अः — Vowel (ah)

  • English sound anchor: ahead (breathy opening)
ahead
  • Hindi teaching form: दुःख ('dukh')
दुःख

Matra (Vowel Sign): ः (Visarga)

The visarga ः is written as two dots placed to the right of a syllable. It adds a soft, breathy 'h' sound after the vowel. Visarga is mainly found in Sanskrit-origin words and formal/ceremonial Hindi.

Examples:
- अ + ः = अः ('ah') — breathy release
- नम + ः = नमः ('namah') — salutation
- दु + ः + ख = दुःख ('duhkh') — sadness

Words using ः:
- नमः ('namah') — Salutation (as in Namah Shivaya)
- दुःख ('duhkh') — Sadness / Grief
- प्रातः ('praatah') — Morning (Sanskrit)
- शनैःशनैः ('shanaih shanaih') — Slowly slowly
- स्वः ('svah') — Heaven (Vedic)

How to Write ः

The visarga (ः) is written as two small dots to the right of the letter. In अः, write अ first, then add the two vertically-stacked dots on the right side.

Practice tracing the character with attention to stroke direction and order.