Letter 23 of 35
Tta-Row (dental) · Voiced Unaspiratedਦ — Dadda
A soft, dental 'd' — tongue at the upper teeth, voiced.
Why it matters: ਦ is ਤ's voiced twin — soft tongue, throat buzzes. Closer to Spanish 'd' in 'todo' than English 'd'.
Example Word
ਦਰਵਾਜ਼ਾ
Darvaza
Door
ਦ with each vowel mark
ਦ
mukta
"da"
ਦਾ
kanna
"daa"
ਦਿ
sihari
"di"
ਦੀ
bihari
"dee"
ਦੁ
aunkar
"du"
ਦੂ
dulainkar
"doo"
ਦੇ
lanv
"day"
ਦੈ
dulanvan
"dai"
ਦੋ
horha
"do"
ਦੌ
kanaurha
"dau"
Each vowel mark changes how ਦ sounds. The mark stays the same across every consonant.
Other letters in the Tta-Row (dental)
Trace ਦ
Free Printable Tracing Worksheet
Practise writing ਦ (Dadda) with this free printable. Large reference letter at the top, dotted rows below — print at home on US Letter or A4.
ਦ (Dadda) is the twenty-third letter of the Gurmukhi alphabet — the voiced, dental D. It’s softer than the retroflex ਡ.
How to teach a 4-year-old
Knock on a door (ਦਰਵਾਜ਼ਾ) and say “ਦ … ਦਰਵਾਜ਼ਾ” with each knock. Other ਦ words: ਦੁੱਧ (dudh — milk), ਦੰਦ (dand — tooth), ਦਿਨ (din — day).
Practice ਦ (Dadda)
📖 Read about Dadda in context
See ਦ alongside the rest of the Tta-Row (dental) in the free alphabet teaching guide. Open the guide →
Practise Dadda on the go
Six interactive Gurmukhi games — tracing, recognition, memory match — free, offline, no ads.