Letters are a starting point, not a race. Notice their shapes and practise recognising them inside words.
Common independent vowels
অ আ ই ঈ উ ঊ ঋ এ ঐ ও ঔ
Consonants to begin with
ক খ গ ঘ ঙ
চ ছ জ ঝ ঞ
ট ঠ ড ঢ ণ
ত থ দ ধ ন
প ফ ব ভ ম
য র ল শ ষ স হ
Vowel signs and combinations
A vowel may appear as an independent letter or as a sign attached to a consonant. For example, ক with the sign া becomes কা. A written consonant combination can look different from its separate letters.
English spelling cannot fully represent Bengali sounds. Use a teacher or reliable audio to practise pronunciation, rather than treating a Roman spelling as an exact guide.
For the curious
The Unicode Bengali character chart ↗ documents the script’s encoded characters. It is a technical reference rather than a pronunciation lesson.