This is a quick cheat sheet for the sounds found in Hindi.
There are at least 2 i sounds in Hindi. In terms of all possible i sounds, there is the basic most common i sound, the secondary i sound, and the tertiary i sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| I | I | Like "ih" in "pit". | ɪ |
| i% | i_ | Long "ee" sound. | iː |
There are at least 2 e sounds in Hindi. In terms of all possible e sounds, there is the basic most common e sound, the secondary e sound, and the tertiary e sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| e% | e_ | Long "day" sound. | eː |
| E% | E_ | Long "eh". | ɛː |
There are at least 2 a sounds in Hindi. In terms of all possible a sounds, there is the basic most common a sound, the secondary a sound, and the tertiary a sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| a% | a_ | Long "ah" sound. | aː |
| A% | A_ | Long "mat" a sound. | æː |
There are at least 3 o sounds in Hindi. In terms of all possible o sounds, there is the basic most common o sound, the secondary o sound, and the tertiary o sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| O | O | Like "uuh" in "book" sound. | ʊ ɯ |
| o% | o_ | Long "oh" sound. | oː |
| 1% | o$_ | Long British oah sound. | ɔː |
There are at least 2 u sounds in Hindi. In terms of all possible u sounds, there is the basic most common u sound, the secondary u sound, and the tertiary u sound, as well as long and nasal forms of each.
| U | U | Like "uh" in "up" sound. | ə ɞ ɐ ɘ ʌ |
| u% | u_ | Long "oo" sound. | uː |
There is at least 1 m sound in Hindi. Notice the English m and mm have a similar shape.
| m | m | Regular m | m |
There are at least 2 n sounds in Hindi. Notice the English n and nn have a similar shape.
| n | n | Regular n | n |
| n6 | N | Retroflex n | ɳ |
There is at least 1 q sound in Hindi.
| q | q | Regular ng | ŋ ɴ |
There is at least 1 g sound in Hindi.
| g | g | Regular g | ɡ ɢ |
There are at least 2 d sounds in Hindi. Notice the English d and dd have a similar shape.
| d | d | Regular d | d |
| d4 | D | Retroflex d | ɖ |
There is at least 1 b sound in Hindi. Notice the English b and bb have a similar shape.
| b | b | Regular b | b |
There are at least 2 p sounds in Hindi.
| p | p | Regular p | p |
| p% | ph~ | Aspirated p | pʰ |
There are at least 4 t sounds in Hindi.
| t | t | Regular t | t |
| t^ | th~ | Aspirated t | tʰ |
| t4 | T | Retroflex t (used a lot in Indian languages) | ʈ |
| t4^ | Th~ | Aspirated retroflex t (used a lot in Indian languages) | ʈʰ |
There are at least 3 k sounds in Hindi.
| k | k | Regular k | k |
| k% | kh~ | Aspirated k | kʰ |
| k6 | K | Deep guttural k (used a lot in Arabic, or Inuktitut) | q |
There is at least 1 y sound in Hindi. Notice the English y and yy have a similar shape, although the Tone yy is like a Tone OO with a tail.
| y | y | Regular y | j |
There are at least 2 sh sounds in Hindi.
| x | x | Regular sh | ʃ |
| x4 | X | Retroflex sh | ʂ |
There is at least 1 f sound in Hindi.
| f | f | Regular f | f |
There is at least 1 l sound in Hindi.
| l | l | Regular l | l |
There is at least 1 s sound in Hindi.
| s | s | Regular s | s |
There is at least 1 z sound in Hindi.
| z | z | Regular z | z |
There is at least 1 j sound in Hindi.
| j | j | Regular j (as in "measure") | ʒ |
There are at least 2 r sounds in Hindi.
| r5 | R | Retroflex r (used in some Indian languages) | ɽ |
| G | G | Velar r like the French r sound | ɣ ʁ |
There is at least 1 dj sound in Hindi.
| dj | dj | Regular dj (as in "judge") | dʒ |
There are at least 2 ch sounds in Hindi.
| tx | tx | Regular ch sound (like English "chip") | tʃ |
| tx^ | txh~ | Aspirated ch sound | tʃʰ |