Letter 21 of 35
Tta-Row (dental) · Voiceless Unaspiratedਤ — Tatta
A soft 't' — tongue touches the back of the upper teeth (dental).
Why it matters: ਤ is a 'soft t' — tongue tip touches the back of your top teeth. Gentler than the English 't' — listen carefully.
Example Word
ਤਾਰਾ
Tara
Star
ਤ with each vowel mark
ਤ
mukta
"ta"
ਤਾ
kanna
"taa"
ਤਿ
sihari
"ti"
ਤੀ
bihari
"tee"
ਤੁ
aunkar
"tu"
ਤੂ
dulainkar
"too"
ਤੇ
lanv
"tay"
ਤੈ
dulanvan
"tai"
ਤੋ
horha
"to"
ਤੌ
kanaurha
"tau"
Each vowel mark changes how ਤ sounds. The mark stays the same across every consonant.
Other letters in the Tta-Row (dental)
Words that start with ਤ
ਤੋਤਾ
totā
Parrot
ਤਿੱਤਰ
tittar
Partridge
ਤਿਤਲੀ
titlī
Butterfly
ਤਿਲਚੱਟਾ
tilchaṭṭā
Cockroach
ਤਾਰਾ-ਮੱਛੀ
tārā-machhī
Starfish
ਤਰਬੂਜ਼
tarbūz
Watermelon
ਤੂਤ
tūt
Mulberry
ਤੇਲ
tel
Oil
ਤਾਰਾ
tārā
Star
ਤਸਵੀਰ
tasvīr
Picture
ਤਿਕੋਣ
tikoṇ
Triangle
ਤਰਖਾਣ
tarkhāṇ
Carpenter
Trace ਤ
Free Printable Tracing Worksheet
Practise writing ਤ (Tatta) with this free printable. Large reference letter at the top, dotted rows below — print at home on US Letter or A4.
ਤ (Tatta) is the twenty-first letter of the Gurmukhi alphabet and opens the fifth row — the dental group (ਤ, ਥ, ਦ, ਧ, ਨ). Dental means the tongue touches the back of the upper teeth, making a softer t than the retroflex ਟ.
How to teach a 4-year-old
Point to a star (ਤਾਰਾ) in a book or in the night sky and say “ਤ … ਤਾਰਾ”. A great song to sing is “Twinkle Twinkle” — in Punjabi it would start with ਤਾਰਾ. Other ਤ words: ਤਿਤਲੀ (titli — butterfly), ਤਾਲਾ (taala — lock).
Practice ਤ (Tatta)
📖 Read about Tatta in context
See ਤ alongside the rest of the Tta-Row (dental) in the free alphabet teaching guide. Open the guide →
Practise Tatta on the go
Six interactive Gurmukhi games — tracing, recognition, memory match — free, offline, no ads.