Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "का" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce का in Hindi?

का is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /kaː/. It means “of / 's (with masculine nouns).” kaa — one long open vowel after a dry, unpuffed k. Short and unstressed in real sentences.

kaa — one long open vowel after a dry, unpuffed k. Short and unstressed in real sentences.

का /kaː/

kaa

Postpositions like this one are prosodically parasitic: they attach to the preceding noun phrase and take no accent of their own, so the syllable stays heavy in vowel length but unstressed in the phrase. Say bhaaee-kaa as one rhythmic unit.

Listen: का

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Sound it out

k Unaspirated क. Because this word is almost always unstressed, English's aspiration reflex is weaker here, which works in your favour.

aa Long आ, but note that as a postposition it leans on the noun before it and is usually spoken quickly, so 'long' means relative to a schwa, not drawn out.

Hear it in a sentence

यह मेरे भाई का घर है।

Yeh mere bhaaee kaa ghar hai.

This is my brother's house.

Listen: यह मेरे भाई का घर है।

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"Yeh mere bhaaee kaa ghar hai" shows kaa agreeing with ghar, the thing possessed, not with bhaaee, the possessor — and mere is oblique because bhaaee is followed by a postposition. Two agreement rules stacked in five words.

Where English speakers slip

Two habits distort it: aspirating the k, and giving the postposition a full stressed beat as English speakers do with "of." In fluent Hindi kaa is swallowed into the phrase, so the mistake usually sounds like over-articulation rather than an obvious wrong sound.