Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "फ़िल्म" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce फ़िल्म in Hindi?

फ़िल्म is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /fɪlm/. It means “movie.” film — a genuine f from the nuqta, a short lax i, and a bright l running straight into m.

film — a genuine f from the nuqta, a short lax i, and a bright l running straight into m.

फ़िल्म /fɪlm/

film

One short-vowelled syllable with a heavy coda: brief in vowel time, weighty by position. Some speakers ease the cluster slightly toward filam, which adds a light beat without shifting where the weight sits.

Listen: फ़िल्म

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Sound it out

f The nuqta on फ़ marks a labiodental f, upper teeth on lower lip. Without the dot the letter would be an aspirated p.

ilm A short इ, then a clear l with the tongue tip on the ridge, then m — a two-consonant coda with no vowel inside it.

Hear it in a sentence

क्या हम आज रात फ़िल्म देखें?

Kyaa ham aaj raat film dekheṁ?

Shall we watch a movie tonight?

Listen: क्या हम आज रात फ़िल्म देखें?

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"Kyaa ham aaj raat film dekheṁ?" uses the subjunctive dekheṁ for a suggestion, with a nasalized ending agreeing with ham. Film is feminine in Hindi despite being an English loan, though nothing in this particular sentence shows it.

Where English speakers slip

Readers who have memorised फ as an aspirated p apply that here and say "philm." Look for the dot. The l then tends to darken before the m, which retracts the vowel; keep the tongue tip forward and the tongue body low.