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Hindi · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "आठ" in Hindi?
Long aa, then a retroflex ṭh: tongue tip curled back to the hard palate and released with a strong puff.
aaṭh
A single superheavy syllable, long vowel plus consonant, so all the duration goes to the vowel and the aspiration adds a perceptible tail. There is no rhythmic choice to make, but the aspiration should not be so long that it sounds like a second syllable.
Listen: आठ
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
दुकान आठ बजे खुलती है।
Dukaan aaṭh baje khultee hai.
The shop opens at eight.
Listen: दुकान आठ बजे खुलती है।
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"Dukaan aaṭh baje khultee hai" has khultee agreeing as feminine with dukaan, and khultee itself opens with an aspirated kh — so the sentence contains two different aspirated consonants, ठ and ख, at different places of articulation. Hearing them side by side is useful.
Where English speakers slip
Almost every beginner produces an alveolar t here, giving "aat" or "aath" with the English th of "bath." Neither is close: ट/ठ are made with the tongue tip curled backwards, which gives them a hollow, dark quality quite unlike the flat English t. Curl the tongue until it feels exaggerated, then add the puff.