Hindi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "काग़ज़" in Hindi?

Q: How do you pronounce काग़ज़ in Hindi?

काग़ज़ is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /kaː.ɣəz/. It means “paper / sheet of paper.” KAA-ghuz — two nuqta letters here: ग़ is a throaty fricative and ज़ is a z, so neither is what the base letter suggests.

KAA-ghuz — two nuqta letters here: ग़ is a throaty fricative and ज़ is a z, so neither is what the base letter suggests.

काग़ज़ /kaː.ɣəz/

kaagaz

Weight sits at the front, and the throaty fricative in the middle slows the word further. Its two nuqta consonants make it one of the most Persianised items in the course.

Listen: काग़ज़

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Sound it out

kaa A dry velar stop with no puff, opening into a long आ.

ga The nuqta turns ग into a voiced uvular fricative: the back of the tongue nearly touches the uvula and buzzes, much like a French r. Many speakers do substitute a plain g.

z The second nuqta marks a Persian z rather than the affricate ज, and its voicing must last until the sound stops.

Hear it in a sentence

मुझे एक खाली काग़ज़ दीजिए।

Mujhe ek khaalee kaagaz deejiye.

Give me a blank sheet of paper, please.

Listen: मुझे एक खाली काग़ज़ दीजिए।

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

"Mujhe ek khaalee kaagaz deejiye" pairs kaagaz with khaalee, which has an aspirated ख — so the sentence contains an aspirated velar stop and a uvular fricative a few syllables apart. Comparing them clarifies both.

Where English speakers slip

Both nuqtas get ignored, giving "kaagaj" with a hard g and a j. To find the uvular fricative, start from a g and let the closure open slightly so it buzzes at the back of the throat. Then finish on a clean z rather than an affricate.