Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "घोड़ा" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce घोड़ा in Hindi?

घोड़ा is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ɡʱoː.ɽaː/. It means “horse.” GHOH-ṛaa — a breathy-voiced g at the front and a retroflex flap in the middle. Two Hindi-specific sounds in one word.

GHOH-ṛaa — a breathy-voiced g at the front and a retroflex flap in the middle. Two Hindi-specific sounds in one word.

घोड़ा /ɡʱoː.ɽaː/

ghoṛaa

The breathy onset stretches the opening while the flap gives the second syllable an abrupt start, so the word feels front-heavy even though its two vowels are matched in length.

Listen: घोड़ा

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Sound it out

gh घ needs voicing and breath at once: the back of the tongue closes with the folds already buzzing, and a warm sigh follows the release.

o A long ओ held in one lip position from beginning to end, taking the breathiness into its opening moments.

ṛaa ड़ flicks the curled tongue tip forward once against the roof of the mouth, then opens into a long aa that marks masculine agreement.

Hear it in a sentence

घोड़ा मैदान में तेज़ दौड़ता है।

Ghoṛaa maidaan meṁ tez dauṛtaa hai.

The horse runs fast in the field.

Listen: घोड़ा मैदान में तेज़ दौड़ता है।

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

"Ghoṛaa maidaan meṁ tez dauṛtaa hai" contains a second retroflex flap in dauṛtaa, so the tongue curls back twice — once between vowels in the noun and once before a consonant in the verb. Maidaan's ऐ is a steady long vowel, not a diphthong.

Where English speakers slip

The breathy g flattens into a plain English g and the flap becomes a d, producing something like "go-daa." Neither feature exists in English, so both need building from scratch. Start with the flap alone, then add a sighed voiced g in front of it.