Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "अकेला" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce अकेला in Hindi?

अकेला is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ə.keː.laː/. It means “alone / lonely.” uh-KAY-laa — three beats, with a dry k, a flat long e, and a long aa at the end.

uh-KAY-laa — three beats, with a dry k, a flat long e, and a long aa at the end.

अकेला /ə.keː.laː/

akelaa

A weightless opening syllable feeds two long ones, so the word broadens across three beats. The two long vowels differ in quality, which stops it sounding monotonous, and neither may be shortened.

Listen: अकेला

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

Sound it out

a There is no consonant at the front: the word begins on a bare schwa, so let the voice start softly instead of with the glottal catch English uses.

ke A velar stop released with no air at all, then a long ए held motionless without the glide English adds to "kay."

laa Keep the tongue body low so the l stays bright, then open into a long आ that marks masculine agreement.

Hear it in a sentence

मैं आज घर पर अकेला हूँ।

Maiṁ aaj ghar par akelaa hooṁ.

I am home alone today.

Listen: मैं आज घर पर अकेला हूँ।

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"Maiṁ aaj ghar par akelaa hooṁ" uses the masculine akelaa; a woman would say akelee, changing only the final vowel. Ghar's breathy घ just before it is the sentence's one difficult consonant.

Where English speakers slip

The middle vowel picks up an English closing glide and the k picks up a puff, giving "uh-KAY-ee-luh." Freeze the e, release the k silently, and hold the final aa long — it is the gender marker as well as a sound.