"My kids hated going to language school. It felt like 'forced homework'. I'm glad we discovered COOLPHABETS."
Learn Marathi
Your child speaks Marathi with Aaji. Help them write to her too.
COOLPHABETS teaches children to read and write all 48 Marathi letters by hand, with an on-device AI coach that checks every stroke.
Spoken with family. Missing on paper.
In Marathi families living away from Maharashtra, the language stays alive in conversation. Children speak it with Aai and Baba, and on video calls with Aaji and Ajoba.
Writing is another matter. Outside Maharashtra there is no school that teaches it, no signboard to read on the way home, and no newspaper on the table. A script nobody sees is a script nobody learns.
Many parents tell us this sits heavily with them. A child who cannot read Marathi cannot read a note from a grandparent or the stories their parents grew up with. If one generation leaves the script behind, the next has nobody at home to learn it from.
Most language apps
- Teach speaking and listening
- Tap the right answer
- Made for someone starting from zero
COOLPHABETS
- Teaches reading and writing
- Write every letter by hand
- Made for children who already speak it at home
The alphabet
The Marathi alphabet: 48 letters your child will learn
Marathi is written in Devanagari. It has 12 vowels, called स्वर (swar), and 36 consonants, called व्यंजने (vyanjane). COOLPHABETS teaches every one.
Vowels स्वर 12
- अ a
- आ ā
- इ i
- ई ī
- उ u
- ऊ ū
- ए e
- ऐ ai
- ओ o
- औ au
- अं am
- अः aha
Consonants व्यंजने 36
- क ka
- ख kha
- ग ga
- घ gha
- ङ nga
- च cha
- छ chha
- ज ja
- झ jha
- ञ nya
- ट Ta
- ठ Tha
- ड Da
- ढ Dha
- ण Na
- त ta
- थ tha
- द da
- ध dha
- न na
- प pa
- फ pha
- ब ba
- भ bha
- म ma
- य ya
- र ra
- ल la
- व va
- श sha
- ष Sha
- स sa
- ह ha
- ळ La
- क्ष ksha
- ज्ञ dnya
A capital letter marks a sound made with the tongue curled back, as in Ta, Da and La. A line over a vowel means it is held longer.
The Marathi alphabet chart All 48 letters on one page. Open it to save or print for the fridge door.
The hard parts
What makes Marathi hard to write
Marathi shares its script with Hindi, but it is not Hindi with different words. These are the parts that are its own.
-
The letter Hindi does not use
ळ is everywhere in Marathi. It is in बाळ (baal, baby) and शाळा (shala, school). A child who learns the alphabet from Hindi material never meets it.
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One letter, a different sound
ज्ञ is read as dnya in Marathi, as in the name ज्ञानेश्वर (Dnyaneshwar). The same letter is read differently in Hindi, which confuses children who see both.
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The line on top
Every letter hangs from a headline. In a word the line runs across all the letters and joins them, and it is drawn after the letters, not before.
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Joined letters
When two consonants meet they are written as one joined shape, called a jodakshar (जोडाक्षर). पुस्तक (pustak, book) joins स and त. Words and sentences in the app are where these come into practice.
First words
Five Marathi words to write first
Words a child already says every day, now on paper.
- आई aai mother
Two vowels and no consonant at all.
- बाबा baba father
The same letter and sign, written twice.
- घर ghar house
Two plain letters under one line.
- पाणी paani water
Written with ण. Hindi spells the same word with न.
- शाळा shala school
Ends in ळ, the letter that marks a word as Marathi.
How it works
One letter at a time, written by hand.
- 1
Watch. The letter draws itself, stroke by stroke, in the right order.
- 2
Write. Your child writes it with a finger. No tapping on answers, no typing.
- 3
Get checked. CoolphaSense scores the strokes they actually made, on the device.
- 4
Hear it. A native voice says the letter. Or yours, if you record it.
After the letters come words, sentences and games. See everything COOLPHABETS does.
Questions
What Marathi parents ask us
My child speaks Marathi but cannot read a word. Where do we start?
With the 12 vowels, then the 36 consonants, one letter at a time, before moving on to words and sentences. A child who already speaks Marathi knows the sounds and only has to learn the shapes.
What comes after the letters?
Marathi words come next, then full sentences. Games for one child, and games for the family, keep the practice going.
I never learned to write Marathi myself. Can I learn alongside my child?
Yes, and it is a good way to keep a child going. The plan has room for 4 people, so a parent can work through the same 48 letters.
Can my child hear the letters in my voice?
They can. A native Marathi voice is built in, and a parent can record over it, so the letter is spoken by Aai or Baba.
Does it need the internet?
Not after it is installed. Lessons, voices and the handwriting check are all stored on the device.
What does it cost?
There is one plan: $50 a year for 4 family members. The price is lower in many countries, and the first 7 days are free.