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 Pakistan occupied Kashmir in Pakistan. The dialects spoken in Pakistan occupied 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

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
जयदेव/जयदिया (Rajput to Rajput)	Jai Dev/ Jai diya		Greetings
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)	तुं'दा 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?	तुं'दा केह् नांऽ ऐ?		tunda kēh nā ai
My name is ____	मेरा नांऽ .... ऐ।		mēra nā .... ai
Please	किरपा करियै		kirpā
Excuse me (getting attention)	इक खिन/मिंट 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)	खिमा/माफ करेओ		māf/cimā karēō	Lit. Forgive me
I am Sorry.	मिगी खिमा/माफ करेओ।		mi/cimā māf karēō
I can't speak Dogri.	मिगी डोगरी नेईं औंदी ऐ।		migī ḍōgrī neī āndi ai
I can speak some Dogri.	मिगी थोढ़ी जेई डोगरी औंदी ऐ।		migī thōṛī jaī ḍōgrī nī āndi ai	The 'j'(ञ) sounds somewhere between ja(ज) and ya(य).
Do you speak English?	तुस अंगरेजी बोलदे ओ?		tus agarēzī galāndē ō
I don't understand.	मिगी समझ नेईं लग्गी।		migī samj ni lagī
Speak more slowly	आस्ता/बल्लें बोलेओ		āstā/haulī galāo
Where are you from?	तुस कुत्थूं दे हो?		tus kuthē dē ō
I'm from ...	अ'ऊं ... थमां आं।		Aaun ... thmā ā	Nasal sound complements both ā's
Where is the toilet?	शौचाले कुत्थें ऐ?		śocalya kuthē ai
What time is it?	समां केह् होआ दा ऐ?		taim kēh oādā ai

Problems

English	Dogri (Devanagri)	Dogri (Persian)	Transliteration
Leave me alone.	मिगी इक्कला छोड़ी ओड़ो।		Migi kallā chodiodo
Don't touch me.	मिगी हत्थ नेईं लाओ।		mīgi āth nī lāō
I'm calling the police.	अ'ऊं पुलस गी सद्दने लग्गा आं।		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/स्हायता करो।		koī mērī madad/sahāyatā karō
Fire!	अग्ग!		Agg (Falling tone)
I am lost.	अ'ऊं गुआची गेदा आं।		aūm̐ gvāchiē da ha
I have lost my purse.	मेरा पर्स गुआची गेदा ऐ।		mēra pars (purse) ai
I have lost my wallet.	मेरा बटुआ गुआची गेदा ऐ।		mēra baṭuā gvāciē da aiṁ.
I have lost my watch.	मेरी घड़ी गुआची गेदी ऐ।		mērī kaṛī gvāciē dī ai
My things have been stolen.	मेरियां चीजां/बस्तां चोरी होई गेदियां न।		mērī cijāṁ/bastāṁ cōrī oīgedī aan
I'm sick.	अ'ऊं बमार आंl		aŪṀ bamār am̐
I have been injured.	मिगी लग्गी दी ऐ।		migi lagī dī ai
I need a doctor.	मिगी डाक्टर दी लोड़ ऐ।		migi ḍokṭar (doctor) dī lōḍ ai

Interrogatives

English	Dogri (Devanagri)	Dogri (Persian)	Transliteration	Notes
Why	की		kī
When	कदूं/कुसलै/कोल्लै		kuslē
What	केह्		kē
Who	कु'न		kau'n
Whom	किसी		kisī
How	कियां		kiyām̐	Used to ask how something happened. E.g. How did you get hurt?
How (masc./fem.)	कनेहा/कनेही		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	द'ऊं		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	समां/बेल्ला		ṭaim/samā/vela	Derived from the English word time'/ Derived from Sanskrit समय (samé)
Now	इसलै/एल्लै/हून		āllē/aje
That time (past)	उसलै/ओल्लै/तदूं		us vēlē	Acts as a past version of later
Later	परैंत्त च		bād ca	Literally, "later in"
Before	पैह्‌‍लें		pailē	It is not exactly pronounced at it is spelt.
morning/ (in the) morning	बडला/भ्याग		Baddle /svere
noon/afternoon	दपैह्‌‍र		dōpair	It is not exactly pronounced at it is spelt.
evening/ (in the) evening	तरकाल/लौडला/सं'ञ		śanjan/tarkalan
night/ (in the) night	रात		rāt/rātī

