The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Hindi and Urdu pronunciations in Wikipedia articles.
See Hindustani phonology for a more thorough discussion of the sounds of Hindi-Urdu. See Devanagari and Urdu alphabet for help converting Hindi and Urdu spelling to pronunciation.
Consonants |
IPA |
Hindi |
Urdu |
Approximate English equivalent |
b |
ब |
ب |
abash |
bʱ |
भ |
بھ |
abhor |
d̪[1] |
द |
د |
the |
d̪ʱ[1] |
ध |
دھ |
without |
ɖ[1] |
ड |
ڈ |
guard |
ɖʱ[1] |
ढ |
ڈھ |
guardhouse |
dʒ |
ज |
ج |
hedge |
dʒʱ |
झ |
جھ |
hedgehog |
f |
फ़ |
ف |
Phantom |
ɡ |
ग |
گ |
agate |
ɡʱ |
घ |
گھ |
pigheaded |
h |
ः |
ح، ه |
head |
ɦ |
ह |
ahead |
j |
य |
ی |
yak |
k |
क |
ک |
scan |
kʰ |
ख |
کھ |
can |
l |
ल |
ل |
leaf |
m |
म |
م |
much |
n |
न |
ن |
not |
ɳ |
ण |
ن |
burner
|
ŋ |
ङ |
ن |
bank |
p |
प |
پ |
span |
pʰ |
फ |
پھ |
naphtha
(in this case, ph is not pronounced as 'f') |
q |
क़ |
ق |
a k in the throat
(Urdu; often [k] in Hindi) |
r |
र |
ر |
trilled r |
ɽ |
ड़ |
ڑ |
US: larder |
ɽʱ |
ढ़ |
ڑھ |
as [ɽ] plus h; approximated by the US: warhead |
s |
स |
ث، س، ص |
sue |
ʂ |
ष |
ش/س |
worship
|
ʃ |
श |
ش |
shoe |
t̪[1] |
त |
ت، ط |
think |
t̪ʰ[1] |
थ |
تھ |
thought |
ʈ[1] |
ट |
ٹ |
art |
ʈʰ[1] |
ठ |
ٹھ |
artist |
tʃ |
च |
چ |
catch |
tʃʰ |
छ |
چھ |
choose |
ʋ[2] |
व |
و |
varies between w and v |
x |
ख़ |
خ |
Bach
(Urdu; often [kʰ] in Hindi) |
ɣ |
ग़ |
غ |
similar to a French r
(Urdu; often [ɡ] in Hindi). |
z |
ज़ |
ذ، ز، ض، ظ |
zen |
ʒ |
झ़ |
ژ |
pleasure, azure |
|
Vowels |
IPA |
Hindi |
Urdu |
Approximate English equivalent |
aː |
आ, पा |
آ, بَا |
la |
ɛː |
ऐ, पै |
اَے، بَے |
bed |
eː |
ए, पे |
اے، بے |
Yale |
ə[3] |
अ, प |
اَ، بَ |
strut |
ɪ[4] |
इ, पि |
اِ، بِ |
dill |
iː[4] |
ई, पी |
اِی، بِی |
feed |
ɔː |
औ, पौ |
اَو، بَو |
pod |
oː |
ओ, पो |
او، بو |
old |
ʊ[4] |
उ, पु |
اُ، بُ |
look |
uː[4] |
ऊ, पू |
اُو، بُو |
mood |
̃ |
ँ |
ـں |
nasal vowel
([ãː, õː], etc.) |
n, ɳ, ŋ, m, ̃ |
ं |
|
|
|
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 To an English ear, [t̪ t̪ʰ ʈ ʈʰ] all sound like /t/, and [d̪ d̪ʱ ɖ ɖʱ] all sound like /d/. However, to a Hindi-Urdu speaker's ear these are very different sounds. [t̪ d̪] are like Spanish or French [t d], with the tongue touching the teeth, and [t̪ʰ d̪] are how a Hindi-Urdu speaker hears English [θ ð] (the th sounds). Hindi-Urdu [ʈ ɖ] are pronounced with the tongue further back, touching behind the teeth, and [ʈʰ ɖ] are how a Hindi-Urdu speaker hears English t d; [ʈ] is how they hear English t after s.
- ↑ [v], [w] and intermediate [ʋ] are allophonic in Hindi-Urdu. Some words, such as vrat ('व्रत', fast), are pronounced with [v] and others, such as pakwan ('पकवान', food dish), are pronounced with [w].
- ↑ /ɛ/ occurs as a conditioned allophone of /ə/ in proximity of an /h/, if /h/ is surrounded on both sides by schwas. Mostly, the second schwa undergoes syncopation and the resultant is just an /ɛ/ preceding an /h/.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 /iː, ɪ/ and /uː, ʊ/ are neutralized to [i, u] at the end of a word.