Bengali Vowel Signs (কার): A Complete Typing Guide

Bengali has 11 vowels. Each vowel has two forms: a standalone glyph used at the start of a word, and a vowel sign (কার) used after a consonant. Mastering the kar set is the difference between halting word-by-word typing and smooth reading-speed Bengali.

This guide is a complete reference for all ten kars (অ has no kar because it is the inherent vowel), with practice words for each, and a complete walkthrough of the pre-base vs post-base distinction that confuses most beginners.

The complete vowel sign table

| Vowel | Standalone | Kar | Avro | Bijoy | |-------|-----------|-----|------|-------| | অ | অ | (inherent, no glyph) | o | F (standalone), nothing for kar | | আ | আ | া | a | f | | ই | ই | ি | i | d | | ঈ | ঈ | ী | I (capital) | D | | উ | উ | ু | u | s | | ঊ | ঊ | ূ | U (capital) | S | | ঋ | ঋ | ৃ | rri | a | | এ | এ | ে | e | c (pre-base!) | | ঐ | ঐ | ৈ | OI | C | | ও | ও | ো | O | x + ... | | ঔ | ঔ | ৌ | OU | X |

The Avro pattern is consistent: the kar uses the same key as the standalone vowel, and the engine decides which form to render based on whether a consonant precedes it. The Bijoy pattern is also consistent but uses different keys for each form because the layout was designed before auto-context detection.

Pre-base vs post-base kar

Here is the trick that confuses most beginners: ি and ে appear before the consonant they belong to, even though they are pronounced after. Type the consonant first; the renderer places the kar to the left.

For example, কি is typed as:

Avro: k then i (you type k first; the engine renders ক, then prepends ি to make কি)
Bijoy: d then j (the kar is typed before the consonant in Bijoy, matching the visual order)

This is one of the most fundamental differences between Avro and Bijoy. Avro types in pronunciation order; Bijoy types in visual order. Once you internalise the convention for your chosen layout, it becomes second nature.

Which kars are pre-base?

In Bengali script, four kars appear before the consonant in visual order:

ি (i-kar)
ে (e-kar)
ৈ (oi-kar)
ো (o-kar — note that this is composed of e-kar + a-kar)
ৌ (ou-kar — composed of e-kar + au-style mark)

Six kars appear after the consonant in visual order:

া (a-kar)
ী (ii-kar)
ু (u-kar)
ূ (uu-kar)
ৃ (rri-kar)
The implicit অ is not a kar at all

In Avro, you do not need to think about pre-base vs post-base because the engine handles it. Type the consonant, then type the kar key, and the engine places the kar in the right visual position automatically.

Practice word lists

আ-কার (া)

কাকা, মামা, বাবা, কাজ, পাত, দাদা, পান, খাবার, মাছ, ভালো.

Type each five times. The a-kar is the most common kar in Bengali — it appears in roughly 40% of all conjunct-free words.

ই-কার (ি) and ঈ-কার (ী)

দিদি, কিছু, গিনি, মিনি, পিতা, লিখি, রবি, কী, নদী, প্রথমী.

Practise the case distinction explicitly: i is short i-kar (ি), I (capital) is long ii-kar (ী). These two are visually similar but spelled differently in many words.

উ-কার (ু) and ঊ-কার (ূ)

কুমার, তুমি, ভূমি, সূর্য, ফুল, হুমকি, পুকুর, কৃষক, রূপ, পূজা.

The u-kar and uu-kar are written below the consonant (subscript). They are easy to type but can be visually confused — u is short u (ু), U is long uu (ূ).

এ-কার (ে) and ঐ-কার (ৈ)

দেখো, কেনা, বেড়ে, সেতু, ঐশ্বর্য, কৈবল, বৈরী, ছেঁড়া, খেলা, পেয়ে.

The e-kar is pre-base (appears before the consonant) but typed in pronunciation order in Avro. The oi-kar follows the same pattern but uses capital OI.

ও-কার (ো) and ঔ-কার (ৌ)

আলো, কোথা, যোগ, পোশাক, ঔষধ, মৌমাছি, সৌভাগ্য, নৌকা, পৌঁছা, যৌথ.

These are wrap-around kars — they have visual elements both before and after the consonant. Avro handles them with capital O and OU.

ঋ-কার (ৃ)

কৃষক, মৃত্যু, পৃথিবী, বৃষ্টি, ঘৃণা, ঋষি, কৃতজ্ঞ, সৃষ্টি, দৃষ্টি, প্রকৃতি.

The rri-kar uses the three-letter Avro code rri. It is less common than other kars but appears in classical and academic vocabulary.

Common kar mistakes

Mistake: typing the consonant after the kar in Bijoy.

Fix: in Bijoy, pre-base kars (d, D, c, C, x, X) are typed BEFORE the consonant. d + j gives কি. j + d gives কই — different word.

Mistake: forgetting case for short vs long vowels.

Fix: i and u are short; I and U are long. The shift key matters because the two pairs are completely different letters in Bengali phonology and orthography.

Mistake: typing kar without a preceding consonant.

Fix: a standalone kar at the start of a word produces a stray sign with no carrier. Avro typically converts this to the standalone vowel automatically, but the result depends on the implementation. If you want the standalone vowel at the start of a word, type the standalone form, not the kar.

Try the curriculum

Each kar has a dedicated 5-word lesson in both layouts:

Drill one kar per day for two weeks. By the end you will read Bengali at full speed and the kars will feel as natural as English vowels.

A note on the inherent vowel

Bengali consonants carry an implicit short অ. ক alone reads as ko, not k. This inherent vowel is silent — there is no visual glyph for it. It is suppressed by:

A halant: ক্ + ত = ক্ত (silent because of the halant before ত)
Word-final position in modern Bengali: শহর is read shohor, with the final র silent of its inherent vowel
An explicit different kar: কি replaces the inherent অ with ই

Understanding the inherent vowel helps you predict when conjuncts will form and when consonants will stand alone. After a few weeks of reading practice, this becomes intuitive and you stop having to think about it.