Bengali letter Gha

In an Avro-style Bangla phonetic layout, type gh.

Avro phonetic input treats gh as two Latin letters and converts them to one Bangla consonant: ঘ. A fixed Bengali keyboard uses its own key map, so this input pattern is layout-specific.

What sound does ঘ make in Bangla?

It marks a voiced g-like sound with a breathy release.

gh is a common Latin transliteration for this consonant. In Bangla, a consonant carries an unwritten inherent vowel unless a vowel sign replaces it or the hasant mark (্) suppresses it. The Bangla script is also used to write Assamese.

Bangla writing descends from Brahmi through regional script stages. The Mahasthan Brahmi inscription, a written record from the 3rd century BC, is Bengal’s earliest written object and belongs to Bangla script’s ancestry; it is not the modern letter ঘ. The script passed through Proto-Nagari in the Pala period, then Kutila-influenced Proto-Bangla visible in 9th–10th century inscriptions. Complete Bangla forms are widely seen on copper plates from the 11th–12th century. These are milestones in the script’s development, not a date for the modern letter’s origin.

Why does ঘ change shape in a word?

Vowel signs and conjuncts can change its written form.

A vowel sign may be drawn before, below, after, or around ঘ even though the vowel is read after the consonant. The hasant (্) removes the built-in vowel; with a following consonant, ঘ can join it in a conjunct. Depending on the font and shaping system, that join may appear as a half-form or ligature.

ঘর and ঘি are Bangla words for “house” and “ghee” (clarified butter). In ঘ্র, the hasant joins ঘ to র, as in ব্যাঘ্র (“tiger”) and শীঘ্র (“soon”).