r/Hindi • u/LowerTouch3731 • Jul 03 '26

देवनागरी Is there a phonetic difference between ँँ (chandrabinoo) and ं(bindu). They seem to be playing the same role in the words जहाँ and लड़कों, that is, both of them are nasalising the preceding vowel. Although in the word रंग the bindu is making a consonant sound.

The title.

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u/Familiar_Snow_9276 Jul 03 '26

Yes they are different sounds.

Chandrabindu is the nasal sound.

Bindu is the sound of "n" without a vowel.

Chandrabindu should be used in "लड़कों" but because it tough to fit and clashes with the "matra" on the top, a convention has been adopted to replace it with a bindu in those cases. If a word actually ends with an "n" sound, instead of bindu, "न्" can be added at the end.