LingoDrop
Hindi · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "चाहिए" in Hindi?
CHAA-hi-yay — three beats, with a short i in the middle that must not be swallowed.
chaahiye
Heavy, light, heavy — a long vowel, then a short one, then another long one. That dip in the middle is the word's signature, and flattening it into two syllables is the single most common rhythmic error with it.
Listen: चाहिए
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
मुझे अभी पढ़ाई करनी चाहिए।
Mujhe abhee paṛhaaee karnee chaahiye.
I should study now.
Listen: मुझे अभी पढ़ाई करनी चाहिए।
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"Mujhe abhee paṛhaaee karnee chaahiye" makes karnee feminine to agree with paṛhaaee, which is a feminine noun — the infinitive itself inflects here, which surprises most learners. Paṛhaaee also contains ढ़, the breathy retroflex flap, so it needs a quick backward flick of the tongue with voiced breath.
Where English speakers slip
Learners compress it to "chaa-yay," losing the middle syllable, or add aspiration to the initial ch. There is also a temptation to stress the ending as if it were an imperative like deejiye; chaahiye is invariant and takes no agreement, so it should sound settled rather than emphatic.