Raise a child who can read Punjabi — even if you're still learning it too
Start with the letters, build everyday words, then read your first stories — one small step at a time. You don't need to be fluent to guide it; just pick the step your child is on.
Prefer a set path? Work through the 6-level Punjabi Classroom →
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Start here The alphabet The 35 letters that unlock every word. The 35 Gurmukhi letters — the foundation that makes every Punjabi word readable.
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Next Everyday words Words with pictures & audio. A picture dictionary of hundreds of everyday Punjabi words — see it, hear it, say it.
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Then Start reading Words and stories to read. Put it together with real Punjabi to read — first words, then whole illustrated stories.
Learn to read, step by step
The reading ladder
Once your child knows the letters, they read words one vowel sign (matra) at a time — starting with plain words, then adding each matra in order. Read every word on screen, then trace it with the free printable.
- 1 Mukta words The next step after the letters — read and trace a child's first Gurmukhi words.
- 2 Kanna words After mukta words — add the kanna (ਾ) vowel sign and read longer words.
- 3 Sihari words The short 'i' sign written before the letter — one exception to the usual reading order.
- 4 Bihari words The long 'ee' sign, sihari's pair, written after the letter as usual.
- 5 Aunkar words The short 'u' sign, drawn below the letter.
- 6 Dulankar words The long 'oo' sign, aunkar's pair, also drawn below the letter.
- 7 Lavan words The long 'ay' sign, a single stroke above the letter.
- 8 Dulavan words The 'ai' sign, lavan's pair, a two-stroke mark above the letter.
- 9 Hora words The 'oh' sign, written above and after the letter.
- 10 Kanaura words The 'au' sign — the rarest of the ten matras.
A picture-first way to learn Punjabi
Punjabi uses the Gurmukhi script — the same letters as Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji — so reading Gurmukhi unlocks both everyday Punjabi and Gurbani. Every word here comes with a picture, its Gurmukhi spelling, and audio, starting with the searchable picture dictionary of 574 words, then the picture dictionary game to test what they know.
If you read Hindi, the script is less unfamiliar than it looks — most Gurmukhi letters map almost exactly onto the Devanagari you already know. The Punjabi varnmala in Hindi sets all 41 letters beside their Devanagari equivalent, and flags the five that look the same but are said differently.
Explore themed word sets for animals, family names, colours, numbers, and everyday phrases — then continue to Learn Gurbani to start reading Japji Sahib.
Want to hear a phrase said properly? These pages have recorded audio for every way of saying it, how to reply, and a dialogue to try at home: how to say thank you, how to say sorry, and how to say happy birthday in Punjabi.
Put it all together
Their first books to read alone
A real book is where a child becomes a reader. Our Early Readers (ਗਾਂ ਤੇ ਕਾਂ, Cow & Crow) use only the letters and matras your child already knows, so they can read a whole book on their own from the very first page.
