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Hindi · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "चाहना" in Hindi?
CHAAH-naa — an unaspirated ch, a long aa with a soft voiced h riding on its end, then the -naa ending.
chaahnaa
Both syllables are heavy — the first by its long vowel plus the h coda, the second by its long vowel — so the word is level with a slight lean forward. The h does not add a syllable, however much it may look like one in transliteration.
Listen: चाहना
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
मैं आइसक्रीम खाना चाहता हूँ।
Maiṁ aaiskreem khaanaa chaahtaa hooṁ.
I want to eat an ice cream.
Listen: मैं आइसक्रीम खाना चाहता हूँ।
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"Maiṁ aaiskreem khaanaa chaahtaa hooṁ" shows the chain in full: an infinitive khaanaa followed by an inflected chaahtaa, which agrees masculine with the speaker. Khaanaa's aspirated ख immediately precedes chaahnaa's unaspirated च, a perfect back-to-back contrast.
Where English speakers slip
Two habits interfere. English ch has built-in aspiration, so the first consonant comes out too breathy; and the medial h gets pronounced as a full separate breath, giving three syllables. Keep the affricate dry and let the h be a soft murmur folded into the vowel.