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A. |
Hindi Vowels (Swar) |
B. |
Hindi Consonants (Vyañjan) |
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(A). Hindi Vowels (Swar) |
We introduce you to Hindi vowels. You will notice añ and ah in the table below, they are often incorporated in the list of vowels (otherwise only 11 vowels). Click the “Audio” button below to hear how the vowels are pronounced. |
Swar |
Vowel |
Pronunciation |
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Short a
As a in beggar or u in shut.
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Long a (ā)
As a in bar or father
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Short i
As i in bin or sin
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Long ī
As ee in need or meet
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Long ū
As oo in pool or fool
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There is no English equivalent
for ‘r’.
As r in current
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As a in gate or aeroplane
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As au in aura or Rantau Abang
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As an in kangaroo or Tanjung
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As ah in buah
Short version of the expression
ah!
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(B). Hindi Consonants (Vyañjan) |
The sound of Hindi language is beautiful, romantic and very melodious. It is important that you are enthusiastic to learn the correct pronunciation of Hindi words. Hindi is a phonetic language. The alphabets have a fixed sound. There are 33 consonants (vyañjan). We will introduce you to conjunct or compound consonants at advance level. |
In Hindi consonants are pronounced with the help of vowels. For example क् (k) + अ (a) = क ka. Hence Hindi consonants are read as ka, ja, ta, pa, ya, ra, etc. Remember its k + a = ka, the “a” is a short a! As u in shut or a in beggar. You will find our pronunciation guide very useful. In addition to that, click on the Audio button to hear how the consonants are pronounced. |
For convenience we have divided the consonants to 7 tables, each consisting 5 consonants with the exception of the last table with 3 consonants. Beginners might find it challenging to pronounce certain consonants especially the aspirated ones. This is natural as it is difficult to show corresponding English equivalents. Simple Hindi.com presents you a solution to overcome this by showing you the Bahasa Melayu equivalents of the some consonants. You will instantly recognise the sound and it will appear less alien to you. |
Hindi & Roman
script
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क
ka |
ख
kha |
ग
ga |
घ
gha |
ङ
ng |
Pronunciation guide
(velars)
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as c in
cool
or
k in
ankle |
as kha in
khabar
, Khan or
khas |
as g in
go
or
ga in
garuda |
as gha in ghazal,
Ghazali
or
aghast |
as ng in ring
or
hunger |
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Hindi & Roman
script
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च
ca |
छ
cha |
ज
ja |
झ
jha |
ञ
nya |
Pronunciation guide
(velars)
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as ch in
church
or
ce
in
cerita |
as cha in bubur cha cha
or cah in pecah
(aspirated ‘cha’)
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as j in
jar,
jerk
or
je in
jentik-
jentik |
aspirated ‘ja’ |
as nya in tanya
or
punya |
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Hindi & Roman
script
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ट
ta |
ठ
tha |
ड
da |
ढ
dha |
ण
nna |
Pronunciation guide
(velars)
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as t in
tea
or
top
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aspirated ‘ţa’
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as da in
datuk
or
d in
doll |
aspirated ‘da’ |
no equivalent in Bahasa Melayu or English.
Point of utterance – palatal. Your tongue must touch the palatal before uttering ‘na’ sound.
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Hindi & Roman
script
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त
ta |
थ
tha |
द
da |
ध
dha |
न
na |
Pronunciation guide
(velars)
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as ta in cinta
or
buta
(short sound)
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as th
in
think |
equivalent
to the
English
word
“the” |
as the in
father
pronounced
with
aspiration |
as na
in
kerana
or
mana
(short sound)
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Hindi & Roman
script
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प
pa |
फ
pha |
ब
ba |
भ
bha |
म
ma |
Pronunciation guide
(velars)
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as pa
in
bapa
(short sound) |
as ph in
physical
or
philosophy |
as b in
boy or
ba in
bahasa |
aspirated ‘ba’ |
as ma
in
Malaysia
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Hindi & Roman
script
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य
ya |
र
ra |
ल
la |
व
va |
श
sha |
Pronunciation guide
(velars)
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as ya
in
aniaya
or y in
yes |
as ra in
rat |
as le in
lemang
or la in
lacuna |
as ver in
verbal |
as sh in
shout
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Hindi & Roman
script
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ष
sha |
स
sa |
ह
ha |
Pronunciation guide
(velars)
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No English or Bahasa Melayu equivalent.
Tougue is place at prepalatal region.
Beginners don’t worry too much as in a conversation it is hard to tell the difference. Some Hindi speakers simply pronounce it as श (sha).
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as se in
sedan
or s in
sample |
as ha in
harimau
s
or h in hat |
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