LingoDrop
Hindi · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "जब" in Hindi?
jub — a dry unaspirated j, a bare schwa, and a b that keeps its voicing to the end.
jab
Short vowel in a closed syllable: heavy by position, negligible in time. As a subordinating conjunction it heads its clause without taking prominence, so it should almost run into the following word.
Listen: जब
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
जब आप आएँ, तो फ़ोन कीजिए।
Jab aap aaeṁ, to fon keejiye.
When you arrive, please call.
Listen: जब आप आएँ, तो फ़ोन कीजिए।
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"Jab aap aaeṁ, to fon keejiye" pairs jab with the correlative to, which is obligatory in Hindi where English "then" is optional. Aaeṁ is a subjunctive with a nasalized ending, agreeing with aap.
Where English speakers slip
The vowel gets opened into "jahb" and the final b gets devoiced toward p — two automatic English habits. Keep the vowel neutral and the voicing continuous. The affricate also picks up a small puff in English, which nudges ज toward झ territory.