The Hindi language is written in a script known as Devanagari. It is widely used across India to write many languages, including Sanskrit, Marathi, Boro, Konkani, and – of course – Hindi. It contains 13 vowels and 36 consonants.

Romanisation of the language of India has made Hindi learning more easier. The Government of India has started transliterating Hindi written in Devanagari into the Latin alphabet, known as “Hinglish.” Hinglish is also the dominant form of the language online. In fact, the rise of technology is one significant driver of the shift in the Hindi writing system; keyboards and phones are much better equipped for writing Latin letters than intricate Devanagari characters.

Nevertheless, Devanagari remains the official script for the Hindi language. This writing system is also what sets Hindi apart from other

related languages, such as Urdu. When speaking Hindi and Urdu, the two languages sound very similar—yet written versions are not mutually intelligible! While Hindi is written in Devanagari, Urdu is written in a Perso-Arabic script called Nastaliq.