Sandhi: Vowel, Consonant and Visarga Sandhi — Patwari Notes
This page gives the definition of sandhi, all five types of swar sandhi, the main rules of vyanjan and visarga sandhi, and the common mistakes in sandhi-vichchhed, with examples. Once the rules are solid, this becomes one of the fastest topics to solve in the exam.
- Class 6–8 level
- 8 min read
What is Sandhi?
The change that occurs when two adjoining sounds (varns) meet is called sandhi; for example, विद्या + आलय = विद्यालय. Splitting a sandhi word back into its original parts is called sandhi-vichchhed. Keep in mind the difference between sandhi and samas: in sandhi, sounds combine and the breakdown uses a '+'; in samas, whole words (pad) combine and the breakdown (vigrah) adds case markers or words like 'and'.
There are three types of sandhi — swar sandhi (vowel + vowel), vyanjan sandhi (consonant + vowel/consonant, or vowel + consonant), and visarga sandhi (visarga + vowel/consonant). Most sandhi words in Hindi are tatsam (derived from Sanskrit), so its rules are based on Sanskrit grammar.
The five types of Swar (vowel) Sandhi
| Type | Rule | Example (breakdown) |
|---|---|---|
| दीर्घ संधि (Deergh Sandhi) | अ/आ + अ/आ = आ; इ/ई + इ/ई = ई; उ/ऊ + उ/ऊ = ऊ | विद्यालय (विद्या + आलय), न्यूनाधिक (न्यून + अधिक), रवीन्द्र (रवि + इन्द्र), भानूदय (भानु + उदय) |
| गुण संधि (Gun Sandhi) | अ/आ + इ/ई = ए; अ/आ + उ/ऊ = ओ; अ/आ + ऋ = अर् | नरेन्द्र (नर + इन्द्र), महेश (महा + ईश), सूर्योदय (सूर्य + उदय), महर्षि (महा + ऋषि) |
| वृद्धि संधि (Vriddhi Sandhi) | अ/आ + ए/ऐ = ऐ; अ/आ + ओ/औ = औ | सदैव (सदा + एव), एकैक (एक + एक), वनौषधि (वन + औषधि), जलौघ (जल + ओघ) |
| यण् संधि (Yan Sandhi) | इ/ई + भिन्न स्वर = य्; उ/ऊ + भिन्न स्वर = व्; ऋ + भिन्न स्वर = र् | इत्यादि (इति + आदि), व्यक्ति (वि + अक्ति), अध्ययन (अधि + अयन), स्वागत (सु + आगत), पित्राज्ञा (पितृ + आज्ञा) |
| अयादि संधि (Ayadi Sandhi) | ए + भिन्न स्वर = अय्; ऐ = आय्; ओ = अव्; औ = आव् | नयन (ने + अन), गायक (गै + अक), पवन (पो + अन), पावक (पौ + अक) |
Identification rule: if the first part ends in 'इ/उ/ऋ' and the next starts with a different vowel, it's Yan Sandhi; if it ends in 'ए/ऐ/ओ/औ', it's Ayadi Sandhi.[Source 1]
Major rules of Vyanjan (Consonant) Sandhi
| Rule | Example (breakdown) |
|---|---|
| वर्ग का पहला वर्ण (क्, च्, ट्, त्, प्) + स्वर या घोष वर्ण → उसी वर्ग का तीसरा वर्ण | दिगंबर (दिक् + अंबर), वागीश (वाक् + ईश), जगदीश (जगत् + ईश), सदाचार (सत् + आचार) |
| पहला/तीसरा वर्ण + न/म → उसी वर्ग का पाँचवाँ वर्ण | जगन्नाथ (जगत् + नाथ), उन्नति (उत् + नति), वाङ्मय (वाक् + मय) |
| त्/द् + ल → ल्ल | तल्लीन (तत् + लीन), उल्लास (उत् + लास) |
| त्/द् + च/छ → च्च/च्छ; + ज → ज्ज; + श → च्छ; + ह → द्ध | उच्चारण (उत् + चारण), सज्जन (सत् + जन), उच्छ्वास (उत् + श्वास), उद्धार (उत् + हार) |
| म् + क से भ तक का व्यंजन → अनुस्वार या उसी वर्ग का पंचम वर्ण; म् + य, र, ल, व, श, ष, स, ह → अनुस्वार; म् + म → म्म | संसार (सम् + सार), संकल्प (सम् + कल्प), सम्मान (सम् + मान) |
| सम् + कृ से बने शब्द → बीच में 'स्' का आगम | संस्कृति (सम् + कृति), संस्कार (सम् + कार) |
