Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "चार" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce चार in Hindi?

चार is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /tʃaːɾ/. It means “four.” chaar with a long open aa and a single flicked r — not the drawn-out American r of "car."

chaar with a long open aa and a single flicked r — not the drawn-out American r of "car."

चार /tʃaːɾ/

chaar

Heavy monosyllable with both a long vowel and a coda, so it stands on its own; there is no reduction anywhere. Compare it with the schwa-based numerals like das to hear how much of Hindi's counting rhythm is carried by vowel length alone.

Listen: चार

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Sound it out

ch च is unaspirated, made slightly further forward than English ch, with the tongue blade at the hard palate. No breath escapes after the release.

aa Long आ, open and unrounded — the vowel of "father" with real length.

r A final tap. Touch the ridge once and let go; the vowel before it must stay clear rather than becoming r-coloured.

Hear it in a sentence

यहाँ चार कुर्सियाँ हैं।

Yahaaṁ chaar kursiyaaṁ haiṁ.

There are four chairs here.

Listen: यहाँ चार कुर्सियाँ हैं।

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"Yahaaṁ chaar kursiyaaṁ haiṁ" puts a nasalized plural on kursiyaaṁ — feminine nouns in -ee take -iyaaṁ — so there are two nasalized vowels in the sentence, in yahaaṁ and in the noun. Chaar itself never changes for number.

Where English speakers slip

The r is the wrecker. English speakers give it the retroflex or bunched articulation of "car," which both lengthens it and swallows the aa in front of it. Hindi wants an aa that stays pure right up to a single quick tap, so the r should be shorter than you think possible.