Letter 16 of 35
Ta-Row (retroflex) · Voiceless Unaspiratedਟ — Tainka
A 'hard t' — tongue curled back, touching the roof of the mouth.
Why it matters: ਟ is a 'curled-tongue t' — tongue tip reaches up and back. Closer to American 'doctor' than to 'tip'.
Example Word
ਟਮਾਟਰ
Tamatar
Tomato
ਟ with each vowel mark
ਟ
mukta
"tta"
ਟਾ
kanna
"ttaa"
ਟਿ
sihari
"tti"
ਟੀ
bihari
"ttee"
ਟੁ
aunkar
"ttu"
ਟੂ
dulainkar
"ttoo"
ਟੇ
lanv
"ttay"
ਟੈ
dulanvan
"ttai"
ਟੋ
horha
"tto"
ਟੌ
kanaurha
"ttau"
Each vowel mark changes how ਟ sounds. The mark stays the same across every consonant.
Other letters in the Ta-Row (retroflex)
Trace ਟ
Free Printable Tracing Worksheet
Practise writing ਟ (Tainka) with this free printable. Large reference letter at the top, dotted rows below — print at home on US Letter or A4.
ਟ (Tainka) is the sixteenth letter of the Gurmukhi alphabet and opens the fourth row — the retroflex group (ਟ, ਠ, ਡ, ਢ, ਣ). Retroflex means the tip of the tongue curls back to touch the roof of the mouth — a sound that doesn’t really exist in English.
How to teach a 4-year-old
Show a tomato (ਟਮਾਟਰ) and say “ਟ … ਟਮਾਟਰ”. The T here is “harder” than the English t — the tongue curls back rather than tapping behind the teeth. Other ਟ words: ਟੋਪੀ (topi — cap), ਟਰੇਨ (train), ਟੋਕਰੀ (tokari — basket).
Practice ਟ (Tainka)
📖 Read about Tainka in context
See ਟ alongside the rest of the Ta-Row (retroflex) in the free alphabet teaching guide. Open the guide →
Practise Tainka on the go
Six interactive Gurmukhi games — tracing, recognition, memory match — free, offline, no ads.