| स्वर + छ → बीच में च् का आगम (च्छ) | विच्छेद (वि + छेद), परिच्छेद (परि + छेद) |
| अ/आ से भिन्न स्वर के बाद स → ष | अभिषेक (अभि + सेक), विषम (वि + सम) |
| ऋ, र, ष के बाद न → ण (बीच में वर्जित वर्ण न हों) | परिणाम (परि + नाम), प्रमाण (प्र + मान) |
Major rules of Visarga Sandhi
| Rule | Example (breakdown) |
|---|---|
| अः + घोष व्यंजन (वर्ग का 3, 4, 5वाँ वर्ण, य र ल व ह) → ओ | मनोबल (मनः + बल), यशोदा (यशः + दा), मनोयोग (मनः + योग) |
| इः/उः + स्वर या घोष व्यंजन → र् | निराशा (निः + आशा), निर्धन (निः + धन), दुर्गुण (दुः + गुण), आशीर्वाद (आशीः + वाद) |
| विसर्ग + च/छ → श्; + त/थ → स् | निश्चल (निः + चल), दुश्चरित्र (दुः + चरित्र), नमस्ते (नमः + ते), निस्तेज (निः + तेज) |
| इः/उः + क/प → ष् | निष्कपट (निः + कपट), दुष्कर (दुः + कर), निष्पाप (निः + पाप) |
| निः + र → नी (विसर्ग लुप्त, स्वर दीर्घ) | नीरोग (निः + रोग), नीरस (निः + रस) |
Words with निः/दुः — निर्, निस्, निश्, निष्, नी — are all visarga sandhi; the following sound determines which form results.
Cautions for the exam
Not every word has a sandhi. Words formed by adding a suffix (सभ्य + ता = सभ्यता, मानव + ता = मानवता) are not treated as sandhi — this exact mistake often shows up in exams with words like 'सभ्यता'. So for a Yan Sandhi option, check whether the breakdown really does have इ/उ/ऋ followed by a different vowel.
Pay attention to the halant (the mark suppressing the inherent vowel) in a breakdown: 'सम + सार' and 'सम् + सार' are different; the root parts सम्, उत् (a prefix), तत्, सत् carry a halant, while दुः and निः carry a visarga. In 'संस्कृति' an स् is inserted, but the breakdown is still written as सम् + कृति — the inserted स् does not become a separate part.
When a word could have more than one breakdown, first identify the base words: 'न्यूनाधिक' = न्यून + अधिक (Deergh); 'महोत्सव' = महा + उत्सव (Gun); 'अत्यधिक' = अति + अधिक (Yan). Pronouncing the word slowly also lets you hear the join.
Memory trick / exam tip
Remember the order of swar sandhi types with 'दी-गु-वृ-य-अ' (Deergh, Gun, Vriddhi, Yan, Ayadi). If the breakdown has इ/उ/ऋ followed by a different vowel, and the word shows a half-letter with 'य/व/र' (व्यक्ति, स्वागत, पित्राज्ञा), it's Yan; if it shows 'अय/आय/अव/आव' (नयन, गायक, पवन, पावक), it's Ayadi. And among the breakdown options, look first for a root part carrying a halant (सम्, उत्, तत्).
Frequently Asked Questions
How many types of Sandhi are there?+
There are three types of sandhi — Swar (vowel), Vyanjan (consonant), and Visarga sandhi. Swar sandhi has five sub-types: Deergh, Gun, Vriddhi, Yan, and Ayadi.
What is the difference between Sandhi and Samas?+
In sandhi, a change occurs where two sounds meet (विद्या + आलय = विद्यालय); in samas, two or more words are shortened into a single word (राजा का पुत्र → राजपुत्र).
How do I identify Yan Sandhi?+
When इ/ई, उ/ऊ or ऋ is followed by a different vowel, and they change to य्, व्, र् respectively, it's Yan Sandhi — for example इति + आदि = इत्यादि, सु + आगत = स्वागत.