This site is about learning how to read and write Gurmukhi script. . . .

See 'Computer', 'Other Apps' for how to produce images like this. Image copyright Paul Grosse (c)2008

If you have visited this site before, you will have noticed that its menu layout has changed. That is pretty much all of it although I have improved the fonts pages so that each font family has its own page now where you can see the variants and what the characters look like. I have done this to reflect the fact that a lot of traffic that the site handles is for smartphones. So, enjoy...

This site has over 100 pages on it and is completely free to use: you don't have to log in or register to access anything on this site. You don't have to have any 'latest browser plug-ins' and you don't have to be using any particular browser or operating system. The site isn't about religion or race, it is about using Gurmukhi. Everybody is free to use this site.

Enjoy.

Gurmukhi: . . .

  • is a set of characters that represent the sounds found in Punjabi - it is phonetic. In effect, Gurmukhi is to Punjabi, what Roman type is to German or Welsh (which are both written phonetically);
  • is an alphabet - in the same way that the type you are reading at the moment is - so you don't have to learn a new symbol for each word as you would with Chinese; and,
  • is not limited to Punjabi. This site uses a way of getting you to learn how to read Gurmukhi quickly, using a language that you already know. This works. I know that it does. I've done it.

If you want to: . . .

  • use a character set that best represents the sounds found in Punjabi so that you can write Punjabi; or,
  • use an alternative way of writing other languages (such as English) so that you can make notes on your calendar that your children can't read (or, looking at it from the other side, if you want to write things that your parents can't read); then,

this site is a good place to start.

On this site: . . .

  • learn how to write each character and make the sound it represents;
  • you can find out how to make your computer display and print Gurmukhi script;
  • download and install fonts from the resources pages
  • print your own resources to improve learning;
  • learn how to read Gurmukhi quickly.

Firstly . . .

Before we start, bad habits are easy to get and difficult to get rid of. Tempting though it is to pronounce Gurmukhi as 'Ger-moo-ki', that is wrong. The vowels in the word 'Gurmukhi' are pronounced as follows: The 'g' at the beginning is a hard 'g' as in 'goat'; Both 'u's are short 'u's as the 'u' in 'butter'; The 'r' is pronouced (ie, it is not implicit like the 'rr' in 'purr', it is instead explicit); The 'i' at the end is a long 'i' as the 'ee' in 'bee'.

Secondly, the word 'Gurmukhi' is written like this - ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ - which you will be able to read when you have finished.

Copyright ©2007-2023 Paul Alan Grosse.