Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "देना" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce देना in Hindi?

देना is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /d̪eː.naː/. It means “to give.” DAY-naa, starting with a dental d and holding the first vowel flat instead of gliding it.

DAY-naa, starting with a dental d and holding the first vowel flat instead of gliding it.

देना /d̪eː.naː/

denaa

Two long-vowelled syllables of similar weight, so the word is level. Since both consonants are dental, the rhythm depends almost entirely on keeping the two vowels equally full rather than on any accent difference.

Listen: देना

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Sound it out

de Voiced द made against the upper teeth, not the ridge, plus a long ए that stays in one position throughout.

naa Another teeth-contact consonant, so the tongue tip barely moves across the whole word — d and n share the same place of articulation.

Hear it in a sentence

कृपया मुझे वह किताब दीजिए।

Kripayaa mujhe voh kitaab deejiye.

Please give me that book.

Listen: कृपया मुझे वह किताब दीजिए।

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"Kripayaa mujhe voh kitaab deejiye" replaces the infinitive with deejiye, the polite imperative, whose long ee and three-beat ending are what carry the courtesy. Mujhe supplies the recipient, and no word for "to" is needed because the dative is already marked.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers land the d on the alveolar ridge and add a closing glide to the vowel, producing "DAY-ee-nuh." Neither is native. Slide the tongue forward until it touches teeth, keep the vowel motionless, and give the final aa its full length rather than reducing it.