Hindi — free text-to-speech & real native pronunciation

Hindi Sounds Missing in English

Hindi Words That Trip People Up

• 🔊ज्ञान ɡjˈaːn The ज्ञ is misleading because it is not 'gyaan' or 'jnan' but starts with a clear g immediately followed by y.
• 🔊क्षमा kʃˈʌmaː The क्ष misleads English speakers who expect 'kshama' or 'xama'; it is a crisp k directly into sh.
• 🔊ऋषि ɾˈɪʂɪ The ऋ misleads as people read it like 'rishi' in English; it uses a short retroflex flap r sound.
• 🔊अज्ञात ʌɡjˈaːt The ज्ञ misleads as 'agyaat' or 'ajnaat'; it is g followed by a clear y glide.
• 🔊महर्षि məhˈʌrʂɪ The ऋ and ष mislead readers into 'maharshi'; both use retroflex sounds, not plain r and sh.
• 🔊दर्शन dˈʌrʃən it is द + र् + श + न: an ordinary र with virama, then श
• 🔊विज्ञान ʋɪɡjˈaːn The ज्ञ misleads as 'vigyaan' or 'vijnaan'; it combines g immediately with a y glide.
• 🔊कर्म kˈʌrm The final म misleads readers to drop the r or add a vowel; both r and m are fully pronounced.
• 🔊योग jˈoːɡ The य misleads as 'yog' like English 'yoke'; it is a pure initial y followed by long o.
• 🔊औषधि ˈɔːʂdʰˌɪ The ष and ध mislead as 'aushadhi'; it uses retroflex sh and aspirated dh.
• 🔊ज्ञेय ɡjˈeːj The ज्ञ misleads as 'gyey' or 'jney'; it is g followed directly by a y glide.
• 🔊क्षेत्र kʃˈeːtɾə The क्ष misleads as 'kshetra' or 'xetra'; it requires a sharp k directly into sh.

Hear the Difference

• 🔊बात bˈaːt / 🔊बाट bˈaːʈ बात uses a dental t while बाट uses a retroflex ṭ; English speakers tend to merge both as the same English t sound.
• 🔊पल pˈʌl / 🔊पाल pˈaːl पल has a short vowel while पाल has a long vowel; English speakers often fail to hold the long vowel distinctly.
• 🔊तर tˈʌɾ / 🔊तार tˈaːɾ तर has a short vowel while तार has a long vowel; English speakers tend to merge the vowel lengths.
• 🔊दिन dˈɪn / 🔊दीन dˈiːn दिन has a short i while दीन has a long iː; English speakers usually do not contrast these lengths clearly.
• 🔊मद mˈʌd / 🔊माद mˈaːd मद has a short vowel while माद has a long vowel; English speakers tend to merge them into the same sound.