Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "अच्छा" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce अच्छा in Hindi?

अच्छा is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ətʃ.tʃʰaː/. It means “good.” uh-CHHAA — hold the ch closure for an extra beat, then release the second half with a real puff of air.

uh-CHHAA — hold the ch closure for an extra beat, then release the second half with a real puff of air.

अच्छा /ətʃ.tʃʰaː/

achchhaa

The doubled consonant makes the first syllable heavy by position and the long aa makes the second heavy by vowel, so the word is balanced but the middle is where the time goes. Rushing the gemination is the single quickest way to sound non-native here.

Listen: अच्छा

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Sound it out

a A bare schwa, unstressed and quick. Not "ah" — the syllable is a springboard, not a destination.

chch A geminate: one long closure held roughly twice the normal duration, as in the middle of English "beach chair" said as one word.

haa The release is aspirated छ, a puff of air after the affricate, opening onto a long aa. That puff is what separates this word from a plain ch.

Hear it in a sentence

यह कॉफ़ी बहुत अच्छी है।

Yeh kofee bahut achchhee hai.

This coffee is very good.

Listen: यह कॉफ़ी बहुत अच्छी है।

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"Yeh kofee bahut achchhee hai" uses the feminine form achchhee, because kofee is feminine in Hindi — so the same adjective you learned as achchhaa surfaces with a long ee. The gemination and aspiration are unchanged; only the final vowel moves.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers produce a single short ch and no aspiration, yielding something like "acha" said fast. Hindi hears three deficits: too short a closure, no breath on the release, and a first vowel that has been upgraded from schwa to a full vowel. Lean on the ch, then blow.