Alphabet - ਪਹਿਲਾ

- ਢੱਡਾ - Dhaddaa - nineteenth letter of the Gurmukhi alphabet.


Name: Dhaddaa
Shape:
Spelling: ਢੱਡਾ
Sound: 'dh' as the 'dh' in the name 'Sandhurst' when you say it out aloud although the tongue is further back in the mouth.
Type: Consonant

Mouth: This has no equivalent in English. Make a 'd' shape with your tongue but instead of the front of your tongue touching the tooth ridge, make the tip of your tongue touch the roof of your mouth further back, towards your soft palette. Allow air to get past thus aspirating the sound to get the 'dh' sound
Tongue: Curved so that the tip of your tongue touches the roof of your mouth, further back, towards your soft palette.
Soft Palette: blocking nose
Lips: apart
Vocal Chords: Used. Note that this letter requires you to raise the pitch of your voice when you say the letter. This (ਢ) is equivalent to ਡ੍ਹ. See Other Bits for more details.
Aspirated: yes

Confusion: ਢ ਦ ਫ ਚ
Reading: ਢ, ਦ, ਫ; and, to some extent ਚ can all be confused with each other although reading them isn't quite such an issue as remembering which one to write:
ਢ (Dhidhaa) has the loop on the left and the loop at the bottom;
ਦ (Diddaa) has the loop on the left but no loop at the bottom;
ਫ (Phaphaa) has no loop on the left but does have the loop at the bottom; and,
ਚ (Chachaa) has the loop on the left but the bottom loops around.
You have been warned.
Writing: ਢ, ਦ, ਫ; and, to some extent ਚ can all be confused with each other and if you are writing in a hurry, you can, to start with, get confused (soon sorts itself out though):
ਢ (Dhidhaa) has the loop on the left and the loop at the bottom;
ਦ (Diddaa) has the loop on the left but no loop at the bottom;
ਫ (Phaphaa) has no loop on the left but does have the loop at the bottom; and,
ਚ (Chachaa) has the loop on the left but the bottom loops around.
You have been warned.

Copyright ©2007-2023 Paul Alan Grosse.