Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "छाता" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce छाता in Hindi?

छाता is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /tʃʰaː.t̪aː/. It means “umbrella.” CHHAA-taa — a real puff of air after the ch, and a dental t before the long ending.

CHHAA-taa — a real puff of air after the ch, and a dental t before the long ending.

छाता /tʃʰaː.t̪aː/

chhaataa

Aspiration adds air at the front of an otherwise even word, and there is one aspirated and one unaspirated consonant in it — a minimal contrast inside a single word. Blow at the start, hold the breath in the middle.

Listen: छाता

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Sound it out

chh The aspirated affricate: complete the closure, then release with a distinct burst of breath. Drop the puff and it becomes च.

aa A long open आ following that burst, fully held.

taa A stop made on the teeth and released dry, opening into a second long aa that marks masculine agreement.

Hear it in a sentence

छाता ले लीजिए, बारिश होने वाली है।

Chhaataa le leejiye, baarish hone vaalee hai.

Take the umbrella, it's about to rain.

Listen: छाता ले लीजिए, बारिश होने वाली है।

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

"Chhaataa le leejiye, baarish hone vaalee hai" uses the vaalee construction for something about to happen, agreeing feminine with baarish. The two long aa vowels of chhaataa open the sentence before it moves to shorter vowels.

Where English speakers slip

The puff on chh disappears and the medial t picks up aspiration instead — exactly the wrong distribution, and precisely what English rhythm produces. Hold a hand in front of your mouth: you should feel a burst at the start and nothing in the middle.