Clock time

कड़ी दा टैम

Duration

English	Dogri (Devanagri)	Dogri (Persian)	Transliteration
minute / minutes	मिंट		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	हफ्ता/हफ्ते		aftā / aftē
month / months	म्हीना/म्हीने		minā / minē
year / years	ब'रा/ब'रे		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		ऐतबार/तार	Taar
Monday		सङार/सोमबार	sangaar
Tuseday		मंगलबार	mangalvār
Wednesday		बुद्धबार	budhvār
Thursday		बीरबार	guruvār
Friday		शुक्करबार	śukravār
Saturday		बार/शनीचरबार/शनीबार	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	फरवरी		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 _____ ?	_ कियां जाना ऐ?		___ kīyāṁ jānā
... the train station ?	... रेलवे स्टेशन		...rēlvē stēśān (railway station)
... the airport ?	... ब्हाई अड्डा		...havāī aṭhṭhā
... the bus station ?	... बस स्टाप		...bus stop
... the _____ hotel ?	____ होटल		.... hotel
... restaurants / ... dhaba ?	...खाने आस्तै होटल/ढाबा		... khānē āstē hotel / ḍhābā
...sites to see?	... दिक्खने आस्तै थाह्‌‍र?		... dikhnē āstē jagān
Can you show me on the map?	नक्शे उप्पर दस्सगेओ?		nakśā uppār dāssō
Street	सिड़क		gālī
(You) Turn left (imperative)	खब्बे मुड़ो।		khabbe muṛō
(You) Turn right (imperative)	सज्जे मुड़ो।		sajje muṛō
(I/We) Turn left (interrogative) ?	खब्बे मुड़ां?		khabbe muṛām̐
(I/We) Turn right (interrogative) ?	सज्जे मुड़ां?		sajje muṛām̐
Left	खब्बा		khabba
Right	सज्जा		sajja
towards the ______	___ दे पासे		___ dī āll
past the ______	__ दे परैंत्त		___ dē bād
intersection	चरस्ता		chaurāhē
North	उत्तर		Pahad/pahadle passe
South	दक्खन		dakkhan
East	पूरब		Charda
West	पच्छम		Lainda/kronda
Uphill	ढक्की		Dhakki
Downhill	ढलान		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?	केह् अ'ऊं मेनू दिक्खी सकनां?
What food items are you selling?	तुस खाने आस्तै केह् चीजां/बस्तां बेचा दे ओ?
Is there a house speciality?	इस थाह्‌‍रै दियां कोई बशेश चीजां न?
I am vegetarian.	अ'ऊं शाकाहारी आं।
Is this food vegetarian?	केह् इत्थें दी रुट्टी शाकाहारी ऐ?
I am allergic to _______ .	मिगी ______ कन्नै जैह्‌‍र होई जंदा ऐ।
Can you make it light please?	किरपा करियै हलका बनागेओ?
Can you put less oil?	केह् तुस घट्ट तेल पाई सकदे ओ?
What is it made of?	ऐह् कैह्‌‍दे कन्नै बने दा ऐ?
Breakfast	न्हारी
Lunch	सब्हैरी
Dinner	ब्याली
Chicken	कुक्कड़ी
Pork	सूर
Mutton (Sheep/Goat)	मटन
Egg	आंडा
(fresh) Vegetable	(ताजा) सबजी/सरूना/न्योड़ा
(fresh) fruits	(ताजा) फल
Rice	चौल
Water	पानी
May I have _____ ?	केह् अ'ऊं _____ लेई सकनां?
May I have a glass of water?	केह् अ'ऊं पानी दा इक गलास लेई सकनां?
I'm finished.	में मकाई ओड़ी ऐ।
It was delicious.	बड़ा सुआदला हा।
Dessert	मठेआई

khaan paann

Shopping

Kharid dāri

Driving

Gaddi chalāna