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ल

devanagari letter la

Devanagari Letter La

ल represents the ordinary l sound in Devanagari, the script used for Hindi and other languages. If you want the Hindi l, this is the letter—but by itself it is read roughly la, with a built-in short vowel.

Text symbol
Also called
la
Search it as
Hindi l · Devanagari l
Shows up in
Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws

What ल means

The consonant comes with a built-in vowel. A vowel sign, called a matra, changes it: लि reads li. A halant suppresses it: ल् is bare l. Hindi can also drop this vowel in words.

The i sign in लि is stored after ल but displayed before it. Marathi and Nepali fonts can also draw ल differently without changing the letter.

ल evolved through older scripts, including Gupta and Nagari. Its ancestor in Brahmi, an ancient Indian script, appears in an inscription of Emperor Ashoka from the 3rd century BCE, representing la.

Don't confuse it with

1
ळ
Devanagari Letter Lla
A different Marathi letter: its l-like sound is retroflex, made with the tongue curled back. Do not substitute it for ordinary ल.

Questions people ask

1

Why does ल show as a box on some devices?

Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.

How to type ल

Windows (Word)
Alt+XType 0932, then Alt+X to get ल.
Windows
Win+Rrun charmap for the full table, or use the emoji picker's Ω symbols tab (Win + .).
macOS
Control+Command+SpaceOpen the character viewer and search “devanagari letter la”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 0932, then Enter or Space.
HTML
ल
CSS
\0932
How do I type ल?
Use a Devanagari transliteration keyboard, which converts Latin letters: type la and choose ल.
Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
ल
HTML hex
ल
CSS content
content: "\0932";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%E0%A4%B2
1
On screen
1
Code points
1
JS .length
3
UTF-8 bytes

A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.

Families this belongs to

2

Indian scripts3,440 symbols

ऀँंःऄअआइईउऊऋ

Devanagari170 symbols

ऀँंःऄअआइईउऊऋ