Devanagari Letter Ya

Enter ya using a phonetic Devanagari input method. This converts Latin-letter typing into Devanagari; select य from the suggestions. A fixed keyboard layout such as InScript uses an assigned key instead.

For या, add the long-a vowel sign. To join consonants, use a halant, also called virama: a mark that removes the first consonant’s built-in vowel. Thus क् + य produces क्य.

What does य sound like?

It represents y, as in English “yes.” The letter is read ya in isolation because Devanagari consonants carry a built-in vowel. Latin-letter renderings use y for the consonant or ya with that vowel; pronunciation within words depends on the language.

Its form evolved through older scripts

य belongs to a writing tradition descended from Brahmi, the script used in the Indian emperor Ashoka’s inscriptions in the third century BCE. Gupta and Nagari are later script stages in that lineage, not alternative names for this letter.

Its role is to write speech, not depict an object. Devanagari has served Sanskrit manuscripts and writing in languages including Hindi, Marathi, and Nepali; their pronunciation and ways of joining letters differ.