shows the Anusvara dot above the "म" (ma).

See also

In Spanish: Anusvāra para niños