Letter 16 of 35
ਟ — Tainka
A 'hard t' — tongue curled back, touching the roof of the mouth.
Example Word
ਟਮਾਟਰ
Tamatar
Tomato
Trace ਟ
Free Printable Tracing Worksheet
Practise writing ਟ (Tainka) with this free printable. Large reference letter at the top, dotted rows below — print at home on US Letter or A4.
ਟ (Tainka) is the sixteenth letter of the Gurmukhi alphabet and opens the fourth row — the retroflex group (ਟ, ਠ, ਡ, ਢ, ਣ). Retroflex means the tip of the tongue curls back to touch the roof of the mouth — a sound that doesn’t really exist in English.
How to teach a 4-year-old
Show a tomato (ਟਮਾਟਰ) and say “ਟ … ਟਮਾਟਰ”. The T here is “harder” than the English t — the tongue curls back rather than tapping behind the teeth. Other ਟ words: ਟੋਪੀ (topi — cap), ਟਰੇਨ (train), ਟੋਕਰੀ (tokari — basket).
Practice ਟ (Tainka)
Take Tainka practice with you
The free Maastarji Games Hub app turns daily car rides, quiet time, and bedtime wind-downs into Gurmukhi practice. Six interactive games — stroke-by-stroke tracing, letter recognition, memory match, and more — all in one app.
- Stroke-by-stroke tracing for all 41 Gurmukhi letters
- Six learning games: Letter Snap, Memory Match, Letter Race & more
- Works offline — perfect for travel and screen-time without Wi-Fi
- Free, ad-free, and safe for kids — no in-app purchases
Don't want to install an app? Play the Gurmukhi Flashcard Game on the web →