Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "छोटा" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce छोटा in Hindi?

छोटा is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /tʃʰoː.ʈaː/. It means “small.” CHHOH-ṭaa — an aspirated ch at the front and a retroflex ṭ in the middle, with the tongue curled back.

CHHOH-ṭaa — an aspirated ch at the front and a retroflex ṭ in the middle, with the tongue curled back.

छोटा /tʃʰoː.ʈaː/

chhoṭaa

Two long vowels, but the real rhythmic effect comes from the two points of articulatory effort: the puff at the front and the curled tongue in the middle. Those slow the word down naturally and make it feel longer than its two beats.

Listen: छोटा

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Sound it out

chh छ is the aspirated affricate: full closure, then a clear puff of air. Without the puff it becomes च.

o Long ओ held in one lip position, no glide.

ṭaa Retroflex ट — tongue tip curled up and back to strike behind the ridge — released without aspiration into a long aa.

Hear it in a sentence

मेरे पास एक छोटा कुत्ता है।

Mere paas ek chhoṭaa kuttaa hai.

I have a small dog.

Listen: मेरे पास एक छोटा कुत्ता है।

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"Mere paas ek chhoṭaa kuttaa hai" pairs chhoṭaa with kuttaa, whose doubled dental त्त sits right after the retroflex ट of the adjective. The tongue therefore travels from the roof of the mouth to the teeth between the two words — a good drill for the contrast.

Where English speakers slip

The two errors are a missing puff on chh and an alveolar t in the middle. English has no retroflex stop, so learners default to their own t, which lands between Hindi ट and त and sounds neither. Curl the tongue back deliberately, and blow after the initial affricate.